Learning to be a Community of Forgiveness (1)

 

“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”

                                                                        Matthew 6:12

 

I. Required readings

 

Psalm 40

Matthew 6:9-15

Matthew 18:21-35

Ephesians 4:31-32

Colossians 3:12-17

 

Christian Biography for the Day: Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Martin Luther King, Jr., “Loving Your Enemies” (Sermon)

 

Nadia Boltz-Weber, "Loving Your Enemies, Even When You
Don't Really Mean It"

 

Johann Christoph Arnold, “Bless Your Persecutors”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

II. Quotation for the day

 “Why should we love our enemies? The first reason is fairly obvious. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says "Love your enemies," he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies—or else? The chain reaction of evil—hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars—must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.”

                        --Martin Luther King, Jr. (Sermon, 1957)

 

III. Journal prompts

 

1. Reconciliation and forgiveness are intimately related but they are probably not the same thing.  How do you understand the two to be related?

 

2. How do the scripture readings and articles for today enlarge and enrich your understanding of forgiveness?

 

3.More than once this semester we have tried to remember that the marks of the kingdom are forms of love, where "love" is understood as "relentlessly pursuing the well-being of another" (rather than simply as something which brings me pleasure.)  Thus we have asked hard questions, such as, "Can I really love someone (pursue his or her well-being) without listening to them? Trusting them?"  Today we come face to face with a similar question: "Can we love another person without being willing to forgive them?"  What do you think?

4. How has your need for forgiveness, your receiving of it, and your offering of it to others played out in your own life?  Where do you struggle most with issues of forgiveness?  As one of the articles below suggests, might your own family be a sensible place to begin working on forgiveness? 

 

 

IV. Links of possible interest

 

            Forgiveness isn’t just an idea; it’s a concrete practice of real people.  Often forgiveness seems all but impossible, not least because our imaginations are likely fueled more by images and stories of vengeance and retaliation than they are by ones of forgiveness.  As one small step toward rectifying this, the following links offer a number of stories that remind us that by God’s grace genuine forgiveness is indeed possible.  

 

            These first two links are to stories and reflections about the forgiveness extended by the Amish community in Pennsylvania after the murder of their children at the local schoolhouse in October of 2006:

 

            USA Today, "Amish Community Unites to Mourn Slain Schoolgirls"

 

            Dan Hallock, “Ending the War in Our Families”.  An important reminder that forgiveness often needs to begin with relationships close to home.

Toward the end of Arnold's article above in the required readings, he tells the story of an event in Algeria in the mid-1990s involving a group of Trappist monks and a radical Islamist group.  This story has recently been made into a very powerful film, Of Gods and Men, the trailer for which can be viewed here.

 

            Forgiveness Stories:  A free electronic e-book from the Hawai’i Forgiveness Project.

  

            The Forgiveness Project: More stories, many from people who are not necessarily operating on the basis of Christians convictions.