We continue a brief walk with some material on reconciliation by Walter Wink.
Forgiveness exists in tension with judgment…
The gospel affirms that God forgives all sins, however heinous. Reconciliation, however, hinges on whether the victims are able to forgive or not, and whether a society, for its own health, must bring charges against at least some who are criminally guilty.
So if we are ministers of reconciliation by the very fact that we are followers of Jesus, we definitely do not say “forgive and forget.” Rather, we are called to walk down the long muddy roads of our relationships so that peace and justice might prevail. It is along such a road as this that we must deal with the everyday implications of forgiveness from ourselves and/or the need to press on to make sure justice prevail even as we know God forgives all people. Victims are too often told to “suck it up” or “get over it” but they must not when injustice prevails and perpetrators continue to laugh at the system of justice because they know they can “beat it” for they have done it already. A ministry to the perpetrator may be to have him/her stopped so that the justice of God’s Reign may accompany the forgiveness that is already handed out freely.
Connection: This is another reason why we must bring other followers of Jesus into our dialogues about justice and forgiveness and reconciliation. We must daily work for that balance that considers more than my situation. We must be a part of the justice and peace making that is already a part of the vision of God’s Reign and we usually need help seeing its fullness.
Walk with us Lord for the day can be filled with the heaviness of the pains and travails of life. Walk with us that we may live within the land of your gracious forgiveness and trust that you inspire us to seek justice and work for the shalom of our world. Amen
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