From the Ashes

In an article in Sojourners Magazine entitled, “Rising from the Ashes,” a priest in San Salvador tells the story of an 11-year-old boy named Juanito whom he met in an orphanage not long after civil war wracked that country. A few years earlier, the boy had been rescued after his entire family was killed in front of him. Somehow, he alone had survived the attack unharmed.

Since that day, the boy struggled, sometimes spending entire days totally withdrawn, without speaking a word. One day, Juanito came to the priest for confession. He said, “Father, pray for me so that I can forgive the soldiers who killed my mother and brothers. I do not want to live with hatred in my heart.”

Juanito, it seems, was wise beyond his years. He somehow understood what hatred and bitterness could do to his soul.

When Jesus told us to forgive those who have wronged us, he did so for our own spiritual health – as much as for the sake of the world. On the cross, Jesus lived out his own teaching. He prayed, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

I wonder if there are people who you need to forgive…

Remember, forgiveness doesn’t mean condoning. Forgiveness is not necessarily forgetting. Forgiveness does not mean putting yourself back into a situation where they might hurt you again. But, forgiveness does mean letting go…. It has to do with the state of your own heart.

Whatever it is others have done to you, I pray that you would not let it consume your life. I pray that you will not let it define you or take your soul. Instead, may you ask God for the strength to forgive and let go.

Let us pray: God of Grace, we hand over to you this day, old wounds and debts, and people who have hurt or betrayed us. We do not want to live with hatred in our hearts. We want to be healthy and whole. We ask for your healing, and for the power to forgive others – as we have been forgiven in Christ. It is in his name we pray. Amen.