A Keen Insight Into Forgiveness

Here we have come back to the compassion that must be formed in one’s heart, a compassion that comes out of a deep experience of solidarity, in which one recognizes that the evil, sin and violence which one sees in the world and in the other, are deeply rooted in one’s own heart [emphasis mine]. Only when you want to confess this and want to rely on the merciful God who can bring good out of evil are you in a position to receive forgiveness and also to give it to other men and women who threaten you with violence

—From Thomas Merton: Contemplative Critic by Henri Nouwen

I ran across this piece from Nouwen this morning and it spoke to me. Here we see the key to being able to pray for our enemies and people who are clearly evil as Jesus commanded us (see, e.g., Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:28). Nouwen is not telling us that we should suspend moral judgment on people’s behavior (neither does the Bible, BTW). Rather he is pointing us to this fact: We must first acknowledge that we have the capacity in ourselves to commit any evil we see others committing, and that takes a healthy dose of humility.

Only when we realize this truth, and acknowledge that we are in the same desperate need of God’s forgiveness as others around us, are we able to pray that God forgive those who do us wrong. Only then can we really ask for our own forgiveness and mean it.

Realizing that we have the same capacity in us to commit the evil we see others committing is a most effective antidote against spiritual pride forming in us. There is only one place for humanity, and that is at the foot of the cross.

What about you? How are you getting along in praying for and forgiving your enemies?