Rev. Molly F. James, PhD
Chapel of our Lord, Episcopal Church Center
Ascension Day, May 30, 2019
Acts 1:1-11; Luke 24:44-53; Psalm 47
“Thus it is written . . . that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
Repentance and forgiveness of sins. Wait. Isn’t it still Easter? Why does it feel like we're going back to Lent. Why is this one of the last things Jesus tells his followers? Because it matters. Repentance matters. Forgiveness matters. They both matter a lot to our own faith journeys and to our lives as a community. If we are not practicing repentance and forgiveness then we are not following Jesus, and we are not building authentic community.
I believe our Gospel today offers us an invitation to check in on our own spiritual lives. How are we doing? Are we practicing repentance and forgiveness? Notice that the two of them are lumped together. I don’t think this is an accident. Think about some of the most familiar words of our tradition. Think of the Lord’s Prayer. What very important conditional statement do we pray nearly every time we gather as followers of Jesus? We pray that our sins, our trespasses will be forgiven AS we forgive those who sin against us. Our forgiveness is contingent on our ability to forgive other people. There is a complicated dialectic there. Our relationship with Jesus is not a solo endeavor. It is not just about how we as individuals relate to Jesus or whether or not we have accepted Jesus as our personal lord and savior. The only way this works, the only way we grow more deeply into relationship with God is through community. It matters how we treat each other.
It is a subtle thing and the language of the Lord’s Prayer is so familiar we can lose track of the importance of single words or turns of phrase. We are called to live daily into this cycle of repentance and forgiveness. I am guessing many of us don’t struggle with the first part so much. Repentance can come easily. In our performance driven society that seems to thrive on competition and comparison, it is all too easy for us to be aware of our own shortcomings.
What can be far more challenging is the practice of forgiveness, the spiritual practice of letting go of our anger, our frustration, our guilt, our shame. Remember, our call to forgiveness is not just about how we treat each other, it is also about how we treat ourselves. Notice there is no asterisk, no brackets on Jesus statement that the disciples are to proclaim the forgiveness of sins to ALL nations. Jesus doesn’t say, “Except you. Or except this person or that person.” God forgives everyone who repents. Everyone who owns up to their own challenges and struggles. Everyone who falls short. Everyone who gives into temptation. God forgives. Period. So who do we think we are to withhold that grace from ourselves or from others? God makes no exceptions, so neither should we.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote a book about his experience of chairing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. It is entitled No Future Without Forgiveness. If you have not read it, I recommend it highly. It is a challenging, beautiful, and inspiring book. And its title applies just as much to us as it did to post-Apartheid South Africa. Indeed, there is no future without forgiveness. If we cannot let things go, if we cannot choose Love, if we cannot be open to the healing redemptive power of God’s love in the world, in our communities, and in our own hearts. If we cannot do those things, then we will be stuck. We will be stuck looking back and holding on to the past. To move into the future, we do indeed need to practice forgiveness.
Now, I think it is important for us to remember that practicing forgiveness does not mean condoning evil. It does not mean we are excusing or approving of sinful behavior. If we have been the victim of an injustice, the truth, the reality of that injustice still stands. The choice for forgiveness means that we are taking back control of our own lives. We are subverting the power dynamic. Think of Jesus on the Cross. What does he say? “Father, forgive them.” The powers and principalities wanted to have domination over Jesus. They wanted to punish him. They wanted to come out on top. But rather than fighting back, Jesus forgave them. He sucked the wind out of their sails, and flipped the whole situation on its head. Jesus took back the power by claiming his right to offer forgiveness to his persecutors.
That is what they did in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa too. They broke the cycle of hate by changing the power dynamics. The process allowed victims to claim back their power through the act of forgiveness. Practicing forgiveness is about claiming our freedom and claiming our dignity. May we always have the courage to do so. AMEN.
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