forgive.

Can you think of someone you once cared about, maybe even loved, with whom you are no longer speaking because of something said or done, or because of some failure on someone’s part? Is it a family member?  An ex-spouse? A friend?  An acquaintance?  Sometime we have to move on, beyond guilt or resentment.  Relationships end and sometimes badly. If any of you have experienced the sadness of broken relationships or the pain of conflict within a group of people, then you understand the seriousness of the passage from Matthew 18.  Division, conflict, and disagreement seems to be the name of the game in our political system.  A new tv series airs this fall called “revenge” and one of the commercials has a character, who has been wronged, declare that they are not out to forgive.  We contrast attitudes of vengeance that often show up in talk about “so and so getting what’s coming to them; a “they’ll get there’s” kind of response to mistreatment; with the attitude described in Don Kraybill’s book about the victims of the Nickel Mines shooting.  There was national attention drawn to the behavior of the Amish community’s response to the crime.  Forgiveness was part of the healing and grieving process.  They were, it seemed, legally bound to forgive because of their allegiance to Christ. But they were treated as superhumans because of their capacity to forgive.  Is that who we are now? Incapable of reconciliation with those who do us wrong?  Are we back to an eye for an eye pod world? Only the radically religious Amish are able to muster the power to forgive?     

   

Over and over in the gospels, we hear Jesus talk about forgiveness of sins as a sort of primary characteristic of his church; because it is essential to his own character and therefore, essential to the character of God.  God is love and love forgives sin. There are certainly parts of the biblical story where God speaks about condemning sin, judging sin, hating sin, cursing sin, punishing sinners. You can find passages like that, in the Torah law and in the prophets.  The wicked will be punished; you might wonder is that God talking or angry, oppressed, victimized people expressing their hope in revenge? You can also find plenty of scriptures that reveal a God whose nature is to show mercy and forgiveness, to make peace and show patience with people.  So which is it?  Christians say that Jesus embodies the nature of God in the flesh.  To know Jesus is to know the mind and heart of God.  Now Jesus is not always straight forward and he is occasionally harsh, even angry toward certain attitudes and behaviors.  But he does not condemn sinners.  

Let’s be clear about this:  In the 1^st century, non-Jews were sinners. Sinners live outside God’s law. Jews who did not obey Torah were sinners.  Jews who conspired with Rome-tax collectors-were sinners.  Women were sinners. People with chronic illnesses--sinners.  Beggars---sinners.  The crucified were accursed of God, sinners. 614 Torah laws, rabbinic interpretation or Talmud on the law.  The law, the commandments of God give life to the righteous, but death to the sinner.  The righteous lived in obedience to torah, observed Sabbath, kept kosher, made sacrifices, etc…sinners did not.  I suspect there are always more sinners than saints out there. 

When we think of sinners, we think in terms of social morality. That was only a small part sinfulness. Vocation, disease, poverty---your circumstances could condemn you to a life outside the circle of God’s promises; by birth or by choice. Matthew was a tax collector.  He was, therefore, a sinner outside of God’s blessings.  Have you ever felt like you were not worthy of God’s acceptance?  Have you ever been rejected by others, made to feel like an outcast? Not good enough? Many have felt judged and condemned by church, rather than loved and accepted.  Church conflict is not an oxymoron.  There is conflict in every human community.  How we live with the conflict determines what kind of community we shall be.           

You know we are working on a project here that is not so easy.  It is an attitude or orientation toward others that we are teaching, learning, and practicing.  This attitude is one of acceptance, of forgiveness, of grace.  It is not easy because we are human and we say and do things that displease God and hurt others, or we fail to say and do things pleasing to God and helpful to others.  Either way, we commit sin. Daily. Our expectations, our demands on one another create opportunity for sin, too.  We are hurt when someone does not meet our expectations or when a verbal commitment is broken. How do we invite sin to hold us captive?  When we are hurt, we tell others how that person hurt us, forming allies and walls of defense.  We stop talking to the offender.  We walk away.  We ignore or avoid them.  Social media has not helped much.  Now we can have superficial relationships and, with the touch of a button, break ties.  My own brother defriended me from facebook last year. Really? Anonymity is the way of the megachurch.  It is far less messy when relations are superficial. Far from living together, we American Christians maintain our private isolated lives.Is this what God intends for human community? Thing is that Jesus knew he was dealing with a big problem.  Unacknowledged sin, unrepentant sinners, and angry victims clash daily; in courts, in streets, in gun battles and war zones, in homes.  10 years since 9/11:  have the years since been marked by vengeance and retribution (mislabeled justice) or forgiveness, reconciliation, healing?   

So this is where the rubber hits the road, this is what characterizes church---are we able to accept and forgive, are we able to disagree and stay together, are we able to wrestle and remain united?  Church quarrels and divisions do more harm than we possibly realize. The stakes are high. People are watching us. Loving kindness goes a long way.  Fighting that ends with healing and reconciliation teaches others that peace is possible between those who disagree, between victim and offender. 

So what kind of community do we want from our congregation -- largely social, somewhat superficial (which is, of course, safe)? Do we want something more meaningful or intimate (which is riskier and harder)? Do we want a place that can both encourage us and hold us accountable? Are we looking for a place we can be honest about our hopes and fears, dreams and anxieties? Do we want somewhere we can just blend in or are we looking for a place we can really make a difference?

Zion is a small mission church, practicing faithfulness daily as the body of Christ in the world.  We gather weekly for worship and the passing of the peace, in many ways, exemplifies that gathering time.  All are welcomed, embraced, acknowledged, and received as a blessing from God.  We are open to the public and we offer hospitable service. We offer the forgiveness of sins, welcoming any and all to the table of grace. That church can change the world.  In the name of Jesus, let us be that church. Amen.