Jesus said to his disciples, "In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This is how you are to pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. "Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one. " If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."
The Word in other words
As a missionary, in Timor Leste, I realize that one that one of the most difficult gospel lessons to preach on is "forgiveness". This is due to the Timorese people's terrible, horrible, bitter and painful experience with Indonesian soldiers during the war 13 years ago. Before this country finally won her independence, thousands of lives were sacrificed. Today, people always recall and retell their experiences. One memory that causes pain is of fellow Timorese who were pro-Indonesian government and who participated in the killing of their own Timorese brothers and sisters. Today, many of them are still roaming around the country.
Though it is very challenging, I as a missionary must preach and live 'forgiveness'. Otherwise, as stressed by Jesus in the last part of today's gospel, our heavenly Father will not forgive us. There is a line in the "Our Father" that says in Tetun, "Haraik perdua mai ami sala, nudar ami perdua ba ema halo aat ami" (Forgive us our since, as we forgive those who sinned against us). This means that our Heavenly Father can only forgive us if we are able to forgive those who have done us wrong. May you be one with me in praying for our Timorese brothers and sisters so that God will give them the courage to forgive those who killed their loved ones.
We may not have the same experience as the people here, but isn't is that we have also our so-called 'enemies', who may be our family members, officemates, fellow religious, classmates, or friends? During my novitiate year my classmate became my enemy for many reasons. I was not brave enough to talk to him personally. I was then so disturbed that I was forced to approach my spiritual director for help. After listening to my struggle, my director suggested that I pray everyday for my 'enemy'. Though it was not easy, I did pray for him every morning. As I woke up in the morning I would offer a short prayer for him. I did it for several months and, believe it or not, in the end we became good friends. This is what we call the ' the power of prayer'.
Let me suggest that, starting today, as children of our heavenly Father we should try to do the same. Let us offer a short prayer everyday for our so-called enemies, believing that with God's grace a miracle will happen, the miracle of forgiveness.
- Fr. Reniel Lumiwan Nachimma, SVD ( Timor Leste Region)
