March 22 2015 Give It Up - FORGIVE

March 22 2015 “Give It Up – Forgive” Jeremiah 31.31-34 Jacqueline Hines

Kyle, a college student, pale and bald from chemo treatments, was rolling his mother in her wheel chair in a movie theater. When they reached the wheel chair row, [slide #1 wheel chair] he grabbed the rail and struggled to pull himself up one step to the seat. There was a lady sprawled in the aisle seat in front of him. Kyle said, “Excuse me, would you mind moving down one?   

She hiked her feet up on the railing and barely gave him a glance. “This is my seat,” she said.

“My mom’s in a wheelchair. And my brother and grandma are coming. I’d like to sit behind them, but I can’t climb over you.”

“Not moving,” she said, turning her back, without even offering to step into the aisle so he could get to the empty seat beside her. “No.” She crossed her arms and looked him right in the face.

Resisting the temptation to act like the demon possessed star in the movie The Exorcist, the family did wonder if they had ever been so cruel as this woman was to them.

*They had been taught to “be kind all the time, no matter what. Turn your empathy on high. Look around for others who are hurting and go out of your way to make a small difference in their day. We have no idea what someone else is dealing with, they thought. And we have to encourage each other and stick together.” They were careful never to share words that had an R-rating. This family has mastered the art of forgiveness.

Yale Professor and Croatian theologian Miroslav Volf [slide # 2 photo of Miroslav Volf] in his book Free of Charge – giving and forgiving in a culture stripped of Grace, says that there are three types of persons in this world: takers, getters, and givers. The takers take what they want illicitly and immorally. The getters are out to get all they are supposed to get, fairly, morally. The givers identify and condemn injustice and demand what is due them, but they don’t let what is owed them stop them from giving.

More than anything, God is a giver, says Volf. Everything we have comes from God. If we believe that - we are demonstrating our faith, and if we have faith, we will be grateful, and if we are grateful we will make ourselves available to be a blessing, and if we make ourselves available, we will participate with God’s people - the Church, and if we participate, we will give freely as God gives - including giving forgiveness.

We forgive because we are in a delightful covenant that God described to the prophet Jeremiah: [slide #3 Jeremiah]

33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the LORD’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. [ slide # 4 for I will forgive…]

We can forgive because forgiveness is one of the gifts [ slide #5 gift ] we have received from God. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. [slide #6 all have sinned] We have forgiveness and we are to give it to others as freely as God gives it to us. God does not just give; God gives liberally.  [ slide #7 showers of blessings]

Being extremely poor and severely afflicted has no ultimate power to keep us from being givers like God; being wealthy does not make us great givers. Being in God’s presence [slide #8 man in sunshine ] transforms us and frees us to give like God gives. [slide # 9 children giving]

God’s good gifts can be threatened with ruin when we are exposed to a lot of spiritual pollution. For example, there are video games [ slide # 10 video store] that encourage players to be vengeful, ruthless, shoot or kill anyone, steal anything, enjoy anything and anybody anyway you want, whenever you want. These actions cause a lot of damage and hurt feelings, but forgiving generously is not a part of the world’s game plan. [ slide # 11 map]

God moves by a whole different set of rules. One of the biggest rules is to forgive. [ slide # 12 forgiveness ] By asking us to forgive, God is not asking us to pretend that an injustice has not been done to us. In fact, we need to identify and name any evil. When God asks us to forgive, God reminds us that we must condemn sin, but God is the avenger, and we are not.  

The innumerable inhumane acts referenced in world history and today’s news are unspeakably horrible… [slide # 13 tear ] Forgiving can be excruciatingly painful and difficult. Deep wounds require deep healing. [ slide # 14 God heals] But, forgiving heals the body of Christ because it purges us of the resentment and bitterness that poison our lives and threaten to turn our church into a country club and make our ministry irrelevant. Forgiveness helps to mend broken relationships. Who wants to be broken when we can be healed? [ slide # 15 forgiveness heals]

Forgiving is not forgetting. The pain and memory of our injuries may last for more than one generation, [slide #16 generation] even though the resentment and bitterness are long gone. [slide # 17 when you forgive…]

The quality of our church reflects the quality of our relationships. [slide # 18 healthy relationships] Healthy relationships make for a healthy church. Who does not want a healthy church? Let today be the day we take the next step toward God’s presence that helps us forgive. [slide # 19 green bud] 

After all, God forgives all our slime and grime. What a gift! Let’s share it! [slide # 20 if you really… ]  Amen.

*Lori Freeland.  lafreeland.com.