Friday 10 October 2008

This week ends with the powerful word of forgiveness - by Stanley Hauerwas.

My sin is inexorably part of me, but I now no longer need to deny it. As I learn to locate my life within the kingdom of forgiveness found in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, I acquire those virtues of humility and courage that are necessary to make my life my own. That we are only able to have a history, a self, through the forgiveness wrought by God means that the resurrection of Jesus is the absolute center of history. It is on the basis of the resurrection that we can have the confidence to remember the history of our sin. Through the resurrection, by being invited to recognize our victim as our hope, we are gifted with the powers to break the hold our our most determined oppressor - ourselves.

There is a power in this day that brings out the fullness of our lives - forgiveness. Within that power we need not deny any part of lives and we need not step back from leaping into whatever may be before us. How often are we each our own "most determined oppressor" who is able to gather up more than enough evidence to keep us imprisoned? In the face of such power of forgiveness - the powers that attempts to disable us - powers that works to corrupt us - powers that changes our character, are revealed as being powerless in the presence of the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus...a story that does not let the powers of death have their way among us even as we are so often the disciples of such death. The life of forgiveness is one that we do not expect. The life of forgiveness is one that demands that we step back and remember God standing with us in and through all things even when we are being dragged down by the brokenness of the world we have made for ourselves.

Connection: Life is open to a radical newness each time we are lifted up into the story of God unbounded love and forgiveness that creates in us unbounded love and forgiveness.

Come, Lord of New Life, Come and lead us into the fields of forgiveness that let us see clearly that which is behind us and that which is to be. You promise to be reality of hope that is available to us as we see all the rest of life around us. Walk with us in that hopefulness. Amen.