Exodus 14:19-31

Romans 14:1-12

Matthew 18:21-35

NUCC

Pentecost 17

September 11, 2005

Prayer

Loving and forgiving God, you know how challenging it can be for us to let go of the ways we have been wounded by others.  Through your grace, enable us to forgive others, as we have been forgiven by you.  Amen.

            This is a day for sober reflection. This is a day for double remembrance.  We remember four years ago when our nation was attacked by terrorists and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center fell to the ground, killing thousands of people.  We remember two weeks ago when a horrible force of nature, Hurricane Katrina, struck the Gulf Coast of our nation, causing the destruction of a great American city and killing thousands of people.

            We remember both of these events on this Sunday in September, and we wonder.  How could these events be so much alike and so much different?  In both cases tragedy struck and lives were lost.  But in the one case our nation came together and in the other our nation became divided.  In the one case we celebrated heroes.  In the other case we argue about delays.

            Of course 9-11 was caused by pure human hate.  Violent attackers from foreign nations.  Hurricane Katrina was a force of nature.  Some of us may blame God and may be mad at God, but I haven’t heard much of that.  Instead we have blamed our public officials and most certainly expressed our anger with them.

            I can’t help but remember back to September 2001 and picture a group of Senators and Representatives singing “God Bless America” on the capitol steps.  In September 2004 many of those same politicians are divided over the causes and solutions of the hurricane devastation.  And with some justification.  There are valid differences of opinion on the best way to prepare for disasters.

            In the middle of all this we come to church on this Sunday morning.  As we do each Sunday morning we are focusing our worship on God and God’s good word for us.  In our church we tend to follow the lectionary, a series of Bible readings agreed upon by all sorts of Christian denominations.  Today you could leave our United Church of Christ, drive over to St. Mary’s Catholic Church, and hear exactly the same Gospel Lesson.  Matthew 18:21-35.  On other Sundays it might be all three lessons.

            What have you heard read from scripture this morning?  You have heard Jesus and his dear friend Peter talking about forgiveness.  Peter asks:  “How often should I forgive? Seven?”  Jesus answers: “Not seven, but seventy seven times!”  (For Peter it is a matter of quantity.  For Jesus it is a matter of attitude.  We’ll say more about that later.)

            In our other New Testament reading, from the letter that Paul wrote to his quarreling church friends in Rome, we overhear similar advice.  What does he say?

“Don’t get together just to fight and blame one another.  Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister?”

            Hmmm.  Once again our scripture readings seem to have been placed on this particular Sunday at just the right time.  These are words we need to hear.  Words of forgiveness.  Even if they are difficult to say just at this time.

            Once again I remember back to September 11, 2001.  When that horrible event took place I was separated from you because I was attending a week-long workshop on the middle-sized church in St. Louis.  Even though most participants remained with the workshop we were thinking about the sermons we needed to preach on the following Sunday.  I was looking at texts, just like the ones we have today and thinking of using them.  But our leader said “Whoa!  People aren’t ready for that.  They’ll still be hurting.  They’ll still be angry.  You’ll have to save the words of forgiveness until later.”  She was right.  First we needed to acknowledge our hurt and our anger before doing anything else.

            There certainly has been enough hurt and anger expressed in the past couple weeks.   And with justification.  If I were stranded in New Orleans without transportation, whether I was a poor American grandmother or a well-to-do French tourist, I would also be angry.  I could understand the frustration of the Mayor of New Orleans when he vented three days after the storm hit, expressing his anger at the perceived lack of assistance.  It’s okay to have those feelings.

            The challenge for each of us is what happens next.  Do you let your anger fester?  Do you allow resentment to pile up and sour your whole life?  Do you cultivate your sense of being wronged?  Do you use your hurt as a weapon to enhance your power and position?

            Some have done that.  And their lives have been ruined.  Others have been able to work through their anger and to let it go.   They have then moved on ---- even to forgive ----- and they have blossomed.  Yes, sometimes we think of forgiveness as benefiting the perpetrator of the wrong.  We see the advantage for a husband forgiven for cheating on his wife or a guard in South Africa forgiven for beating a political prisoner.  That is easy to see.  But there is also something to be gained for the one who forgives.  She can go on with her life.  He can live without burden and indeed find a peace beyond understanding.  We have seen this take place in remarkable situations.  When Karen and I were in South Africa last year, we sometimes talked with the end of Apartheid and the changes.  Whenever the name of Nelson Mandela was mentioned our African friend would have a look on his face as though he were speaking of a saint.  Nelson Mandela is by far the most beloved figure on the whole continent of Africa.  Nelson Mandela has a serenity about him that no one can match. Nelson Mandela has been able to forgive those who persecuted him and even those who beat him.

            A friend of ours has described the last meeting of the World Council of Churches in Harare, Zimbabwe.  Both Nelson Mandela, the President of South Africa, and Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe made appearances.  Mandela came essentially by himself.  Mugabe came only with a cordon of body guards.  I think the difference was that Nelson Mandela forgave much, and Robert Mugabe has much for which he needs to be forgiven.

            Forgiveness.  It can do so much.  It is indeed a matter of attitude.   As I said before when Peter asked Jesus if he should forgive seven times and Jesus responded by saying her should forgive 77 times, there was a crucial difference in attitude.  Peter thought you could quantify forgiveness.  Bottle it up and sell it.  Take one forgiveness pill and you’ll be okay.

            Jesus said:  “No, no.  You can’t do that.  You have to really forgive.  You have to trust in my way.   You have to open your heart in love.  Only as you trust others with authentic love can you know how deeply God seeks to offer you love and give you a fresh start, beginning this very day.”

            Forgiveness.  This is the way of God.  It is not always the way of humanity.  And we can see the results of ancient hurts and hates.  We have seen it in the Middle East.  We have seen it Eastern Europe.  Why, we have even seen it in Great Britain.  One evening our family stayed in a quaint hotel in the southern part of Scotland.  There had just been an important golf tournament there.  Things were going well.  There was even talk of “devolution,” which meant that Scotland would receive more local power of government.  As we talked about these developments our host spoke with a measure of bitterness about the English, remembering the wrongs perpetrated by English soldiers back in the 18^th century and beyond to the middle ages.

            Fortunately not all people have as good a memory as our host.  One of those was Yang-Won Son was one of the great Christians of Korea.  Almost all his ministry was centered on the spiritual and material care of the residents of leper colonies.  He resisted bowing down to the Japanese emperor, and suffered six years of imprisonment and cruel treatment during World War II.  Three years after the 1945 liberation of Korea, the communist insurrection ravaged the country.  Son’s two teenaged sons were shot to death by communist rioters when the rejected communism and proclaimed their Christian faith.  Yang-Won Son could have been very bitter, but instead of being engulfed by hatred and revengeful thoughts, he forgave the shooter, petitioned for his release from the death penalty, and adopted him as his son. 

            Could you have done something like that?  I wonder if I could practice such forgiveness.  It doesn’t come easy for us.  But it is a way which Jesus found and Paul recommended.  They did so because forgiveness is the way to healing.  Yang-Won Son could have told you that.  Nelson Mandela could tell you about it.    I hope one day a lady in New Orleans will be able to tell you about.  And I hope each one of us may be able to experience it.

Amen.