Transcript 'Non ti dico fino a sette, ma fino a settanta volte sette

Word
of
Life
September 2010
"I do not say to you seven times,
but seventy times seven. "
(Mt 18,22)
These words were said
by Jesus in reply to Peter who,
after listening
to the marvellous things
he said,
put this question to Jesus:
‘Lord, how often shall
my brother sin against me,
and I forgive him?
As many as seven times?’
Jesus answered:
‘I do not say to you
seven times,
but seventy times seven.’
In all probability,
Peter had been so struck
by the master’s preaching that,
full of goodness and generosity
as he was, he decided to take
a bold step forward
in this new way of behaving.
He was going to do something
exceptional,
be willing to forgive
as many as seven times….
By answering ‘seventy times seven times’, Jesus is saying that
for him forgiveness has no limits.
We must forgive always.
" I do not say to you seven times,
but seventy times seven. “
(Mt 18,22)
This sentence calls to mind the biblical song of Lamech,
a descendant of Adam:
‘If Cain is avenged sevenfold,truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold’.
Thus hatred began to spread among the people
of the world, swelling like a river in flood.
Against this spreading of evil, Jesus proposes
the unlimited and unconditional forgiveness
that is capable of breaking the cycle of violence.
Only forgiveness can stem this tide of mayhem
and offer the human race a future
that is not self-destruction.
" I do not say to you seven times,
but seventy times seven. “
(Mt 18,22)
To forgive, to forgive always.
Forgiving is not the same as forgetting,
which often implies unwillingness to face reality.
Forgiveness is not weakness in the sense of ignoring a wrong done
for fear of the stronger person who committed it.
Forgiveness does not mean saying that something does not matter
when it is serious, or that something is good when it is bad.
Forgiveness is not indifference. Forgiveness is a conscious act of will, and
therefore a free act, which means welcoming our brothers
and sisters as they are, despite the wrong done to us,
just as God accepts us sinners, despite our faults. Forgiveness means not
responding to one offence with another, but in doing
what Paul tells us: ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good’
Forgiveness means offering the person who has wronged you
the chance to have a new relationship with you.
It makes it possible for both of you to start life again
and have a future in which evil does not have the last word.
" I do not say to you seven times,
but seventy times seven. “
(Mt 18,22)
How can we live this Word of Life?
Peter had asked Jesus:
‘How often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive?’
In answering him Jesus had in mind above all
the relationships among Christians,
among members of the same community.
Therefore, it is first of all with our brothers and sisters in faith
that we must act like this – in our own family, at work, at school, in
the community to which we belong.
We know that when we are offended
we are often tempted to react with similar words or deeds.
Often, differences in temperament, or stress, or other causes,
mean that those who live in the same household fail
to love one another. We must never forget that
only an attitude of forgiveness, constantly renewed,
can maintain peace and unity.
We will always tend to think of our brothers’ and sisters’ failings,
to remember their past and want them to be different
from the way they are… So we must get into the habit of looking at them
with new eyes and seeing them as new people, accepting them always,
immediately and without reservation, even if they do not repent.
You might say:
‘But that’s hard!’
And you would be right.
Yet this is
the beauty of Christianity.
After all,
it is Christ we are following,
Christ who, on the cross,
asked the Father
to forgive those
who were killing him,
and he rose from the dead.
Take courage then.
Let’s begin to live a life like this.
It will give us a peace we have never felt before
and such joy as we have never known.
"I do not say to you seven times,
but seventy times seven.“
(Mt 18,22)
“Word of Life”, monthly publication of the Focolare Movement.
Original text by: Chiara Lubich, September 1999.
Graphic design by Anna Lollo in collaboration with Fr. Placido D’Omina (Sicily - Italy)
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