Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Forgiveness

Forgive us our sins, as we also have forgiven those who sin against us - Matthew 6:12


This verse should be quite familiar.  For most of us this line spoken every Sunday or other Eucharistic services as part of the Lord's Prayer.  This verse is in the midst of the prayer that Jesus teaches to the disciples.  One of them asked Jesus how should they pray, and this was his response.  The passage was read this morning at our Tuesday Eucharist service.  At first I did not give it much thought but then the preacher approached the lectern and proceeded to give her understanding of this passage.  I was surprised that she focused on this verse and how it is applicable in our lives.

She spoke of the shooting that occurred a few years back in Nickel Mines, PA.  It was the tragic story of an Amish community that was forced to live through its own worst nightmare.  A man walked into a one-room schoolhouse and proceeded to open fire, killing five of the ten girls he held hostage before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life.  It is any parent's worst nightmare.  The safety, sanctity, and trust in sending kids to school was shattered.  Instead of just preaching on the nightmare the preacher focused on the response.  Forgiveness.

Most of America did not understand the community's response to not only the shooter but the shooter's family.  For most of us forgiving the perpetrator of such a crime is unfathomable, especially a crime of this nature.  If we look at the central tenets of the Amish faith, and Anabaptists in general from which the Amish are a part, we will see that they take this line of scripture very seriously.  To them it is simple, if you do no forgive those who sin against you then your sins will not be forgiven by God.  It is straightforward and there is no way around it for them.  Their faith dictated that they forgive and this community genuinely forgave the shooter.  They reached out to the family of the shooter and offered forgiveness.  This selfless act, imparted upon those and by those hurt by such monstrous actions, was given freely, in faith, and the hatred and pain was let go and offered up to God.

The preacher noted that what often gets in the way of our own ability to forgive those who have hurt us is our own guilt, our own feeling of responsibility in the actions against us.  For those who lost someone in the attacks 9/11 they struggled with their own guilt of allowing their spouse to go to work that day or any other number of what ifs that would have allowed their loved one to not be in those towers.  Studies have shown that once the family members deal with their own guilt they can then move towards forgiveness of the perpetrators of the crime.  I think the preacher is right in that it is harder to forgive myself than it is to forgive others.

Not everyone will experience a tragedy to the same level as the Amish community in Nickel Mines, or Newtown, CT, or even those involved in 9/11.  However, we all experience some sort of pain that is inflicted upon us by others.  My challenge to you is to reflect upon the hurt that you are holding on to, let go of it, offer it up to God.  Relieve yourself of the burden that is only weighing you down.  Then you will find yourself in a place where forgiveness can happen, reconciliation can happen, healing can happen.  You will never forget, and I am not saying that you should, but there is freedom in letting go.  What are you holding on to?

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