Τὸ σημερινὸ Εὐαγγέλιο, καθὼς ἀπόψε ξεκινᾶ ἡ Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή, μᾶς μιλάει μὲ λόγια θείας ἐλπίδας ἀλλὰ καὶ προειδοποιεῖ: Συγχωρεῖτε ἐκείνους ποὺ σφάλουν ἐνώπιόν σας, συγχωρεῖτε, διότι διαφορετικὰ δὲν θὰ συγχωρηθεῖτε. Ἡ Βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ εἶναι βασιλεία ἀμοιβαίας ἀναγνώρισης, ἀμοιβαίας ἀποδοχῆς καὶ ἀγάπης, στοιχείων ποὺ συμπίπτουν μὲ τὴ χαρὰ τῆς κοινωνίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἑτοιμότητας νὰ σηκώνουμε ὁ ἕνας τὰ βάρη τοῦ ἄλλου.
Νὰ συγχωροῦμε, ἀλλὰ πῶς; Ἀπὸ ποῦ ξεκινᾶ ἡ συγνώμη; Θὰ ἦταν τόσο εὔκολο, πραγματικὰ θαυμάσιο, ἂν ἡ συγνώμη μποροῦσε νὰ ἀρχίσει μὲ μία τέτοια ἀλλαγὴ τῆς καρδιᾶς, ὥστε ἐκεῖνοι ποὺ μᾶς εἶναι ἀπεχθεῖς νὰ γίνουν ἀγαπητοί, αὐτὰ ποὺ μᾶς πόνεσαν νὰ ξεχαστοῦν καὶ νὰ μποροῦμε νὰ ἀρχίζουμε ἀπ\’ τὴν ἀρχὴ σὰν τίποτε νὰ μὴν ἔχει συμβεῖ.
Κάτι τέτοιο ὅμως δὲν μπορεῖ νὰ γίνει! Τὸν πόνο τοῦ παρελθόντος τὸν νιώθουμε, δὲν ξεχνιέται, δὲν μποροῦμε ἁπλῶς νὰ ξαναρχίσουμε σὰν νὰ μὴν ὑπῆρξε τίποτε προηγουμένως. Ἀλλὰ τὸ νόημα τῆς συγνώμης δὲν εἶναι αὐτό. Συγνώμη δὲν σημαίνει λήθη· ἡ λήθη δὲν ὁδηγεῖ πουθενά. Ἂν ξεχάσουμε πώς, γιὰ ποιὸ λόγο, κάτω ἀπὸ ποιὲς συνθῆκες, λόγω ποιᾶς ἀδυναμίας, σὲ ποιὸ σημεῖο ἦταν εὐάλωτος ἐκεῖνος ποὺ ἔσφαλε, τότε τὸν ἀφήνουμε ἀπροστάτευτο. Ἐκεῖνος ποὺ ἔκανε τὸ λάθος πρέπει νὰ προστατευθεῖ ἀπὸ ἐνδεχόμενη νέα πτώση. Αὐτὸ ποὺ ἔκανε, οἱ λόγοι καὶ οἱ συνθῆκες τῆς πτώσης του δὲν θὰ πρέπει νὰ ξεχαστοῦν, διότι ἀπὸ δῶ καὶ πέρα ἔχει ἀνάγκη ἀπὸ τὴ δική μας στοχαστική, ἀγαπητικὴ μέριμνα, ὥστε νὰ μὴ γλιστρήσει, νὰ μὴν ἁμαρτήσει καὶ πάλι.
Ἐδῶ ἀκριβῶς ἀρχίζει ἡ συγνώμη: τὴ στιγμὴ κατὰ τὴν ὁποία, ἀναγνωρίζοντας τὸ εὔθραυστο τῶν ἄλλων, ὅπως ἀναγνωρίζω καὶ τὸ δικό μου, τὴν ἀνάγκη τους γιὰ προστασία καὶ βοήθεια, γιὰ εὐσπλαχνία, εἶμαι προετοιμασμένος νὰ φέρω μαζί τους τὸ φορτίο τῆς ἀδυναμίας τους, τὸ εὐάλωτο τῆς ἁμαρτωλότητάς τους. Ἡ συγνώμη ἀρχίζει τὴ στιγμὴ ποὺ ἀποφασίζω νὰ ἀνέχομαι τοὺς ἀδελφούς μου, χωρὶς νὰ περιμένω νὰ ἀλλάξουν, νὰ τοὺς ἀνέχομαι ὅπως εἶναι, νὰ κάνω ἐλαφρότερο τὸ φορτίο τους, ὥστε κάποτε ἡ ἀλλαγή τους νὰ καταστεῖ ἐφικτή.
Ἡ προϋπόθεση πάντως τῆς συγνώμης βρίσκεται μέσα μου: εἶναι ἡ προθυμία μου νὰ ἀναλάβω αὐτὸν τὸν σταυρό, αὐτὸ τὸ φορτίο, ὥστε οἱ ἄλλοι νὰ θεραπευθοῦν ἢ τουλάχιστον νὰ προστατευθοῦν ἀπέναντι στὸ κακό. Αὐτὸ εἶναι κάτι ποὺ μπορεῖ νὰ τὸ κάνει ὁ καθένας, δὲν χρειάζεται παρὰ μία στιγμὴ κατανόησης, ἀποφασιστικότητα καὶ καλὴ θέληση. Ὅλοι μας ἔχουμε δίπλα μας ἀνθρώπους ποὺ δύσκολα ἀνεχόμαστε, ποὺ εἶναι αἰτία ταλαιπωρίας, δυστυχίας καὶ θυμοῦ· μποροῦμε νὰ ἀκυρώσουμε αὐτὸ τὸ θυμὸ καὶ νὰ ξεπεράσουμε τὴ δυστυχία ἂν κάνουμε τὸ καθῆκον μας, τὸ καθῆκον τῆς ζωῆς μας, τὸ ἔργο μας, ποὺ εἶναι νὰ κουβαλᾶμε μαζί τους τὸ φορτίο, νὰ εἴμαστε αὐτοὶ πού, πληγωμένοι καὶ προσβεβλημένοι καὶ ἀποδιωγμένοι, θὰ στραφοῦμε στὸν Κύριο καὶ θὰ ποῦμε: \”Κύριε, συγχώρησε, γιατί δὲν μνησικακῶ, θέλω νὰ γίνω καὶ νὰ παραμείνω στέρεος μ\’ αὐτὸν τὸν ἄνθρωπο στὴν ἀδυναμία του καὶ στὴν ἁμαρτωλότητά του. Δὲν θὰ σταθῶ κριτικὰ ἀπέναντί του, κι ἂν ἐγὼ δὲν εἶμαι ἀκόμη ἱκανὸς νὰ τὸ κάνω, κάνε το Ἐσὺ γιὰ μένα: μὴ μοῦ καταλογίσεις τὴν κρίση, μὴ μοῦ καταλογίσεις τὴν κατάκριση ποὺ μὲ τραχύτητα πρόφερα, μὴν ὑποστηρίξεις τὸν θυμό μου. Στάσου δίπλα σ\’ αὐτὸν ποὺ ἔσφαλε, ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ἢ αὐτὴ ἔχει ἀνάγκη βοήθειας, συγχώρησης καὶ θεραπείας γι\’ αὐτὸ ἀκριβῶς τὸ λόγο \”.
Ἐκεῖ ἀρχίζει ἡ συγνώμη, κι ἂν δὲν ἀρχίσει ἐκεῖ δὲν θὰ μπορέσει νὰ ἐξελιχθεῖ σὲ τίποτα ἄλλο. Σηκώνουμε τὸ φορτίο ὁ ἕνας τοῦ ἄλλου, ἀποδεχόμαστε τὴν ἀλληλεγγύη μὲ ἐκείνους ποὺ ἔσφαλαν καὶ σφάλλουν, τοὺς ἀγαποῦμε \”ἐν καινότητι\” ζωῆς καὶ μόνον τότε ἡ συγχώρηση γίνεται αὐτὴ ποὺ πρέπει νὰ εἶναι: μία πράξη μεσιτείας ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, μία πράξη ποὺ γιατρεύει καὶ μεταμορφώνει. Αὐτὴ τὴν ἀρχὴ τῆς συγνώμης ὅλοι μποροῦμε νὰ τὴν κάνουμε, εἶναι μέσα στὶς δυνάμεις μας νὰ ἀναλάβουμε αὐτὸ τὸ ἔργο. Ἂς κάνουμε λοιπὸν ὅ,τι μποροῦμε, καὶ ἂς ἀφήσουμε τὸ Θεὸ νὰ πραγματοποιήσει μέσα μας, γιά μᾶς, καταμεσῆς τῆς ζωῆς μας, αὐτὸ ποὺ ξεπερνᾶ τὴ καλή μας θέληση, ὥστε νὰ χτίσουμε σιγὰ-σιγὰ τὴ βασιλεία τῆς ἀμοιβαίας ἀγάπης, μιὰ βασιλεία ποὺ εἶναι ἀληθινὰ Βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Πρωτότυπο Κείμενο
FORGIVENESS SUNDAY
11 March 1973
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Today\’s Gospel, in the beginning of our Lent that starts tonight, speaks to us divine words of hope and divine words of warning: Forgive those who trespass against you, forgive, because unless you do forgive you cannot be forgiven. The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of mutual recognition, of mutual acceptance and of love, which is simultaneously the joy of communion, but also the readiness to carry one another\’s burdens.
Forgive — but how? Where does forgiveness begin? It would be so easy and so wonderful if forgiveness could begin by such a change of heart that those who are repellent to us should become dear, that things that have hurt us should be forgotten, that we could begin as if nothing had happened before.
But this is not what happens. We feel the pain of the past, we cannot forget, we cannot simply begin as though there had been nothing before. But this is not what forgiveness means. Forgiving is not forgetting, forgetting leads nowhere. When we forget how, for what reason, in what circumstances, because of what weakness, what frailty someone has done wrong, we leave him unprotected. Someone who has done wrong must be protected against another fall. What he has done, the reasons and circumstances of his fall should not be forgotten because he needs our thoughtful, loving care not to slip again, not to sin again.
And this is where forgiveness begins: forgiveness begins at the moment when, realising the frailty of others as I realize mine, the need of others for help, for mercy and for protection, I am prepared together with them to bear the burden of their weakness, their frailty or their sinfulness. Forgiveness begins at the moment when I take upon myself to put up with others, without waiting for them to change, to put up with them as they are in order to make lighter their burden and to make it possible for them eventually to change.
But the condition of forgiveness is in me: my readiness to take up this cross, this burden, that others should be healed or at least protected against evil. And this everyone can do, it takes a moment of understanding and it takes an act of determination and of goodwill. Everyone of us, side by side with them, have people who are difficult to bear, who are a cause of suffering, of misery or of anger; we can undo this anger and outgrow this misery if we make our task, the task of our life, our business, to carry their burden together with them, to be the person who, wounded and offended, and rejected will turn to God and say, ‘Lord, forgive, because I bear no grudge, I want to become and to remain solid with this person in his frailty and his sinfulness. I will not stand in judgement against him, and if I am not yet capable of doing this, You do it for me: do not endorse my judgement, do not endorse the condemnation I rashly have pronounced, do not stand by me in my anger. Stand by the person who has done wrong, because he, because she needs help, forgiveness and healing for that very reason.’
This is where forgiveness begins and unless it begins there, it will never develop into anything at all. Bear one another\’s burden, accept solidarity with those who have done and are doing wrong, love them into newness of life and then only will forgiveness become what it is to be: an act of intercession before God that heals, transforms. This beginning of forgiveness we all can make, it is within our power to take up this task. Let us then do what we can, and let us wait for God to do within us, for us, in our midst, more than we can out of goodwill to build gradually a kingdom of mutual love, a kingdom which is truly the Kingdom of God. Amen
