One of my favorite columnists, who sadly passed away a number of years ago, was Erma Bombeck. She wrote a daily column about the foibles of life, especially her own. In one memorable column she told the story of what happened to her in Church one Sunday. Perhaps you may remember reading it yourself. She wrote: “I was focused on a small child who was turning around and smiling at everyone. He wasn’t gurgling, spitting, humming kicking, tearing the hymnals, or rummaging through his mother’s handbag. He was just … smiling.
Finally, his mother jerked him about and in a stage whisper that could be heard in a little theater off Broadway said: ‘Stop that grinning. You’re in Church!’ With that, she gave him a glare, and, as the tears rolled down his cheek, the mother added, ‘That’s better,’ and returned to her prayers.” Erma Bombeck reflected: “We sing ‘Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!’ while our faces reflect the sadness of one who has just buried a rich aunt who left everything to her pregnant hamster.
Perhaps the mom had some “cardiosclerosis” --- a spiritual condition that the evangelist Mark uses to describe why Moses allowed a husband to write a bill of divorce: “Because of your hardness of your hearts he wrote this commandment,” Jesus says. Jesus might have been thinking of Psalm 94 where it says: “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, at the day of testing in the desert, when your fathers tested, examined, and saw my works.” God did not harden their hearts; but the people themselves hardened their hearts.
When we allow our hearts to harden as we get older --- or sometimes even when we are young, it becomes harder to forgive. I wonder how often that leads to ruptures in relationships that sometimes lead to divorce.
We have to start the messy business of daily forgiveness. Wives and husbands must start forgiving each other (and maybe many couples might avoid the problem Jesus speaks of in the Gospels.) Parents and children must start forgiving one another. Brothers and sisters, neighbors and co-workers, and leaders of nations --- we all have to start forgiving one another every day. We have to start doing it as a community. And we can’t do it as a community until we start doing it ourselves. May the Lord remove the hardness of our heart as we continue to continue to help one another to bear the blessings, burdens and crosses the Lord has given us.
God bless! Have a wonderful week!