Sr. Annie
CMC Department of History St. Joseph’s College, Jakhama
Reconciliation with God and ourselves:
The word “reconcile” means to change, to change thoroughly; to exchange; to change from enmity to friendship; to bring together, restore, ect. To be reconciled is to be restored to the original relationship, harmony or friendship. From the part of humanity reconciliation begins by examining ourselves. This includes not only our actions but also our attitudes, motives, acts and omissions, because it helps us to see where we need to change.
Now we make the decision to mend or re-pair the broken bridge, chain, relationship. The culprit makes the first move. Mahatma Gandhi in his autobiography narrates one such event:
“The other theft was committed when I was fifteen. In this case I stole a bit of gold out of my brother’s armlet. This brother had run into a debt of about twenty-five rupees. He had on his arm an armlet of solid gold. It was not difficult to clip a bit out of it. Well, it was done, and the debt cleared. But this became more than i could bear. I resolved never to steal again. I also made up my mind to confess it to my father. But I did not dare to speak. Not that I was afraid of my father beating me. No I do not recall his ever having beaten any of us. I was afraid of the pain that I should cause him. But I felt that the risk should be taken; that there could not be a cleaning without a clean confession.
I decided at last to write out the confession, to submit it to my father, and ask his forgiveness. I wrote it on a slip of paper and handed it to him. In this note not only did I confess my guilt, but I asked adequate punishment for it, and closed with a request to him not punish himself for my offence. I also pledged myself never to steal in future.
I was trembling as I handed the confession to my father. He was then suffering from a fistula and was confined to bed. His bed was a plain wooden plank. I handed him the note and sat opposite the plank. He read it through, and pearl-drops trickled down his cheeks, wetting the paper. For a moment he closed his eyes in thought and then tore up the note. I also cried. I could see my father’s agony. If I were a painter I could draw a picture of the whole scene today. It is still so vivid in my mind.
Those pearl-drops of love cleansed my heart, and washed my sin away. Only he who has experienced such love can know what it is. As the hymn says: ‘Only he, who is smitten with the arrows of love, Knows its power’... This sort of sublime forgiveness was not natural to my father. I had thought that he would be angry, say hard things, and strike his forehead. But he was so wonderfully peaceful, and I believe this was due to my clean confession. A clean confession, combined with a promise never to commit the sin again, when offered before one who has the right to receive it, is the purest type of repentance. I know that my confession made my father feel absolutely safe about me, and increased his affection for me beyond measure.”
During the French revolution a youth by name ‘Tiboth’ was in prison facing a death sentence. Few days before his execution the prison authorities asked him what his last wish was. “I want to spend the last night of my life with my dad” was his reply. The wish was granted. His dad was called in. Both were talking of their long gone happy days; and prayed together. “Dad I want to sleep on your lap” Tiboth asked. Dad made Tiboth sleep on his lap and stroked his hair as Tiboth went to sleep. At about 6AM there was a knock on the cell Tiboth woke up with a jolt. He was shocked to find that his dad is not in the cell; the prison authorities were equally shocked to see that Tiboth is alive.
What really happened will freeze everyone’s blood! At 2.30 AM there was a knock on the cell. Tiboth was fast asleep. His dad got up and went with the guards. Without knowing, who they were hanging, the guards hanged Tiboth’s dad! Whenever we look at the crucifix the memory of Tiboth’s dad should come to our minds. Jesus has taken upon himself the place we deserve to be.
Our attitude towards each other is a reflection of how in- line with God our thoughts and heart are. If we’re conformed to God, our love of others will show it. One of the principles of Christian living is recognizing the way we treat our neighbour is the evidence of our feeling towards our God. There are many of us who want to be reconciled with the others, but it is not easy to do it. There may be several seasons for it, such as: The deeper the bonds of love and intimacy, the sharper the pain is because intimacy presupposes vulnerability. There is a sacred bond of love in friendship, whether in the world or in a monastery. When this sacred bond is purposely broken by the other, reconciliation is hard – but it is infinitely sweeter when we reconcile with someone we deeply love. Let’s recognize the worth of every human person among us. Let’s be reconciled. Do it today. We may not have yet another tomorrow.
