Now that people have accepted the fact that we will be wearing masks. Nobody likes masks, but experts tell us that mask help protect others and ourselves. There are all sorts of masks [Hold up masks] There are disposable ones, cloth ones and ones with plastic shields.
I have been impressed with the masks that are real creative . . . with a nice says, or which team to support or which holiday is coming up. But the most creative ones, are those that express how we want to feel but can’t [put on a mask with a big smile on it.] Or how really feel but don’t dare express it [put on a mask of an angry face]. And of course there are those that remind of what can happen when we don’t brush our teeth [show mask of bad teeth], or what we would look like if we don’t have [mask with beard].
The bad thing about face masks is that we can’t tell how people are REALLY feeling, when we can’t see their faces. With a mask, we can hide behind a false image and start thinking that image is really who we are. We can become an imposter. A pretender. A fake. Our egos can get in the way with life . . . for we want to appear smarter than we are, happier than we are, perfect lives with perfect families.
The one place that we can’t pretend, though, is our relationship with God. And the best place for us to be real, with God, is in prayer. You see, when we pray, we don’t have to pretend anymore. We don’t have to have a mask on. We don’t have to convince God that things are going better than they are.
In prayer we are invited to be real. In prayer we can talk honestly and real. In a sense, we can do as St. Paul talked about in the second reading . . . we can die to our fake self. “For if we die, we die for the Lord,” as Paul wrote.
And with that, perhaps we can then say, “Forgive me, God. I can’t pretend with you. You know me through and through. This is me, and I want to improve myself. I want to be better. I want to be as you want me to be. I am sorry.” And how does God punish us? By loving us more.
For maybe when you ask God for forgiveness, then you can start forgiving yourself. For when you realize that you didn’t need to be perfect, that you can’t be perfect . . . then maybe you can do as Jesus suggested in the gospel. To forgive others. Not once, not seven times, but seventy-seven times (which means unlimited).
To forgive is not to forget. But to move forward and not stay stuck.
To forgive is not shrugging it off with “That’s OK, no big deal.” That’s back to wearing a mask.
Forgiveness is letting go of the hope you had of having a different past.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean there will automatically be reconciliation between you and the other person. Reconciliation takes two, and maybe that other person can’t or won’t . . . yet.
But forgiveness is always a decision. It’s a choice. For you can stay angry and want revenge. (How’s that working for you?) You can continue to seek punishment.
Or accept forgiveness as a gift. Then forgiveness comes full circle, for as Jesus said at the end of today gospel
. . . when you can forgive that difficult person in your life, God forgives you.
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