Church of the Holy City

Sweet Forgiveness

Sweet Forgiveness
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
May 31, 2009

Forgiveness is one of the sweetest aspects of Christianity. God is all mercy and forgiveness, and asks the same of us. Both our Bible readings this morning treat the subject of forgiveness. In Jeremiah, God says, “I will cleanse them from all the sins they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me” (33:8). The subject of the Jeremiah passage is the attack of the Babylonians. The prophet Jeremiah interprets the Babylonian attack as a sign of divine punishment for the sins of the Israelites. God says that he will slay the inhabitants of Jerusalem in His anger and wrath. Our church takes this to be an appearance of truth. We know that God can never be angry or kill people in wrath. We see this as an appearance of truth, according to the mindset of the people living in 6th century BC Israel. But even in this tale of anger and destruction, God’s forgiveness and mercy shines through. God will heal His people and bring peace and security to Jerusalem. Before all nations of the earth, Jerusalem will be filled with God’s joy, praise, and honor. People around the world will be filled with awe because of the prosperity and peace God gives Jerusalem. This is all to show God’s mercy and forgiveness.
And in John, we heard the beautiful story of the woman caught in adultery. According to Jewish law, punishment for adultery was stoning to death. But Jesus asks the Israelites to search their hearts. “If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” One by one they dropped their stones and left. When all her accusers have left, Jesus says, “Neither do I condemn you” (8:11). God on earth does not condemn the woman caught in adultery.
God is all goodness and love, and so does not remember our wrongdoing. “The Lord imputes good to every person and evil to none, consequently that He does not condemn any one to hell, but so far as a person follows raises all to heaven, . . .” Swedenborg tells us in TCR 652. God looks upon the whole human race from love and views only goodness in us, and wants to give us every good thing,
The appropriation of the life of the Lord comes from His love and mercy toward the universal human race, in that He wills to give Himself, and what is His, to every one, and that He actually gives, so far as they receive . . . (AC 3742).
But we have a role to play as far as God’s love for us is concerned. In the passage I just cited, Swedenborg says that God gives Himself to everyone “so far as they receive”. So we need to respond to God’s call. God calls us constantly into heaven and into heavenly joy, but we need to respond and live in accordance with God’s infinite love and mercy,
There is actually a sphere proceeding continually from the Lord and filling the entire spiritual and natural worlds which raises all towards heaven. It is like a strong current in the ocean which unobservedly draws a vessel. All who believe in the Lord and live according to His precepts enter that sphere or current and are elevated . . . (TCR 652).
We need to examine our lives and to take action. We need to remove obstacles to receiving God’s inflowing love and forgiveness. In traditional Christian language, this is called repentance.
The Lord forgives to everyone his sins, and never takes vengeance, nor even imputes sin, because He is love itself and good itself; nevertheless, sins are not thereby washed away, for this can be done only by repentance. For when He told Peter to forgive until seventy times seven, what will not the Lord do? (TCR 409)
What will not the Lord do? If we put ourselves in the stream of God’s strong, upward flowing current, we will be drawn into heaven and company with our Maker. As we remove the limitations that block God’s life, then God’s forgiveness can be a reality. We need to see ourselves through God’s eyes. We need to see the good qualities God has given us. We need to walk in the light. Then God’s forgiveness means communion and mutual joy in God and God in us.
But God also asks us to forgive our neighbor. In the story from the Gospel of John, Jesus asks the Jews to look at themselves before condemning the woman. What started out as judgment against her becomes forgiveness. It is nice to think that God forgives. Meditating on God can lift us into ecstasy. But then we have to deal with the real world. We run into people who rub us the wrong way. We get resentful. We carry grudges. We form dislikes. And the forgiveness God so freely gives us becomes a very hard task for us to do to others.
Forgiveness works on two levels. There is the forgiveness between us and God. Then there is the forgiveness between us and our neighbors. We find forgiveness from God when we repent, and let go of vices. Then God shines through us and fills us with everything He has. Shall I say this is easier than the forgiveness that we confront in other people? We are all fallen and broken people. We are finite, and we all have character flaws. By the same token, we all have God’s image and likeness in us. I see God as an infinite human being. And I think that this is an important image of God because it makes me see other humans as reflections of God. When I see others as sparks of God, or when I reflect that God’s humanity is in others, it hallows my relations with other people. When I reflect that what I do to others, I do to God, then how I relate to other people matters all the more.
God sees us from goodness. We need to see each other in the same way. Our view of others can take two forms. We can become indignant when we find something we don’t like in our neighbor. Or, we can overlook the issue and look for the positive qualities in others. When I take offence, it seems that inevitably my own wants and ego has been challenged. When I look at my part in the encounter, and take ownership for my part in the difficulties I feel, then relationships work much better for me. This requires the courage to fully admit that I have my own shortcomings, as others do, and if I expect forgiveness then I need to show forgiveness. It was the recognition of sin in themselves that made the Jews forgive the adulterous woman. I’m not saying that we need to go around feeling terrible about ourselves. I guess what I’m saying is that we only be honest about ourselves. And the kind of honesty that will heal relationships is an honest recognition of our own part in personality conflicts
I don’t mean to say that we need to be a door mat. We need to establish boundaries about what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in our personal relations. This is most evident in abusive relationships. If we find ourselves being treated in demeaning ways, we need to confront the other. It is not healthy for us, nor is it healthy for the other to remain in an abusive relationship. Sometimes the fear of confrontation is so great that people will remain in abusive relationships rather than stand up for their personal integrity. Or if we find ourselves in a relationship in which we are continually giving and sacrificing while the other is only taking, again the relationship is not healthy for either party. Again, we need to confront the other. Jesus frequently confronted the Pharisees and teachers of the law for twisting God’s laws for their own ends. And if confrontation does not work, then it may be necessary to terminate the relationship.
As we go through life, we grow and develop in our capacity to relate to others. The destruction of Jerusalem described in Jeremiah symbolizes the wearing down of our selfish orientation. Only when our personality has been softened by trials and temptations are we in a place to receive the glorious promises God will give to Jerusalem. Then we are more compassionate. Then we are better able to understand others. Then the wants of our ego matter less than peaceful relations with others. Then we are better able to forgive. Then, as Jeremiah writes, “there will be sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying,
Give thanks to the LORD Almighty,
For the LORD is good;
His love endures forever” (33:10-11).