FORGIVE... AS IF YOUR JOY, PURPOSE, AND FOREVER... DEPENDS ON IT

"Forgive them, Father, for they don't know what they're doing." They haven't been able to let go of their fears, prejudices, greed, and illusions. They have all strayed. They're all lost. They're all caught up in the moment. They are afraid of dying and afraid of living too, if that means trusting you. Forgive them for they know not what they do. "Hear their prayer and their supplications, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee." (2 Chron. 6) "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." "Bear with one another and forgive one another as the Lord has forgiven you." (1 Col. 3:13) "If you forgive others, God will forgive you..." (Matt. 16:14) "Get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, slander- forgive each other." (Eph. 4) "When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them." (Mark 11:25) As Stephen was being stoned to death, he cried out, "O God, do not hold this sin against them." (Acts 7) After Jacob deceived Esau and their father, he ran and hid and lived with the guilt for years. But when he met Esau again, after he had done business with the Living God at Peniel, the two of them hugged and wept. (Gen 33:4) After they had sold him into slavery, Joseph saw his brothers again when they came to him for food years later. By then, Joseph was a powerful official in Egypt. He had power, money, and everything he wanted, but the Bible says that when he met his brothers, he excused himself, went into an adjacent room, and sobbed so loudly that everyone in the palace heard him. (Gen. 45) Such is the power of letting go and the grace of reconciliation. The story of the Loving Father, the one we call the Prodigal Son, is another story of healing and forgiving, which is the only action that will open the door to a new beginning. Forgiving others lies at the heart of any Christian's journey! For those who ponder WWJD, forgiving others is the most Christ-like thing that we can do because it sets people free and allows them to breathe fresh air again, ourselves included. "The weak can never forgive," Ghandi noted, because it takes strength to forgive. "He who doesn't have the power to forgive, doesn't have the power to love." (Martin Luther King) "To be a Christian is to forgive the inexcusable," C.S. Lewis noted, "because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." "Forgiveness is the final form of love." Reinhold Niebuhr said that, and the cross indicates that he is right. "Forgiveness is love's toughest work- it's love's power to break nature's rules." (Lewis Smedes) Yes, forgiveness will set us free to be and love ourselves; it will set us free to love our neighbors, our competitors, our enemies; and it will set us free from the never ending cycle of keeping score and getting even, keeping score again.... People say that we're only human, but Christ is able to make us fully human, so that we won't have to be ruled by everything that smiles and glitters, or hurts our feelings, as we go along. We all know the Pentecost story that is told so well in the 2nd chapter of the Acts of the apostles, but there is another passage that we could read on Pentecost, and it is found in John 20:19ff. "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Shalom alakem, he said. “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, Shalom alarm. “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Receive the Holy Spirit and then get out there and forgive someone. Forgive them of little sins that annoy you and forgive them of big sins that crush you. Forgive them if they have asked for forgiveness and if they haven't asked. Forgive them if they seem sorry about their words and actions, and forgive them if they don't. Forgive them if you think they will be grateful, and forgive them if you think they won't. Forgive, forgive, and forgive. Forgive as a way of life. 77 times, over and over again, until you begin to wonder about it yourself. Forgive for their sakes, because they are children of God, because they're frightened and fragile, just like you, because you have been commanded to. Forgive for your own sake, to set yourself free, and also, make sure to forgive yourself. Accept the truth that you are forgiven in Christ and let that truth set you free. Unless you forgive yourself, you will be forever imprisoned by the mask you choose to wear. Forgive, finally, for Christ's sake. Forgive because he has told you to, forgive, even more, because He has forgiven you! All people need forgiveness. We can't forgive them, and won't even want, to unless we forgive ourselves. Not forgiving others blocks our relationship with God. Forgiveness is a choice on our part. It is not a deal we make with someone who deserves it. Forgiveness is not something we offer from time to time, but a permanent inclination in our heart. Forgiving others is what Jesus did. Judging others is what he told us not to do. Forgiving others is the most Christian thing we can do, except for loving others, but we can't love if we don't forgive. I don't know the context in which he wrote these words, but I apply them to my Lord. Ralph Waldo Emerson said this: "His heart was as great as the world, but there was no room in it... to hold the memory of a wrong." Amen.