Cycle A
Good News A25
John 20:19-23 New
American Bible
John
20:19-23 Bible Gateway New International Version
"Receive the holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained."
After Jesus was crucified
and buried, and when the apostles discovered that he was no longer in the tomb,
they were frightened that the Jews would come and get them and kill them,
too. So they huddled together in the
room where they had gathered with Jesus on Holy Thursday when he gave them the
Holy Eucharist by sharing bread and wine with them. They locked the doors. They put coverings over all the windows. You can imagine their surprise when Jesus
appeared right in the middle of them. He
said, “Peace be with you.” He said, Receive the
Holy Spirit. If you forgive a person of
his sins, they are forgiven. If you
don’t forgive a person for his sins, they will not be forgiven.
A wonderful spirit of peace
fills your mind and body when you ask someone to forgive you, and they do. When
you hurt your friend’s feelings and you say to them, “Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” When they say, “Sure. I forgive you.” A big smile grows inside you and then it
shows up on your face.
When you do something wrong,
God wants you to admit it. He wants you
to take responsibility for your actions.
He wants you to ask him for forgiveness. He wants you to take steps not
to do the same thing again.
Reconciliation or confession is a very healing sacrament that gives you
forgiveness for your sins and gives you a chance to do penance for them.
Penance is when you do
something to make up for your wrongdoing.
For instance, if you and your brother had a fight, and you gave him a
black eye, your penance might be to bring him ice to put on it. It might be do sit and play a game with him
an hour each day for a whole week. Your
parents may also choose to send you to your room, make you wash dishes, or do a
chore as your punishment for hurting your brother. If you made fun of a person who didn’t wear
the latest style shoes but wore holy sneakers, then your penance might be to
earn money, and give it to the poor.
When God forgives you, it
gives you a chance to forgive yourself.
This makes it easier for you to improve your behavior because you have a
better outlook on yourself. Jesus died
on the cross so your sins could be forgiven and you could join him in
heaven. Forgiveness is divine. It is a
gift from God. Be sure when someone asks
you to forgive them, that you give them the same honor
and respect that God gives you. Search
your heart for forgiveness. Forgive
others, as Jesus forgives you. When you
find it difficult to forgive someone, say the Our Father. When it says, “forgive
us our trespasses.” It means forgive us
our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” It is good to forgive others as God has
forgiven us.
Say the “Our Father” and ask God to help you forgive those who have hurt you a little and those who have hurt you a lot. Forgiveness adds another star to the sky and another jewel to the crown God is preparing for you in heaven.
“Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed
be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy
will be done,
On
earth as it is in heaven.
Give
us this day, our daily bread.
And
forgive us our trespasses,
As
we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.”
Copyright ©2002, 2004 Joan Y. Edwards