Florida Catholic | Bishop Barbarito's Column

Thanksgiving and forgiveness

NOVEMBER 23, 2007

“Let us celebrate Thanksgiving by showing forgiveness.”

An annual Thanksgiving tradition is the presidential pardon of a turkey. While its origin is unknown, one explanation is that it started with Abraham Lincoln, who granted a pardon to his son’s pet turkey. Whatever its origins, the pardon obviously grants the turkey release from being someone’s Thanksgiving dinner.

As lighthearted as this tradition may be, it does point to a side of Thanksgiving that might be well to reflect upon. Thanksgiving and forgiveness are part of the same coin. One who is pardoned should most obviously be grateful. At the same time, one who is grateful should spontaneously express that gratitude in forgiveness. As we celebrate this Thanksgiving weekend, it is a fitting time not only to reflect on the many blessings we thank God for, but also to consider how we might better express that gratitude in forgiveness.

The Gospel passage of the 10 lepers (Lk 17:11-19) is the usual one we associate with giving thanks. It is the most frequently used text for the celebration of Mass on Thanksgiving day. Jesus cures 10 lepers of their horrible affliction and only one, a foreigner at that, returns to thank Jesus for his goodness. The other nine go their way without any visible sign of gratitude. We wonder how they could be so callous as not to show gratitude for the gift given to them.

Ingratitude is even more revealed in another Gospel passage, which is also a good reflection for Thanksgiving. It is the parable of the unforgiving servant (Mt 18:23-35). Here Jesus tells the story of a gracious king who decided to settle account with his servants. One owed such an incredible amount that he had no way to pay it. He pleaded with the king to give him a chance. The king, with tremendous compassion, completely pardoned the servant and set him free without any further expectations. However, instead of manifesting his gratitude by being more understanding and forgiving toward others, the servant did the opposite. Immediately upon leaving the king, he met a fellow servant who owed him a pittance next to the debt that was pardoned him. Instead of recalling the king’s mercy in gratitude, he began to choke his fellow servant and had him put in jail until he paid back the debt. The unforgiving servant’s ingratitude is even more incredulous than the nine lepers and leaves us wondering how anyone could be so cruel.

Forgiveness is not easy to carry out. When we have been hurt, it is natural to want to retaliate and strike back. Such retaliation never does any good and only hurts us more in the long run. However, it is easier to forgive when we realize that we have been forgiven. The compassion and mercy shown to us should prompt us, out of gratitude, to show the same to others. Only the forgiveness manifested on the cross of Christ makes this possible. Whatever forgiveness we may extend to others is minute next to God’s forgiveness of us.

Unfortunately, we live in a society that has lost the understanding and, many times, the capacity to forgive. In an effort to deny the reality of evil and sin, our society seems to tolerate much but to forgive little. This is easily seen in the public denial of basic moral principles, such as the permanency of marriage and right to life, but, at the same time, the media’s sensationalizing of human failures in soap-opera fashion. The national pardon of a turkey is easily accepted. Other pardons, such as the commutation of the death penalty or clemency toward an immigrant, might be much less tolerated. While we must always vehemently condemn sin, gratitude should prompt us to be merciful toward the sinner. While we must always uphold justice in its highest form, gratitude should prompt us to have clemency.

The British jurist William Blackstone extolled the ability of a monarch to freely use pardon, as such clemency modified the demands of the harsh application of a general law. Knowing the limitations of human nature, we are indeed grateful to live in a democracy where the power of pardon is limited. However, we are all the more grateful to be part of the kingdom of God, who is the supreme monarch, as his very nature is to love and bestow mercy. He gave his son who gave his life, condemned as a criminal on a cross, in order that we might have life.

Our society has not only lost the understanding of the reality of evil and forgiveness, but also of true faith on which this nation was founded. Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, expresses well the post-modern mentality in his words on forgiveness in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He states: “The idea that God has allowed the forgiveness of guilt, the healing of man from within, to cost him the death of his son has come to seem quite alien to us today. That the Lord ‘has borne our diseases and taken upon himself sorrows,’ that ‘he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities,’ and that ‘with his wounds we are healed’ (Is 53:4-6) no longer seems plausible to us today. Militating against this, on one side, is the trivialization of evil in which we take refuge, despite the fact that at the very same time we treat the horrors of human history, especially the most recent human history, as an irrefutable pretext for denying the existence of a good God and slandering his creature man.”

Let us celebrate Thanksgiving by showing forgiveness. Let us look to the mercy of God given to all of us and, in gratitude, share that with someone in our family, someone we work with or just someone who needs clemency. Thanksgiving and pardon are expressions of each other. Indeed, they are the very nature of God, who for all eternity expresses thanksgiving in love and, in the course of human history, in forgiveness.

We are indeed grateful for our great nation and its democracy, which gives us a president who can, at times, grant pardon. However, we are most grateful for our God, who alone is king and always grants forgiveness.

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