He That Loves Little Forgives Little

Forgiveness. The beautiful virtue that comes from the sorrows that run amuck in the world. It is the arms stretched in repentance for an act of a child. It is the child shedding tears for causing someone else's pain and the release of guilt by the part of the judge and more typically the victim.

It is easy to imagine ourselves in this scenario as the child, and in that we take comfort, but the act of love is not simply apologizing. It is the parent, sibling, friend, lover, or stranger who reaches down and says, "I forgive you." Sweet are those words when they have full meaning but it is difficult to say them if the person has no love.

The title of this piece comes from Luke 7 and more specifically verse 47. This classic story depicts a woman who is characterized by her community as a sinner. How would that work for us? To have our main and most meaningful quality in front of others be, sinner. That would be quite depressing. Those qualities are seen in the context of the passage when the woman provides lubrication for cleaning and hair for exfoliation. And what is she going to wash? Feet. For the feet that she intends to wash are those of the one who has yet to classify her as a sinner. To make matters more extreme she then provides a pleasant smelling perfume and deepens the affection with kisses. And the most shocking part is not simply the action but the audience she does it before. It is the very judges that have deemed her character as sinner.

So what act does he deem her to have performed? An act of love. That means this act took courage to perform, it took vulnerability, it took strength, it took the emptying of pockets, it took self-deprecation, it took repentance. These actions that she performed elevated her and broke the shackle of her qualification as a sinner. For to Christ, who knew all her secret sins and not just the ones that the public knew, she is forgiven. Not that her actions were the prompt for the forgiveness but it showed that she was ready to be forgiven. Now to the pharisee and Peter, Christ replies to their accusations with a parable. And the lesson of the parable? He that forgives little loves little, she is forgiven for she has great love. And to the woman, he says your faith has saved you, go in peace.

What about this passage can we learn about forgiveness that gives a full definition? Forgiveness is the courage to give up your whole self in the effort to no longer be enslaved to past failures and as an act of faith, to put ourselves at the mercy of who has been offended. And since forgiveness involves two or more people I must include this caveat; it is to see the worst of people, those who have even done unspeakable acts of evil, as those who can be redeemed as well as it being necessary to aid in that redemption. To forgive and be forgiven, that is forgiveness. Those who wish to be forgiven must also be ample in forgiving in order to complete both parts that compose forgiveness. It is to ask for forgiveness but it seems much more difficult to forgive than to be forgiven.

But I must also speak on a devilish scheme that tends to be disguised as forgiveness, excusing. I am not saying that excusing is in itself a vice but its usual course is to take responsibility and throw it onto something or someone else. We tend, as humans, to take what should be our own faults and toss them onto some situational device that allows us to escape from the consequences that arise when justice comes knocking. Excuses in this manner are pride dramatizing itself as a form of an actor. It comes onto the stage and begs for pity, upon its knees while the devil whispers in the ear, "Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent underneath."

The only way we can seek to remedy these tendencies is to take absolute responsibility for all manners of corruption. Say to yourself, though this may not be the cause of mine, I will act as if it is such. In this manner, we can become fully aware of our own actions and those that may not be our own. We become no longer naive nor do we steep to the cynic. Forgiveness indicates that we will hurt others and others will cause us pain. But that is the beauty, despite becoming embittered we have liberty.

I have seen and read of a multitude of people who before the court will testify of being a victim of a perpetrator's crimes. Crimes that are too heinous or impactful for me to speak of. Where can beauty come from these heart-wrenching troubles? By using the tears that wash the feet that gave harm and say I forgive you. The warm embrace after reconciliation does not cover justice but fulfills it. It says you must provide penance for your crimes but not for me, it is for yourself. To forgive is to say, because of your faith go in peace.

Some people will remark in counter to this that the person must pay for their sins, that we cannot give mercy when justice is necessary. This is a confusion of the act. Love covers a multitude of sins but it does not rid the person of them. Justice is the act of rooting out infection while mercy or forgiveness is to stop it from spreading. Forgiveness prevents further calamity and justice heals the soul. We as Christians are by virtue to forgive and leave justice to the lord who sees and knows all. To steep to revenge is to take on the responsibility of God. So who can say that they are perfect like Christ? For to say that you are perfect is to call him a liar. The one who takes revenge against his fellow calls God a liar.

The last thing to be spoken on forgiveness is the idea of forgiving and forgetting. I have heard that you must forget in order to forgive but I will say that this sentiment comes only after the person who needs to be forgiven asks for it. To be wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove is to gain wisdom from being wronged. Without repentance by the person, why should we forget their wrongs? They have acted in accordance with their character and must then be held accountable, but once they have repented and sought forgiveness then it must be forgotten. For God in heaven, when we reach his throne shall recount our deeds. Christ shall stand before us as our advocate and say this man has forgiven much and been forgiven.

So we are to be greeted with lips of Alzheimer's. Lips that cast the pain and sorrow into the deepest of seas and with the greatest divide. An artist that uses the strokes of wrong in order to make all things right. Whose spit can make our mud into his very own fingerprint? The person with the greatest of minds who chooses to use divine selective memory. No longer are we characterized as a sinner but as a saint, in that his grace is made known by the thief on the cross who says, "Remember me!" And then proves his mercy in the act of forgetting. At that moment, he shows us the glory that is his love, and we will never forget it.

"No prayers can be heard which do not come from a forgiving heart." - J.C Ryle