Hurt, Anger and Disappointment:
The landowner had prepared for a large crowd. When he sent his servants out to personally remind the guests to come, some of the servants were mistreated, beaten and even killed by his prospective guests! Quite naturally, the king was enraged.
What does this Sunday’s Gospel say to us? I doubt that we have had the experience this story speaks of. However, we all have been disappointed and upset at various times in our lives.
We may have been deeply hurt by someone or betrayed by another. Our natural human response is to be angry, hurt and disappointed – and rightly so. Hopefully, we haven’t decided to kill anyone because of that!
In these situations, we need to take time to calm down and deal with the hurt, anger and disappointment. We need to acknowledge and feel the emotions. If we repress them, most likely the emotions will come back with a vengeance. But we can’t stop there. We also need to honestly acknowledge what we are experiencing, but then with time to gradually ‘let those feelings go’ and forgive.
Most often this is the last thing that we want to do! It will take time, but it is an important step to take. If we nurse our anger and hurt, we are not hurting the individuals who disappointed us, we are hurting ourselves and those we love! If we are not able to forgive, we simply need to ask God to help us. May we have the grace to ask God to heal the anger and hurt – and to free us!
Sr Kristine Anne Harpenau OSB
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
Ask God for Grace