767 ELM STREET * ROCKY HILL * CONNECTICUT 06067
|
767 ELM STREET * ROCKY HILL * CONNECTICUT 06067 |
           
|
“Call me Ishmael.” These three words are the opening words of one of the most intriguing and important pieces of American literature, “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville. Many know the basic elements of the story. Ahab, the captain of the whaling ship Pequod, was assaulted by the great white whale called, “Moby Dick” earlier in his life leaving Ahab scared and crippled outside and inside his person. From that day forward Ahab swore that he would have his revenge, he would hurt Moby Dick even if it meant pursuing him into hell itself. We know that eventually, Ahab does confront the white whale and the crew of his ship with him. In the life and death struggle that ensued Ahab, consumed with his lust for revenge, is killed by drowning as he clings to Moby Dick stabbing deep with his harpoon into the devilish whale uttering these words “from hell’s heart I stab at thee, for hate sake I spend my last breadth for thee.” Soon after Ahab, fastened to the whale by his lust for revenge is plunged into the depths of sea and drowned by Moby Dick. But that is not the end of it; the whale turns and destroys all those that followed Ahab, all save one, Ishmael who lived to tell of the folly of revenge. This past week we memorialized the horrendous, tragic and evil events of 9/11. Such events like 9/11 confront us with how we will respond to such horrid displays of cruelty and evil. This is the world we and our children live in, and God asks us today, “How will we respond? How do people who lost their earthly lives want us to respond to such an event? I speak of them in the present tense because I am a Christian, or at least I am trying to be, and I believe that physical death is not the end of things but a portal to the new life promised by the Absolute love of God for us revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus. If the Father of Jesus is the shepherd that chases after the lost sheep; if the Father of Jesus is the old woman searching for the lost coin; if the Father of Jesus is the one who welcomes home the prodigal son, then how are we called to respond-simply put, with mercy and forgiveness. Ah! How easy to say and how difficult to live! And here is the rub; can Christians continue to play it safe in uttering words about forgiveness but not forgive? God gives us the command to forgive, it may seem to be a hard command but it is in our best interest. For forgiveness is the gift we give to others and ourselves! The freedom to forgive that comes in the power of the Holy Spirit is the freedom to live and not be encumbered or weighed down by the burden of anger and the lust for revenge. In forgiving I let go of the corrosive and punishing effects of anger and revenge and begin my road of healing! However, we must not confuse mercy and forgiveness for giving license to any and all acts. People and nations are to be held accountable for their actions by various sanctions, but such is not to be based on the lust for revenge, but for restoring the injured rights of others. For centuries the international community has tried to craft a system that would result in promoting justice and peace-as flawed as it such a system is at present. All this based on a growing acceptance that all human beings are entitled to basic human rights and to have those rights protected by law. But we know too often such rights are trampled upon. In the years ahead our faith will be tested by other events and such events will pose a question to us. Do we really believe in divine justice or are we trapped in the “eye for eye” blindness? Some are tempted to want to see immediate effects and to see justice as they have determined what justice should be, “an eye for an eye and a life for a life”. Some are tempted to want our moral outrage at evil to find immediate expression in punishment but not redemption! But what God sees as just is often different from the understanding that many people have about justice. God’s justice is about making things new. The present cycle of violence that will continue to generate more corpses will eventually consume everyone, or at least, large numbers of people. That is the nature and effect of revenge-it is the great white monster that can never be placated until none are left to continue. The heart of the Law of God is mercy, embodied in Jesus Christ our Lord. So we are called to let it reign in our hearts. How is that possible? Only by our surrender to the Divine Will is such a thing possible. It is a surrender that trusts that the terrors and troubles of history are not the last world; that the murderer does not triumph over his or her innocent victims; that there is new and glorious life beyond the traumas of history. Such surrender results in a person and a people that are able to embrace the negative and positive as part of life and trust that God has the last word. In doing this forgiveness becomes possible. In fact, it becomes necessary for us to truly live free of the corrosive and destructive effects of revenge, and thereafter, experience the freedom promised in the crucified and risen One. Perhaps we can take a lesson from the Quaker people in Pennsylvania this week. As you remember a number of girls were tied up and executed last year in one of the Quaker communities. This week that community took up a collection and sent it to the mother of the killer of those little girls. The heart of the Law is mercy! Deacon Robert M. Pallotti, D.Min. Return to Saint James Home Page |