Crime and punishment

     There is an expression, 'fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me'. Perhaps forgiving someone even more than twice would make me fool stupid. I might label someone a carpet or idiot if they let someone 'fool' them more than twice. But forgiving seventy times seven !!??

     Am I guilty of the circular type logic ( that I rail against ) when I have some thoughts on this?   Far from a formal and final opinion, I think there is a difference between worldly punishment and forgiveness. Forgiveness is something that should be freely granted by us. But that does not mean there is not going to be real and human consequences for those who commit sin or 'fool' people.  I am not speaking of vengeful and inhumane punishment but measured and maybe, heaven forbid, some kind of  reformative measure.  

       Lord only knows the depths I have sunk to in stupidity and errant ways and I am forgiven. How could I possibly not forgive others guilty of their own personally patented

foibles and faults. Am I or you too arrogant to think we are somehow better than others? Can we possibly believe that God loves us more than someone else? Jesus died on the cross for me but not some other poor chap?  Am I not the one who says that "God loves me at least as much as the person next to me"?

       Ah, but to the nitty gritty. Would I, do I forgive Donald Trump? His minions? Do I forgive a church for arrogance and hate? Do I forgive corporate greed and malfeasance? The practical translations of forgiveness can be hard to swallow.  I have to follow with the earthly punishment that we have at our disposal.  As humans we have set up mechanisms to treat and punish and those systems should be as humane as possible while being as certain to be imposed.

        This doctrine of forgiveness for which Jesus speaks is not one that frees the guilty willy nilly but one that frees us from the hate that would fester within ourselves.  In not forgiving we revisit and re-victimize ourselves. 

      Finally, I think of those that have turned their back on me after I came out as gay.  I can't help but think of how long it took me to realize, analyze and come out to myself.  The process was long and traumatic for me. Was it less traumatic for someone else in my life? If it took me so long to come to terms with myself, can I expect someone else to accept it instantaneously on my words alone? 

     Forgiveness is a deeply personal thing. It draws us deep into ourselves and extends our love outward in faith and love.  Difficult tasks that do not preclude human redress. Just not hateful, vengeful redress.

Matthew 18:21-35

Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.