Forgiveness

Genesis 45: 1-15
Romans 11: 1-2a, 29-32

I was reading one of the Grimm’s Brothers fairytales the other night and there was this lady who had been taken up into heaven to be raised by the Virgin Mary. When she’s about 14 years old she does something she’s not supposed to and then she lies about it. She lies three times straight to the Virgin Mary’s face and is then cast down to earth. While on earth she eventually meets a man who happens to be a king and they get married and have a son.

On the night of his birth the Virgin Mary appears to the woman and asks her again to tell the truth or she would lose her son. The woman lies to her again and Mary takes her son away. The next year she gives birth again, and again Mary comes to her in the night and again the woman lies so Mary takes her second son up into heaven. The third year she gives birth to a baby girl and Mary comes to her. Once again, the woman looks Mary full in the face and lies to her so Mary takes her daughter too.

Now the Kingdom is up in arms thinking this woman is a baby killer and so they take her out to kill her. As she is about to die she looks up to heaven and cries out, “Yes Mary, I did it!” Immediately, the Virgin Mary saves her, giving back her three children and tells her, “She who repents her sin and acknowledges it, is forgiven.”

Why do our children and why do we lie to others about the truth of our actions? We fear the consequences of telling the truth way more than we fear the consequences of telling a lie. Perhaps the reason for that is because we do not think of the afterlife enough. We do not think or dwell too much on the idea that one day Jesus will judge us and depending on what he decides we will be given eternal life or we will be cast out of heaven.

The young lady who lied to the Virgin Mary six times was more afraid of what would happen if she admitted the truth than if Mary took her children away. I think that is why the ending of this story is even more amazing. The young lady never would have been cast out of heaven if she would have admitted her guilt right away. As soon as she owned her sin, she was forgiven instantly.

There are many times when we would rather lie and cheat than face the consequences of our actions. Here on earth, we sometimes even get away with it. However, there will come a day when we will not be able to hide our sinfulness from the world or from God. We fear punishment and that is why we hide our faults and sins, but Jesus does not need to be our punisher. As often as pastors preach it, we quickly forget the most important part of the Gospel.

Why did Joseph forgive his brothers when they repented their actions against him? Why did Jesus forgive the sinners and the tax collectors? Why did Jesus die for us on the cross? Paul tells us in Romans that “God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.” In other words, God knows we are not perfect. God knows we will fall well short of the ten commandments. God knows we have flaws and guilt and anger inside of us. God knows our every thought and our every sin. And yet, God still sent Jesus, his only son, to die for us so that we might have eternal salvation.

Martin Luther once said to “Sin boldly”. Sin boldly and know that the Lord has compassion on the sinner. Compassion and forgiveness are what set God apart from human beings. We fear punishment because we know that other humans are never as forgiving as God. When we are wronged, we want justice. When we are hurt we want vengeance. When our friends are hurt we want the perpetrators caught and punished. Therefore, we know when we do something wrong that other people will feel the same way. Not many of us turn the other cheek. Not many of us can accept a simple apology. Not in the same way that God accepts us and loves us despite our guilt.

Perhaps that is the model we need. Jesus loves us despite what we have done. God forgives us even knowing tomorrow we will do the same thing again. We need to love people not for how great they are but for all their flaws as well. We need to forgive even knowing tomorrow they will do the same thing again because we are no different. It is when we try to elevate ourselves and pretend we are not full of sinfulness that our pride makes us unbending. We try to tell ourselves and the world that we are better than the person who wronged us. We refuse to see their side of things and we hold contempt in our hearts for people who have hurt us.

But does God think that way? Can God forgive a murderer? Will God let a thief go to heaven? Will God let a liar enter the pearly gates and break bread? I sure hope so, because we are all guilty of doing something wrong in God’s eyes. Perhaps that is the key to forgiveness. We understand that none of us are worthy of being forgiven, but God does so anyway. If we are forgiven for the many things we have done against others, then why can’t we forgive those who have hurt us? It’s not easy, but we should make an effort.

When we try to forgive, the Holy Spirit sees our hearts trying to soften and perhaps the Spirit will help us to bend where our pride has made us unbending, to help us to forgive what we thought was unforgivable. After all, isn’t that what we pray to God for every day? Forgiveness for all the things we have done, that after awhile seem unforgivable because we know how much God loves us and it does not seem to stop us from being sinful. It does not seem to stop us from not listening to God. But the moment we own our sin, the moment we confess it to God, we realize it has been wiped away and will never be brought up again.

As forgiven Christians, we should try to follow God’s lead. Take a moment today to think of those who have hurt you, those whom you harbor anger or contempt against. Think about them and think about God. Allow God’s love for your sinful, sorry self to help you love another person the same way, to forgive them for what they have done to you and those you care about. True forgiveness is the kind that never brings up the past again.

Amen.