Rod Dreher writes: "Courage Man inadvertently gave my answer to Bob LeBlanc's devout instruction that I should just forgive the bishops and move on. Forgive? Move on? How about some repentance first! How about some concrete action to clean up the Augean stables! It is cowardice flattering itself as piety for men and women to see the actions of these bishops of ours and to choose not to demand better of them. Loudly. Insistently. Until they change, and change for good."
I'm just going to borrow Mark Shea's bitter-o-meter (patent pending) for a second...
Amy Welborn: Isn't it nice that Archbishop Chaput weighs in on the right to life?
Rod Dreher: Yes, but then there's The Scandal.
Given that this is the octave of Easter where we celebrate the risen Christ who defeated death, our Savior who forgave our debts, I'd like to bring up the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.
Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?"
Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
"Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." (Mt 18:21-35, RSV)
St. Paul writes to the Colossians (Col 3:1-17, RSV):
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you once walked, when you lived in them. But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scyth'ian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all.
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
In Ephesians, St Paul writes the same:
Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Eph 4:25-32, RSV)
For Rod, it is a question of courage or cowardice (I admit that I am a coward). At every Mass on Sunday, we pray or sing the "Our Father." The Catholic Catechism inserts an interesting commentary in its exegesis of "And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" [2839-2845]
2840 Now - and this is daunting - this outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us. Love, like the Body of Christ, is indivisible; we cannot love the God we cannot see if we do not love the brother or sister we do see. In refusing to forgive our brothers and sisters, our hearts are closed and their hardness makes them impervious to the Father's merciful love; but in confessing our sins, our hearts are opened to his grace.
"This is daunting." For Rod, it's about the bishops and how we respond to them. For me, it's about Rod and how he responds to the bishops. It's far too easy to tar and feather this cursed bunch; it's harder to forgive them.
C.S. Lewis could have inserted the following story in The Great Divorce:
One Charles J. Chaput presents himself to Rod Dreher as Rod's guide to the Heavenly Kingdom. Chaput asks Rod, "I'm deeply sorry that I've hurt you Rod. Will you forgive me?"
"What about all those victims of The Scandal? Have you asked their forgiveness?" Of course, I don't have Lewis's skill to continue the dialogue. I can only continue the narrative. After Chaput makes several attempts to receive Rod's forgiveness, a bitter Rod refuses to allow Chaput to be his guide and Rod turns away.
If our Lord's example of forgiveness cannot change Rod's heart, it's likely that this has been all a waste of time. I didn't ask Rod to forgive the bishops for their sake; I asked it for his sake. I guess that has failed. Rod wrote that he remains in the Catholic Church because he believes "that the Catholic Church is what it claims to be." Well and good. He also desires to pass on his faith to his son.
Rod, what will you teach your son about forgiveness?
Rod, why would you remain Catholic?
Peace be with you, Rod, peace be with you.
Posted by Bob at April 18, 2004 07:02 PM