Father Henri J. M. Nouwen’s Daily Meditation – Monday, December
30, 2013 - “Letting Go of Old Hurts”
One of the hardest things in life is to let go of old
hurts. We often say, or at least
think: "What you did to me and my
family, my ancestors, or my friends I cannot forget or forgive. ... One day you
will have to pay for it." Sometimes
our memories are decades, even centuries, old and keep asking for revenge.
Holding people's faults against them often creates an
impenetrable wall. But listen to
Paul: "For anyone who is in Christ,
there is a new creation: the old order
is gone and a new being is there to see.
It is all God's work" (2 Corinthians 5:17-18). Indeed, we cannot let go of old hurts, but
God can. Paul says: "God was in Christ reconciling the world
to himself, not holding anyone's fault against them" (2 Corinthians
5:19). It is God's work, but we are
God's ministers, because the God who reconciled the world to God entrusted to
us "the message of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). This message calls us to let go of old hurts
in the Name of God. It is the message
our world most needs to hear.
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