Are we more apt to rebuke an offender than we are to forgive him? Are we more concerned with mistakes than with the love that dissolves them?
The gentle force of Christian forgiveness underlies the teachings of Jesus, epitomized in these words of the Sermon on the Mount: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." Matt. 5:38, 39
Here is no ordinary forgiveness. The moral capacity to forgive in this way goes far beyond the human ability simply to ignore an offense—beyond the ability to erase resentment caused by it. The art of forgiving scientifically tells us it is not enough to hold our peace after one cheek has been struck. Turning the other cheek indicates, first, our rejection of reprisal; second, a negating of error— cleansing thought of the temptation to believe that hatred is real; and third, our faith in the offender's ability to grow. The rejection, negation, and faith are based on the understanding of man's unassailable unity with divine Love, God.
