Bethelunitedchurch.files.wordpress.com



“ …. As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us … “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.Thy Kingdom come,Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread;And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.And lead us …… not …. into …. tempt … Huh?Forgive those who trespass against us? Really? Always?Well, my friends, if you remember last week, I talked about living in the light and living your life as Jesus would want you to live.And, yes, that is showing forgiveness!Sure it is easy to ask God to forgive me for anything I have done wrong: “God, forgive me trespasses and what I have done. I know it was wrong. I thank you for forgiving me.” Yeah, I feel better.But, for us to forgive someone for what they may have said or done to hurt me? Well, that may not be so easy.‘A driver placed a note under the windshield wiper of his illegally parked car which read:"I have circled the block for 20 minutes.I'm late for an appointment, and if I don't park here I'll lose my job. 'Forgive us our trespasses’."When he came back he found a parking ticket and a note from a policeman:"I've circled the block for 20 years, and if I do not give you a ticket, I will lose my job. 'Lead us not into temptation’."So, after hearing last week about living in the light, comes the difficult question of how do we forgive? I would believe that we all understand the general concept of forgiveness, but most of us are not especially up to date on the specifics.So, today, I would like to spend a few moments to address the question:How Do I Forgive?Well, first of all, my friends, you must be ‘Truthful’:You must acknowledge that you have been hurt.It is said that the starting point for pursuing forgiveness is to admit that you have in fact been hurt.We often like to pretend as if what he or she said or did, did not really bother us.But until we are willing to admit that we were hurt by whomever, we are not in a place where we can begin to pursue forgiveness.There are many events or incidents in life that are not candidates for forgiveness: like minor disappointments.Situations that require forgiveness are ones where the pain inflicted is personal, unfair, and deep.Things like betrayal or abuse, be it physical or emotional. These would definitely rise to this level.My friends, at this point, as we hurt, we are likely to find some hatred buried deep in our heart.Hatred, of course, is never a good thing, we must be careful that we do not try to get rid of it by covering the hatred up.When we find hate in our heart, it is simply a sign that we are going to need to forgive.The next step is to ‘Surrender’ your right to get even. ‘A mother ran into the bedroom when she heard her seven-year-old son scream.She found his two-year-old sister pulling his hair.She gently released the little girl's grip and said to the boy:"There, there. She didn't mean it. She doesn't know that hurts."He nodded his acknowledgement, and the mother left the room.As she started down the hall she heard the little girl intensely scream.Rushing back in, she asked, "What happened?"The little boy replied, "She knows now.”’Few would dispute the right to get even.The rule of the world is this:” To do unto others as they have done unto you."But, When we choose to forgive, we choose to lay aside our right to take revenge.In the moment, when we yield and lay aside revenge, we accomplish two things:We are leaving ultimate justice and vengeance to God.We are deliberately choosing for ourselves the path of forgiveness.Acknowledging that we have been hurt gets us in the right place.It gets us to the beginningBut surrendering our right to get even is the first major step down that true path, that true path of forgiveness.Some may argue that choosing such a path is inevitably going to make us a little weak and are going to end up a ‘doormat’.I am sure that the Scriptures teach us that there is a power, a spiritual power, that is unleashed in forgiveness, which cannot come from any other source, other than God.So, what does this power look like?Consider the following story:‘Albert Tomei was a justice of the New York State Supreme Court.A young defendant was convicted in Judge Tomei's court of gunning down another person execution style.The murderer had a long record, was no stranger to the system, and only stared in anger as the jury returned its guilty verdict.The victim's family had attended each day of the two-week trial.On the day of sentencing, the victim's mother and grandmother addressed the court.When they spoke, neither addressed the jury.Both spoke directly to the murderer.These were their words to him:"You broke the Golden Rule: loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind.You broke the law loving your neighbour as yourself.I am your neighbour," the older of the two women told him, " and she gave him her address.If you want to write, I'll write you back.I sat in this trial for two weeks, and for the last sixteen months I tried to hate you.But you know what? I could not hate you.I feel sorry for you because you made wrong choices.”Judge Tomei writes: "For the first time since the trial began, the defendant's eyes lost their laser force and appeared to surrender to a life force that only a mother can generate: nurturing, unconditional love.After the grandmother finished, I looked at the defendant. His head was hanging low. There was no more swagger, no more stare.The destructive and evil forces within him collapsed helplessly before this remarkable display of humaneness.”’My friends, in choosing the path of forgiveness, those women unleashed a power that could not be tapped in any other way.Next, we should search for the real person hiding behind the evil mask.When we have been wronged, we like tend to I suppose we could say ‘caricature’ our wrongdoer.We emphasize all the bad things about them, we twist anything that looks remotely good, we are quick to be judgmental about their every motive.The process of forgiveness requires that we begin to look for the person, the person behind the ‘caricature’ that we have created in our own minds.Then, and only then, will we begin to see that they have not only hurt, but most likely, they too have been hurt.We begin to find reasons for our hearts to turn toward mercy. This does not mean that we excuse their wrong; for we are forgiving, not excusing.It does mean that we will begin to try and treat them, as another participant in this whole messy thing called life.And, just what is our motivation for doing this?As our Gospel reading points out, we are doing for them what God has done for us.God could have simply seen our sin and said:”I've seen enough, that's all I need to know."Yet God looked beyond our sin and saw something. He saw something worth loving.And that is what we have been called to do:Admit that you have been hurt.Surrender your right to get even.Search for the person beneath the evil mask.Finally, we need to desire that good things will happen to your ‘trespasser’.Now, I know that sounds impossible when you first hear it, but just listen for a moment.In the process of forgiveness, we move from dreaming of bad things happening to them, turning our dreams to hoping and praying for good things to happen in their life.And with thinking of this, a question might come up:Does forgiving mean there is no punishment?Well, my friends, the answer to that is: “No”.Forgiving does not necessarily mean there should not be punishment.The key here is your motive.Your motive has changed. Changed from wanting something bad to happen to praying for something good to happen.Here is a story to help understand this example:‘When Chris Carrier was ten, (Miami Florida, 1974), he was abducted, stabbed, shot through the head, then left for dead.Surprisingly, he survived, but the emotional and physical scars were very difficult to heal.Eventually, though, his commitment to Christ helped him to move on with his life.The perpetrator was not found.Over twenty years later, Chris received a phone call from a detective from the police department.The detective said that an elderly man in a local nursing home had confessed to being his abductor.The man's name was David McCallister.Chris, accompanied with a friend, visited McCallister the following day.These were his words: "It was an awkward moment, walking into his room, but as soon as I saw him I was overwhelmed with compassion.The man I found was not an intimidating kidnapper, but a frail seventy seven-year-old man who had been blind for the last half-dozen years.The man's body was ruined by alcoholism and smoking, he weighed little more than sixty pounds.He either had no family, or if he did, they wanted nothing to do with him.A friend who had accompanied me wisely asked him a few simple questions that led to him admitting that he had abducted me.He then asked the old man:“Did you ever wish you could tell that young boy that you were sorry for what you did?”He answered emphatically: “I wish I could.”That was when I introduced myself to him.Unable to see, the old man clasped my hand and told me he was sorry for what he had done to me.As he did, I looked down at him, and it came over me like a wave: Why should anyone have to face death without family, friends,without hope?I could not as a follower of Christ do anything but offer him my forgiveness and my friendship."In the days that followed, Chris was able to share the love of Christ with David McCallister’My friends, what is your motivation for doing such a difficult thing, such a gracious thing?My friends, as our scriptures state, we are doing for them what God has done for us.My friends, Forgiveness is not a suggestion, it is a clear command.It is a clear command to those who call themselves a follower of Christ.A heart of forgiveness is a part of our transformation into the image of Christ.At the end of the day for the obedient Christian, it is not simply the wisest choice.But, my friends, it is our only choice.Thanks be to God! Amen!

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download