He Today, And I Tomorrow
A holy man who had seen someone in the act of committing a sin wept bitterly and said, “He today, and I tomorrow. In truth, even if someone commits sin in your presence, do not judge him, but consider yourself a worse sinner than he.” -from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Last night I recalled this story from the Desert Fathers that challenges me to remember I am not to judge others and thought that this might be a good topic for today’s post. Little did I know at the time that one of today’s feast days is in honor of St. Moses the Ethiopian. Moses, in his early life, was the leader of a band of robbers and from what I have discovered a pretty mean and ruthless one. He later underwent a conversion experience and became a monk who was devoted to prayer, fasting and ascetic practice. He was ordained a priest in his old age and founded a monastery in the desert of Egypt. When his own monastery was attacked by a party of raiders, he sent the monks out into hiding. Some tried to urge him to hide as well, but he replied by quoting Jesus who once said, “Those who live by the sword, will die by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52)
One of the things most striking about St. Moses is how his own gift of being forgiven by God led him to forgive others. One famous story illustrates this well.
Once the Fathers in the skete asked Moses to come to an assembly to judge the fault of a certain brother, but he refused. When they insisted, he took a basket which had a hole in it, filled it with sand, and carried it on his shoulders. When the Fathers saw him coming they asked him what the basket might mean. He answered, “My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, so how can you ask me to come this day to judge failings which are not mine?”
Fr. Richard Armstrong spoke well about the need for Christians to practice forgiveness today in his homily. He, like St. Moses, reminded us that true peace only comes from forgiveness and that failing to forgive leads to anger and hatred. Anger and hatred, though usually directed outward only leads to the hardening our hearts and causing the harm not only of others, but primarily ourselves. Often we overlook the fact that a lack of forgiveness is a lose-lose scenario. The person who has harmed us has his sins held bound and we ourselves are poisoned by anger. Forgiveness on the other hand is a win-win. With forgiveness, another who is a sinner in the same way we are sinners is set free from sin while we are freed from bitterness.
Have you experienced situations where it was difficult to forgive someone? What has helped you in learning to forgive?
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