SUNDAY OF FORGIVENESS The Very Rev. Steven J. Belonick 2016

Transcription

1 SUNDAY OF FORGIVENESS The Very Rev. Steven J. Belonick 2016 I. In the Old Testament, God spoke these words to the people of Israel: Today I set before you a path to life and a path to death - choose life. God s words are as significant to us today as they were to the people of Israel long ago. In small ways and in great ways, and on a daily basis, we are always given a choice between the two paths. II. Today is Forgiveness Sunday in the Church. This Sunday ushers us into the season of Great Lent. After the Liturgy today we will celebrate the Vespers of Forgiveness and the Rite of Forgiveness. During Vespers the altar cloths will be changed to purple, and during the Rite of forgiveness, we will ask forgiveness of each other. Forgiveness or its opposite - our unwillingness to forgive - is one of those choices we have to make between the path that leads to life and the path that leads to 1

2 death. How so? In today s Gospel Jesus said: If you forgive men their trespasses, then your heavenly Father will forgive you, but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will the heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses. Without God s forgiveness, we are lost and dead in our sins. It is clearly the path to death. III. Let me share with you some examples of paths that lead in different directions. You may remember last June when a deranged gunman had shot nine people to death during a Bible study at Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina. After the murders, the family members of the victims slowly began to come forward to speak to the Press. In the grief of that moment, they had to make a choice to forgive or not to forgive. To a person, they chose to forgive the gunman and prayed for him. It was quite a remarkable thing. I wondered if I could follow their example. Now, spring ahead to last week in New York City when family members 2

3 of those killed by a gunman were given the opportunity in court to address him before his sentencing. They too were placed in that horrific position to choose which path to take. Sadly, unlike the family members in South Carolina, they addressed the assailant with these words: We hope you rot in hell for the rest of your life. We are not here to judge. Who knows how we would have reacted given the same circumstances. But when I heard their words it was clear that they had become imprisoned just like the convicted killer. He was locked up behind iron bars; they were imprisoned by their anger and rage. It made me wonder - which prison is worse? IV. Forgiveness is never easy. It is so hard because it is counterintuitive to what makes sense. It goes against every fiber in our being. Certainly, there is no magic bullet. To forgive another requires great courage and humility. It requires God s grace. But when forgiveness IS given, 3

4 my friends, the result is that it always leads to freedom in the heart from rage and bitterness and that is what God desires for us that is why God provides the escape for us. Thanks to God that we may never face such a fork in the road, but if we did, how would it be possible for us to choose the path that leads to life and to forgive the enemy? If Jesus expects us to live this way, how does He expect us to achieve it? V. Jesus taught us Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. Herein lies His answer to us. Notice that He says nothing in these words about our emotions or hurt feelings. He doesn t speak about being a victim, or licking our wounds, or pitying ourselves. Instead, everything He says speaks of the need for ACTION. He uses words like do good to the enemy, bless the enemy, pray for the enemy, offering, and giving. In a very real way, 4

5 JESUS IS PROVIDING US WITH A PRESCRIPTION FOR OVERCOMING OUR ANGER INSTEAD OF BEING IMPRISONED BY IT. And His prescription is that anger and bitterness are overcome by a positive action. To forgive the enemy (and here enemy refers to anyone who is the source of temptation or trial, and anyone who hurts us) to forgive the enemy does not mean to be passive or neutral or nonaggressive. When we try that route, we ONLY allow the anger to swell and ruminate in our hearts. Jesus provides another way. He says that forgiveness starts by extending oneself, even though it may be the hardest thing to do. We may have to begin small. It is OK to begin small by simply praying for the good of our enemy and for their salvation. With some time, we may be able to build on those prayers with small acts of charity and kindness. With the seed planted, the Holy Spirit begins to heal the negativity and to replace it a different spirit. The result is 5

6 that we are beneficiary of this action. We become free of our pent up anger. Wholeness becomes possible. Our positive actions may not change the behavior of the enemy, and we should not even expect it to. In fact, it is not the point. The point is to change our heart. Our enemy may continue to hurt us, but we will not be imprisoned by THEIR SINS. This is Christ s response. VI. If we follow the adage: an eye for an eye or a bad word deserves another bad word, we will never be free from our rage. As long as we exchange one evil for another we will have chosen the path that leads to death. Jesus asks us to trust Him in this. VII. There is a wonderful conversation between an 20 th century saint, St Silouan of Mt Athos, and a hard-hearted monk. The monk showed his great satisfaction at the prospect of non-believers burning in hell. He delighted in seeing it happen. St Silouan was saddened and 6

7 responded: Tell me, brother, supposing you went to paradise and there looked down and saw somebody burning in hell would you feel happy? The monk said: It can t be helped. It would be there own fault. The saint answered with sadness: True love could not bear to see that. We must pray for all. VIII. May we remember how God has forgiven us; and may we have confidence Jesus remedy to loving the enemy. May these two remembrances convict our hearts and help us to follow the path that leads to life. And God said: I set before you a path to life and a path to death - choose life. Amen. 7