Proper
19: Matthew 18:21-35 Challenge to forgive
As many of you know I
started my priestly ministry in Central Pennsylvania. About four month after I began my ministry
there- the Nickel Mines Amish schoolhouse shooting occurred not far from York
where I was living and serving. As young know that part of the country is
heavily Amish-those people are such a wonderful part of the fabric of that area
of the country. So it was just
devastating to watch as these events played out.
You’ll remember Charles
Robert a deeply disturbed milk truck driver in 2006 walked into the Nickel
Mines school and took hostage the class by the time the stand -off was over—he
had shot ten young girls ultimately killing five before turning the gun on
himself.
Almost immediately
stories of Amish forgiveness trickled were all over the media. Within
hours of the shooting the Amish were visiting
the Roberts’ family- bringing meals and standing with his children and
his widow, Marie and most importantly offering forgiveness. Not only did they extend forgiveness, but
they also set up a charitable foundation to care for his children and almost 30
Amish people gathered with his family
when they laid Charles to rest.
A grandfather of one of the Amish girls was
overheard telling some young children shortly after the shooting, “We mustn’t
think evil of this man.” And Jack Meyer
living nearby said "I don't think
there's anybody here that wants to do anything but forgive...”[1]
It was amazing to see again and again
splashed all over the media these incredible acts of forgiveness coming out of
the Nickel Mines community after the shooting.
This Amish ethos of forgiveness is deeply
rooted in their folk hero and Martyr Dirk Willems…
The of story of Dirk goes back to the
story of the 1500’s. Dirk got himself in trouble for not subscribing to infant
baptism-this coupled with his devotion to his Anabaptist ways landed him Dirk
prison. Sometime later Dirk was able to
escape from prison. However in the midst
of being pursued one of the prison guard chasing Dirk fell through some thin ice. Hearing the guard’s cries for help Dirk
backtracked to save the man from certain death. Ultimately this action lead to Dirk’s
capture and Dirk was burned at the stake in 1569.
Radical forgiveness is the call that we
hear about today in the midst of the Gospel. When asked how many time must one
forgive Jesus say to Peter not seven,
but seventy-seven times. Some
translations take it even a step further and have Jesus answer seventy times
seven. Now this isn’t a legalistic
formula that we need to keep track of--- but rather Jesus is using hyperbole to
say that forgiveness is supposed to be a hallmark of the Christian community-
it is supposed to seep into our marrow- to become who we are Christian people. A people of forgiveness
Shortly after the shooting I remember
seeing an Amish man being interviewed on television- he was being asked why the
Amish engaged in these acts of radical forgiveness-
he said something to the effect we forgive- because we are commanded to
forgive, because our forgiveness depends our ability to forgive- He then quoted the Lord’s prayer ---forgive
us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Jesus alludes to this idea that our
forgiveness is related to our ability to forgive at the end of the in the exchange
at the end of parable when he speaks about his heavenly father also torturing
those unable to forgive.
Again I think this hyperbole and in some
way is meant to mean that we who know the great and wide mercy and love of God
are not supposed to hold onto it for ourselves- but rather we who know
forgiveness are to pass it- to share it- to extend it to the world beyond.
Now Jesus might have been onto
something- there are a number of studies
that link forgiveness and physical and
emotional wellness.
I
read this week that Those who have personalities that are more prone to
forgiveness tend to have less stress, less depression and greater physical and
psychological wellbeing.
One study I read spoke about said that when folks engaged in thought of
love and forgiveness rather than thoughts of retaliation and revenge their
blood pressures normalized quicker after stressful situations. The article
wondered if forgiveness could be the next blood pressure medication.[2]
But just because we are commanded to
forgive, just because we know that is good for us. Doesn’t mean it’s easy.
Several months after the Nickel Mines
tragedy I again saw two Amish folks
being interviewed about forgiveness-
this time though they were shone in the shadows- they didn’t want to be identified-
because that day they spoke poignantly about the difficulty they were have
letting go and forgiving Charles Roberts.
Forgiving is a process not a one time
event-- it’s a seventy times seven
proposition- its again and again and again placing those difficult situations before God and it
doesn’t mean that we forget what has happened or that we forget that what
occurred was not wrong or that we put ourselves in situations where danger or
harm might still exist.
But forgiveness is an opportunity to work toward healing, its an
opportunity to begin to get by has happened- it’s an attempt ton longer allow a
person or an event to rip us apart to hurt
us any further.
I know there are many of out there that
are holding onto people or events that we are having a hard time letting go of.
I have a number of people in my life that I need to forgive- as news this
morning has come out about ISIS and another beheading- I am increasingly
challenged - I invite to think for a moment about something or someone who you
need to forgive and I invite you to when you come forward to this rail to place
that situation, to place that event into the hands of Jesus- his invitation is
to forgiveness and he’s holding out his hands to us come give it to me –let me
take your burden – let me do the heavy lifting, let me worry about justice let me begin your healing. Let me let
the kingdom of God to shine into this world- let me let the kingdom of God to
come into your life. AMEN
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