As We Forgive Those Who Sin Against Us…

Seth and James rocking out at ACL Fest 2011 (You'd never know that these two love theological discourse)

Yesterday I wrote this post about this coming Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 7:36-8:3), and my friend James Mason (who is in an awesome band called The Roosevelts, you should definitely check them out and buy their music) left a couple of comments on FaceBook that got me thinking. First, he wrote, “At first I struggled with your sentiment that ‘greater sin leads to greater love.’ But that's because I have never read that particular gospel. When Jesus says, ‘Whoever has been forgiven little loves little’... That forces a HUGE ideology shift in the mindset of most Christian thinking.” Then he added, “I love thinking of receiving forgiveness as a prerequisite before you can give Love. It roots Love as a byproduct of self-awareness rather than a byproduct of hoping that other people like you.” During my morning run today these two thoughts coalesced and mingled together, and I wrestled with a more succinct way to articulate this idea of God’s forgiveness opening us up to love. Then, it hit me.

During my freshman year of undergraduate studies at Sewanee I applied to be a sacristan (along with James and some other stellar individuals). Eight of us in this class of sacristans essentially took on another elective class to prepare for the work of tending to All Saints’ Chapel. I learned a lot in those classes (like that the thing that keeps your hand from getting hot wax on it when processing with candles is called a bobeche), but one of the most interesting things I learned was that almost any time Episcopalians pray using our common prayer book we say the Lord’s Prayer. This makes sense, right? The disciples said, “Teach us to pray,” Jesus responded with what is now a familiar prayer, and now anytime we pray we too repeat those words. The trouble with saying that pray over and over again is that we can forget what we are saying.

“Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us,” Jesus said. Right after he spoke of asking God to give us our daily bread Jesus taught his disciples a lesson on forgiveness. If reconciliation comes immediately after sustenance think how important this must be for living life in Christ, life in the Kingdom of God. Forgiveness is like the oxygen that keeps the body of love living and breathing! The strange thing though is that this line in the Lord’s Prayer is still somewhat mystical to us two thousand years later. We still struggle to understand exactly what it means. Here are some options:

1. Are we forgiving others’ sins so that God will forgive us? This sentiment does not adhere to the nature of God. God might sometimes appear vindictive to us, but I believe, and Christian Tradition maintains, that God is a merciful God, forgiving to the thousandth generation even.

2. Are we forgiving others’ sins at the same time God forgives us? I think this might be a misunderstanding of grammar and theology. God exists outside of time, so this would not really make sense either.

3. Are we forgiving others as we have been forgiven ourselves? YES! At least I think so. This fits with the nature of a merciful, loving, and forgiving God.

God’s forgiveness is a prerequisite for us loving. And while I love self-awareness (although it ought to come with a warning label) and agree that once we recognize how much God has forgiven us it is only natural to extend that type of grace to others, I want to make one thing very clear: we do not and cannot do anything to deserve, destroy, or alter God’s love for and God's forgiveness of us! Yes, our forgiving others is an extension of God’s forgiveness, but even if we never get close to becoming aware of God’s overwhelming love for us God’s love will never change for us. It is everlasting.

I am so grateful for James, for his friendship, and for his thought-provoking comments. Love is not hoping that someone will like us, rather love extends from God. We begin our life in this love knowing that we are created, redeemed, and sustained by the Almighty Divine One who wants nothing more than for us to know this truth and to share this Good News with all whom we meet. Be aware that God forgives and also be aware that if we are not aware that God forgives God still forgives!