In 1965 Jackie DeShannon sand “What the World Needs Now is Love.”
With the opening lyrics of:
“What the world needs now
Is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing
That there’s just too little of
What the world needs now
Is love, sweet love
No not just for some
But for everyone”
Jackie goes on to sing about the many things that exist in the world, many of which people find inspirational, that we have enough of while lacking the one thing truly needed – Love.
I both agree and disagree with Jackie. I agree we must show more love towards one another. I disagree that there is not enough. There is in fact enough, and it is not “just for some” it truly is “for everyone.” The key trouble is that we do not demonstrate and act in that love.
The greatest love I know of is that God “so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16) so that we did not have to remain trapped in sin. “God showed His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask for that love to be applied to us in the act of forgiveness.
“forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those
who sin against us”
In addition to the Lord’s Prayer, I frequently pray the “Jesus Prayer” (You can learn a lot about it in the wonderful anonymous work The Way of a Pilgrim), which is: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. I will pray the Jesus Prayer many times over and then the Lord’s Prayer. I repeat the process that over and over again. Repeatedly praying the Jesus Prayer makes me sensitive to my faults, failures – sins. In doing so, I can recognize my need for the love of God the Father and the grace and mercy His love forgivingly provides through His Son Jesus.
It also makes me more sensitive to the condition upon our forgiveness found in the Lord’s Prayer. Take a look back. See where we pray that God only forgive us our sins as much as we forgive those who sin against us?
That is right – you get to pick how much forgiveness you get. Do not want to forgive. That is your choice – God will withhold forgiveness from you.
You want to be forgiven by God – you better forgive those who have wronged you.
You do not think that is what it really means? Will you take Jesus’ word for it?
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14–15).
As we look at the turmoil the country is in – nobody wants to forgive. Admittedly, some have more sins against them that need to be forgiven (and that makes it a hard thing to do – a true “bitter pill”) than others. But nobody is without blame and fault. The unabated anger that, left unrelieved turns to hatred, fosters the mood of the violent protests is not “righteous indignation.” It is turning a blind eye to one’s own sins so that your only focus is on the sins of the other and claiming the moral high ground in the process.
It is up to all of us.
What the world needs now
Is love forgiveness, sweet love forgiveness
It’s the only thing
That there’s just too little of
What the world needs now
Is love forgiveness, sweet love forgiveness
No not just for some
But for everyone
Buen Camino,
Fr Steve