What will you say to the risen Jesus?
When you do somebody wrong – either unknowingly or, worse still, knowingly – there is tension between you. When you then realize it, you suddenly see your fault and you see that the person you have wronged has been hurt and suffers.
I remember one example from Italy: A group of thieves – young boys – broke into a jeweller’s shop and killed the jeweller during the robbery. They were caught and sentenced to many years in prison. There was a woman with little children present at the trial. She was the jeweller’s widow. At the sight of her and her children, one of the boys suddenly understood what evil he had done, what pain he had caused them. His conscience was stirred and he begged their forgiveness. And the woman said she forgave him…
Forgiveness is a very precious and important thing. Forgiveness opens the door to the heart and home of the person whom we have hurt.
And now let us realize this in relation to Christ. My sin crucified Christ…, and He forgave me. The first word of Jesus from the cross was: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Let us think of those words: Forgiveness of sins. This is not an empty phrase, because if we become aware of our sins and give them to Jesus or confess them to a priest, we hear the words: “The Lord has forgiven you.” We can lean on God’s mercy by faith: “Christ really forgives us!” We can experience this forgiveness like the Apostle Peter. How did he probably react when the risen Christ appeared to him after his betrayal? He probably lowered his eyes, keeping his gaze on the ground, somewhere towards Jesus’ feet. Then perhaps he gave Jesus a pained look and said: “Lord, I betrayed You, I denied You.” Perhaps Christ did not even say that He forgave him, but Peter clearly read it in His face full of love. Through forgiveness, the bond that had been broken by the sin of betrayal was restored between them. The awareness of being forgiven enables us to love. Let us be aware: Jesus gave His life for me! And who is Jesus? He was not just a man; He is the Son of God. And He gave His life for me! I want to show Him my gratitude for paying so high a price to forgive me, and be ready even to give my life for Him in return.
When one thinks of those converted Muslims in Libya who became Christians, how they are led to execution, how they kneel there, how their heads are cut off… They were fathers of children, they had wives. And they loved Jesus more than their wives or children, more than their own lives. They knew what God’s love was like, that it was not like human love that can betray you. They knew for certain: “Jesus loves me.” And Jesus loves you too.
You can experience in prayer that the risen Jesus now asks you if you love Him. What will you say to Him? You can realize: Jesus is here. I am looking into His eyes. He calls me by name and asks: Do you love Me? And I say to Him like Peter: “Lord, You know everything. You know that I love You.” But it is not enough just to say it; you must be in earnest about it: I am willing to give my life for You like the martyrs in Libya or the 21 Egyptian martyrs who were beheaded for the sake of Christ or like millions of martyrs about whom we read in the lives of the saints. Hundreds of thousands of Christians were led into the Roman Colosseum and thrown to the beasts. They could choose to betray Christ and save their lives, but they chose to die. Why? Because they had tasted God’s love and forgiveness. They knew that Jesus had forgiven them at the cost of His life. They were aware of this, and therefore they were willing to sacrifice their lives. And now we can experience the same in our hearts: “I love You, Jesus.” Not just say it, but put our whole heart into it.
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