Today we mark a return to ordinary time. We have been on an amazing journey since Ash Wednesday that took us to the lows and highs of our Christian faith. Weekdays reverted to ordinary time some weeks ago, but this is the first Sunday where you will see your priest and deacon wearing the green of this season. However, in the light of all we have gone through, can there be such a time as ordinary? In the light of salvation, everything has become extraordinary. The gospel today from Luke is no exception: in the face of rejection by the Samaritans, the apostles want to seek retribution. We do not have to look back two thousand years to see examples of communities failing to live together. The hundred-year history of Northern Ireland reveals tensions, bitterness, murder and hatred between the nationalist and unionist communities that has destabilised the democratic process again in the last year. US politics, especially in recent years, has shown a deep divide that has broken families and communities. Brexit and leaving the EU brought joy to a small majority, while the large minority still feel disenfranchised. Jesus is clear that he does not want them 'to call down fire from heaven.' The non-violent message of Jesus is something that many Christians, across the ages, have not seemed to grasp—the Crusades, the martyrs of both sides of the Reformation, and the Balkan Wars being obvious examples. St Paul, in his pastoral support of the Christian community in Corinth, can observe that 'since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly?' (1 Cor 3:3)

Some years ago I met a very impressive man in Lourdes: Steven McDonald was a New York cop shot in Central Park by a teenager, Shavod Jones. The policeman survived the ordeal but had to live the remainder of his life in a wheelchair and using a portable ventilator. McDonald's faith prompted him to forgive the young boy who was caught up in a vortex of gang violence. He went on to found the 'Breaking the Cycle Foundation' which worked to promote non-violent conflict resolution. He even took his message of peace to Northern Ireland with his good friends, the Franciscan Mychal Judge, and the Protestant pastor Johann Arnold. As a result of the Columbine High School massacre, with tension rising, Arnold travelled extensively to promote the gospel message of peace. His 2010 book 'Why Forgive?' has become a classic in classrooms and parishes in the English-speaking world. This work of peace has been endorsed by Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. In supporting 'Why Forgive?', the victim of senseless gun crime, McDonald wrote:

Read this book. It deals with some hard issues, head-on. It might give you more than you wanted to think about. But I think it will also help you see, as it helped me to see, that there are more stories of love and forgiveness in the world than there are of hatred and revenge.

Meeting him in the context of healing and peace in the shrine of Lourdes, remains one of the miracles of my life. When faced with bitterness and tension in my own life, I am able to look back at that encounter. I realise I must rise above the selfishness of petty point scoring and seeking revenge. Steven McDonald has helped me to see that forgiveness must lie at heart of the Christian life, especially in the face personal attacks and hurt. Is it easy? No! Must people face the consequences of their hurtful actions? Most certainly, yes! However, we cannot meet evil with evil, as it can only be overcome with true love. Selfish narcissism is no match for the simple words, 'I forgive you!' This week we may well be given the opportunity to break the cycle of violence—please grab it with both hands! As St John XXIII reminds us

Never hesitate to hold out your hand; never hesitate to accept the outstretched hand of another.

Author: Fr Gerry O'Shaughnessy SDB

Image: Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash