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The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19) September 11,
2005
Ecclesiasticus 27:30-28:7, Romans 14:5-12, Matthew 18:21-35
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, West Valley City, UT
The Rev. W. Lee Shaw
“Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done.” (Ecclesiasticus) “Why do you despise your brother or sister?” (Romans) “...how often should I forgive? ...seventy-seven times.” (Matthew) I read the passages from today and then I looked at the calendar: 9/11. I find myself with a very heavy and conflicted heart.
A chaplain from St. Paul's Chapel in NYC who worked throughout the days following 9/11 noted that the attacks came from religious fanaticism and so religion must be involved in healing and reconciliation. Reconciliation and forgiveness, however, cannot be forced or pretended. It must be from the heart and soul. Forgiveness is an act of grace that must be practiced and learned to be part of our daily lives. I do not want to preach to you that today you must forgive the acts of 9/11 or of Madrid, or of London or anywhere else terrorists have taken innocent lives. I want to share with you a practice of forgiveness that begins small and then can bloom into something greater in the future. Forgiving another is between you and God and it comes out of our baptism.
Christians are called to forgive. This is perhaps the most difficult task of a practicing Christian. “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” That is our prayer given to us by Jesus. Forgiveness is primary to our self-understanding as Christians.
Dag Hammarskjold, one of my personal saints, wrote: “Forgiveness breaks the chain of causality because he who ‘forgives’ you - out of love - takes upon himself the consequences of what you have done. Forgiveness, therefore, always entails a sacrifice. The price you must pay for your own liberation through another's sacrifice is that you in turn must be willing to liberate in the same way, irrespective of the consequences to yourself.”
Forgiveness is hard and messy and costly. It requires sacrifice. Hammarskjold notes why it is so important: “Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is again made clean. The dream explains why we need to be forgiven, and why we must forgive. In the presence of God, nothing stands between Him and us - we are forgiven. But we cannot feel His presence if anything is allowed to stand between ourselves and others.” In order to feel the presence of God in our lives, we are called, we are commanded, to forgive even as we are forgiven.
The Greek word we translate as “forgive” means basically “to let go.” We let go of those things that get in the way of our relationship with another person and with ourselves. Forgiveness is about the forgiver and about his or her growth in God. It is when you forgive that you can again feel God's presence in your life.
Bill Countryman outlines four rather basic steps in forgiveness.
This can begin very simply. Years ago I was devastated by someone who I cared for deeply and who had hurt me severely. I could not forgive this person. I was totally blocked emotionally and spiritually. I went to my priest in confession for this lack of forgiveness in my life. He assured me of God's love and forgiveness of me as well as for the person who had hurt me and he granted me absolution. He also gave me a spiritual discipline as part of my absolution. Each day I was to hold my hands in front of me, visualize this person and to name them in prayer. Then lift my hands and offer them to God.
I found that at the end of several days I had indeed forgiven this person and was able to move on with my life and continue to grow in God. By forgiving I was finally free to move on with my own life.
Since we try to teach our young people how to live into their faith, I have asked our young people to help teach you a way of starting the practice of forgiveness.