Scripture: Luke 15:11-32
Dear Church,
When my girls were little, we had to teach them how to say sorry. And we had to practice–a lot. Like all young children, they had trouble controlling their impulses, using their words instead of their hands (or feet!) and asking instead of taking. Things could escalate quickly.
So we taught them how to talk instead of punch back when there was a problem. They’d run to me and I’d send them back to one another and coach them through a conversation. Tell your sister what she did that hurt you. Listen to what she’s saying to you. Can you tell her that you are sorry?
They were little and learning, so I didn’t expect perfect. I ignored rolled eyes and huffy breaths and barely audible apologies. But there was one thing they instinctively did that I always made a point to interrupt and correct. One would say, ‘I’m sorry’ and the other would answer back ‘It’s okay.’ And I’d swoop in:
Don’t say it’s okay, because it’s not okay. Say, ‘I forgive you’. Because that’s how we can start again and make it better.
Forgiveness isn’t an implicit acknowledgment that what happened wasn’t important or harmful. Forgiving someone doesn’t mean that what they did was okay. Forgiveness opens a path to healing and change.
We are a forgiven people. We need to spend more time being astonished at that truth. What does it mean that we are forgiven? How does it change us? How does it connect us to God? How can it be?
This Sunday we return again to Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son and the astonishing forgiveness and love he received from his Father when he least expected and deserved it. But this time, we meet the older brother and learn what it feels like, not to be forgiven, but to watch someone else not get what’s coming to them.
Peace,
Pastor Kate
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