Forgive! And be forgiven

Ah was telling Lie-Za how Medical Science has come ah long way, and if ever ah tek sick wid any Excruciating Pain except (ULP) Labour Pain, get me to Venezuela like de Whirl Boss. Dey doing remarkable wuk down dey. Two weeks ago de PM of Sin-Vin-Sin cried out foh excruciating pain in ‘his right side’ or was it ‘de wrong side’. He had to be flown out to Venezuela immediately foh ah Hell’t Check. By de fourth day in hospital dey ‘put in ah thumb and pull out ah plumb’, ah plaster on his left wrist and “Maravillosa!” Marvelous, he was discharged wid “ah clean bail of Hell’t!”

But Lie-Za has her own twist to dat story. She says dat while in Venezuela he might ah bin gently reminded he owed an outstanding Depth to Venezuela, millions ah dollars under de PetroCaribe and ALBA Initiative. She believes dat El Presidente/Put-in ah cheque foh ah full Write Off of Sin-Vin-Sin Death to Venezuela; reducing de Nay-shuns death by 9% and according to de PM we/he now have ah “Clean Bill of Hell’t!”

I have been advised by Lie-Za, if ah planning to write bout Sin-Vin-Sin’s Death Forgiveness or Write-off by de Venezuelan Government, den ah must first read one of Jesus’ Parables dat addresses Public Debt and Forgiveness. In dis parable Jesus speaks ‘bout de king who decided to collect all outstanding monies his servants owed him. One guy dey call Wrolf, owed de King ah lot ah money dat would be equivalent to millions ah dollars today. But Bro Wrolf was ah politician, ah prodigious Squandermania; he spent all dat money and couldn’t pay back, so he begged foh mercy. Widout asking any questions, de kind and forgiving king forgave Wrolf of every cent ah dat Death. But de heartless Wrolf was downright evil and spiteful, he went hunting foh Mr Fox and demanded upfront every cent of ah “one hundred denari” loan he owed Wrolf. But ah ‘denari’ is worth 16 cents in today’s exchange. So de full death was equivalent to sixteen dollars in today’s currency. Even as small as dat debt was, Fox did not have it, so he went on his knees, held on to Wrolf’s hand “ begging foh mercy.” Same time Wrolf summoned de bailiff who carted Fox off to jail. .

“ Oh Boy,” Lie-Za said, “ Dat is ah familiar story.” She reminded me dat just de other day de Whirl Boss had taken ah number ah Me-dey-yah people including E.G. Lynch, Matthew Thomas, Junior Bacchus and Dug-he De Freitas to de High Court foh De-fame-ah-shun; how when de High Court brought dem guilty and charge dem thousands ah dollars, dey also went to de King sorry, Whirl Boss “Begging foh Mercy,” She was ah-darm-ant dat ah remember de bed-side Death Story of EG Lynch, de talk show host of de NDP New Times program who held on to Whirl Boss’ hand “ Begging foh Mercy,” when de Whirl Boss said: “Let go my hand, I am not ah woman.”

Ah had to cut short de story, before Lie-Za lef me “Begging foh Mercy” too when Whirl Boss carry me High Courts foh De-fame-ah-tree next. But as simple as it reads, dat parable of Jesus has ah powerful message way Jesus is telling His disciples, including Whirl Boss, and all ah we bout “de Law of Forgiveness, how to confront, discipline, and receive back offending brothers and sisters.” And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.