Paul Graves: Forgiveness can change our culture
This is the third in a series of letters to Paul Graves’ grandchildren about St. Francis’ Prayer of Peace.
Dear Katie, Claire and Andy:
Do you remember the wild soccer game our family had in your backyard last Easter? I especially remember that I accidentally hit both Katie and Andy in their heads with the soccer ball. I felt horrible about that, but was so thankful for your quick forgiveness as I hugged you tightly.
Today I want us to think about St. Francis’ Prayer of Peace when it invites us this way: “Where there is injury, (let us sow) pardon.”
The injury mentioned in this prayer may include physical injury, like the soccer ball clobbering your heads. But it also includes emotional injury, like what happens when kids (and adults) say mean things to each other. “Pardon” is how the prayer speaks of “forgiveness.” So when there is emotional or physical injury, forgiveness is the response God hopes we will offer the other person.
You certainly forgave me that day, because you love me and you know I love you. But it’s sometimes harder to offer forgiveness when you don’t love the person who injured you, and you are sure that person doesn’t love you either.
In those moments, the prayer’s invitation to forgive another person can be very hard. But forgiveness is always what God hopes will happen between people. There is so much we can say about how hard it is to forgive others who hurt us (or another person). I don’t have enough space in this letter to say much more about forgiveness.
But I do want you to remember that Jesus asked his friends to forgive people who hurt them. And he forgave those who betrayed him and killed him. More than once, he told his friends to “love your enemies.”
Katie, have you heard of a special program called Rachel’s Challenge in your middle school? I don’t know if it’s actually there, but I hope it is. Rachel’s Challenge is a nationwide program to “start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion” in schools. Actually, it is available in K-12 grades.
It was begun in honor of Rachel Joy Scott, the first student killed during the tragic mass shooting at Columbine High School in April 1999. On that horrible day, 12 students, a teacher and the two killers all died. The two students shot others in reaction to being bullied.
Scott was an outstanding teenager who found joy in reaching out to students who felt out of place at their school. I encourage you to check out the website, www.rachelschallenge.org.
It tells how her own compassion and kindness has inspired a growing movement to change school cultures. This is one wonderful example of how to sow seeds of forgiveness between people. In the video I watched on this website, one teenager tells of how the Rachel’s Challenge program affected his school. He speaks of a bully who was so touched that he actually went around to kids he had bullied before and apologized to them.
As helpful as this program might be in your schools, kids, you don’t need to wait for others to tell you it’s time to sow seeds of forgiveness. You are already very good at forgiving grandpas (and others). Continue planting those seeds yourselves … today.
Love, Grampa