Ever loving God,
Show us the way,
Show us your power to do
the unimaginable
bring us into the space
of Eternal love and
forgiveness
Good morning, it is a joy and
a privilege to be here with you, back in Monterey and in St. James, this is a
place I call home, and it is absolutely wonderful, to be back with you after so
long.
I would like to open up with
the alternative old test reading. This
reading comes out of Genesis, genesis 50: 15-21.
I would like to touch on some
questions today, what does it mean to forgive, where does that power come from,
and where can it take us?
So as some of you might know
I am just getting back from working in South Africa. More specifically A small town in eastern
part of the country called Grahamstown where I was working in a school at a
monastery. Grahamstown is really like
most small towns in the states, it reminds me a bit of Hollister and Gonzales
all wrapped up in one. Big farming
communities, small schools with lots of students, large school with small amounts students,
depending on what side of the economic spectrum you and your family fall
on.
South Africa really has the
same dichotomies as the US, Rich and poor, black and white, have and have not,
big city and small town. Right and
wrong, wait did I just say right and wrong.
Lets pause here for a moment and talk about this dichotomy of right and
wrong.
Throughout todays old test. readings
we hear a story about the Israelites, who were being delivered, by the hand of
God, out of Egypt, and away from Egyptians.
Now, I bet you if you asked the Egyptians, they woulda said they was
right, holding the Israelites captive in Egypt.
Check this out, now two things were happening
in the story, one the isrealites realized whose side, God was on. I don’t know about yall , but my god, is a
just God, and what does the bible tell us in romans chapter 8? If god is for
us, then who can be against us!? The Israelites believed this. They knew that their freedom was imminent,
and that God supported their cause so they raced, towards the red sea.
Now the second thing that was
happening, as everyone was racing towards the red sea. You member how we just said that if god is
for us than who can be against us? Well, the Egyptians realized this too, they
might have realized just a little too late.
By the time they caught on, they were standing on dry land, in the
middle of the red sea surrounded by water, uh oh.
But my point is how do we
move from being right to wrong, or from being wrong to being right? That is, Without winding up in the middle of
the red sea.
Well lets continue through our readings
today. As weve read, our alternative old
testament reading is out of genesis, and is about forgiveness. A space, where, we have no control over, a
space where, we just bring our baggage and our burdens and we hope to have them
healed.
The story out of genesis
talks about the aftermath of Jacobs death in Egypt, the origins of the whole
exodus story and Joseph, who was Jacobs son and joesphs brothers.
Joshephs brothers who were
told by their father, upon his death, to approach Josheph, and to beg
forgiveness for their past crimes against him.
Now Joeseph, he could have scoffed at his brothers and said uh you
member that one time when, but he didn’t do that. He said Even though you intended to do harm to
me, God, intended it for good.
So again I ask the question,
how do we move from being right to being wrong or from being wrong to being
right. And joseph teaches us, that
persecution, it doesn’t last. Even
though his brother intended to do him harm, God used it for good. God used it, to empower joseph, and to put
him in a position of power. From which
joseph, was then able to glorified god.
Joeseph, shows us how God
works, through the space of forgiveness.
Joeseph opened up a lot of space, for the holy spirit, to come in, and
to help people forgive, and to bring he and his brothers back under one accord,
which is really where we hope forgiveness leads us to, into the land of reconciliation.
But what did it take? It took humility. joespehs brothers came to
him begging for forgiveness, saying we come to you as your slaves, as people
who are not deserving of forgiveness. It
also took humility for josheph not to lash out, smack them upside the head when they weren’t looking, forget yall.
No he showed humility, and took them in and not only did he take his brothers
in, he said and I will provide for your children.
We all have a long way to go
to understand forgiveness. and when I
say long , I! mean! A! long! Way to go!
This upcoming year starting in October, I will
be back in South Africa, in Capetown, big city, working with the institute for
the healing of memories. This is an institute built around trying to understand
forgiveness and healing and reconciliation, which, is the processes we all go
through.
South Africa, like the Us, has a long history
of issues around race. Violence and persecution, hatred and just a lack of care
for our fellow humans. We have a long
way to go, world wide to get a handle on this forgiveness thing. How do we go about forgiving and healing and
reconciling when we all have painful memories.
How do we bring the story of Joseph and his brothers to life? Where do
we even begin?
I think we can start like joesphs
brothers did, they listened, to a person who was more wise than they, in their
case it was their father, in my case and I think in most of our cases, we find
that supreme wisdom comes from the women that govern our lives. My mother comes
to my mind.
But They listened, and payed
attention to the story that they had been writing with their actions, and they acknowledged
the fluidity, of what it means to be right and wrong. That they thought they were right, until they
were shown, to be doing wrong. And then
they didn’t hold onto their wrongness, they stepped, into the space of
forgiveness, and allowed the holy spirit to wash them clean, and to reconcile
their relationship with their brother.
The institute focuses on
story telling which works hand in glove with listening, working towards
forgiveness and reconciliation. All
peoples, at one time or another have had difficulties being heard, when youre not heard, youre not payed
attentioned to, you feel marginalized.
sharing stories on open ears, and if you,
like me, have ever experienced that sharing first hand. And that sacred space
for forgiveness flung wide open, then you, like me, know the restorative power
that the simple act of sharing and
listening has. And that is what I hope,
not only as a missionary, but as a person and a witness to Gods forgiveness, to
get in contact with. Its what Joseph and his brothers did. Shared and talked
with one another. And through that, they were healed.
Forgiveness, its the first,
second, and the third step to reconciliation. Reconciliation, bringing things back together
under one accord. Our gospel reading
today out of Mathew illustrates this repetition beautifully.
Peter comes to Jesus and asks
him, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I
forgive? I feel like Peter is saying, jesus, I know it’s the right thing for me
to do, to forgive, but hey, Ive got a limit.
Im only going to forgive 1,2,3…seven times, and that’s it. But Jesus goes mmm, Peter don’t put a limit
on your forgiveness, ha forgive seven times, forgive seventy seven times. Don’t stop forgiving, don’t stop forgiving,
take that forgivness we all have been given by the grace of god and pass it on
continually.
Jesus tells peter a story,
about a slave and his master. The slave couldn’t afford to pay the
master back. Something like 10 thousand
talents, Im not sure what the exchange rate between talents and dollars is, but
its way more than what he had. So the master forgave his servant of his debt
completely, I wish someone would forgive
my student loans like that, But what did the servent do? He took that forgivness, and He went and
searched out someone who owed him, 100 denari
and jesus said the servant went and grabbed him by the throat, straight
up put him in a choke hold trying to get his money back.
The master found out about
this, this shakedown and was like the nerve of this guy, I just forgave his entire
debt and then he goes and beats someone up trying his money back. So the master
took his servant and through him in jail where he was tortured until he could
pay off his debt.
And jesus says, so my
heavenly father will do to every one of you, if you don’t forgive your brother
and sister from your heart.
So we started our time here
together asking the questions what does it mean to forgive, where does that
power come from, and where can it take us.
We acknowledge the fluidity
of wrong and right. What once was wrong
may now be right, and what once was right may now be wrong. We know that this flux or this change happens
in the space of forgiveness. And we are
only able to forgive, because we all have been forgiven. And that forgiveness will take us into a
space of reconciliation.
If we make the sign of the
cross and think about reconciliation.
First we move up and down, reconciling ourselves with God and then we
move from side to side, reconciling ourselves with each other. First, reconcile with God, and then use that
spirit that God gives us, to reconcile with everyone else.
Amen
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