4. A Call to Forgiveness

Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.

We live in a culture that insists on exacting a pound of flesh.  We tell each other don’t let him or her get away with doing that to you!  We glamorize those that stand up for themselves and don’t take that crap.

The words forgive along with forgiving and forgiveness is mentioned about 240 times in the bible.  Punishment is mentioned about 30 times.  Revenge is mentioned about 80 times.  Mercy in mentioned about 590 times.  Hate occurs 220 times, while love is mentioned about 800 times.

I think it is pretty clear, we are called to forgive. As with all that we are called to do, I believe,  that Forgiveness is not passive.  The forgiveness we are called to is not a begrudging, "Alright, I forgive you."  It is robust, it is an attitude of compassion and understanding that we all have our moments, it is an act of gratitude arising out of our being forgiven for our sins. It is a recognition that we are in this together. It is understanding that we are all fallen, that in spite of our best efforts we fall short.  It in keeping our anger, our judgements, our bitterness, that it is ourselves that in the end are worse off.

Mark 11:25  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

So what is forgiveness?  It is continuing as if that which you have forgiven had not happened.  It is restoring the relationship to what it was before the incident happened.  It is recognizing that taking revenge, keeping score, returning insult for injury, is not getting even, it is impoverishing both of you.  Getting even; is restoring the other person to a right relationship with you, it is forgiving the other person and oneself.

Forgiveness is understanding that our sins are not being held against, that regardless of what we have done, or might not have done.  That we are free to come to God, regardless of our past.  That we are able to be in right relationship with God.

So who are we called to forgive?  Ourselves, each other, the doofus that cut you off in traffic this morning, the boss that keeps calling you the wrong name, that cousin that always talks to you kind of insultingly, the woman that complained about you.  We are called to forgive our enemies, those we love, our families.  We are called to live in a state of readiness to show mercy.

Ephesians 4:31 & 32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

I will return again to forgiveness, for there is much depth in this topic.

3. A Call to Be Transparent

John4:4 - 6 Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

What does he want? She must have asked herself.  This strange man sitting there asking her for a drink of water.  I have always pictured the story of Jesus with the woman at the well happening in heat of the day.  She was the town slut; she’d been married five times and the focus of gossip, none of it nice.  She was also a Samaritan - think - African American in the Deep South before the civil rights movement, you get the stereotype.  She came to the well in the middle of the day when all others would have been escaping the heat.

 

What is he doing here?  What did he want with her? Those would have been the questions running through her mind.  He probably knew she would put out, have sex with him.  There was no virtue in being divorced five times, and now shacked up and she probably did sexual favours for cash, food, to avoid being beaten.  But this man was Jewish - she was Samaritan - was he that desperate? Or was his interest more sinister - rape and murder are not modern day inventions.

I like this story, The Woman at the Well.  The subplot always seems to be missed though.  Jesus was being creepy, I mean stalker creepy.  No man of morals, or of sense would have been at the well at that time of the day.  I believe he went there on purpose, he knew she would be there, he was stalking her.  It is just like Jesus to be doing something utterly strange.

She would have been suspicious before she even got close to the well.  But as she drew nearer she really got how peculiar this man was. His gaze and smile were more than unsettling.  She was used to men leering at her, but this man made her more than uncomfortable - it was if he could see inside her life, inside her heart that he knew her darkness. 

I like to think Jesus saw her as the mother of the kids of her five marriages, as someone's daughter, as the sister of someone, as the daughter of God.  He also knew all the other crap - but he saw her for who she was.

As they talked Jesus spoke to her cutting through that crap - her shame - her guilt - her fear.  I like this woman, she is as messed up as I have been, and still am at times.  Jesus is being harsh, allowing her no shred of self appointed dignity. She just wants to get her fucking water and go home.  He wants her to slack the thirst of her soul.  She just wants to get what she wants and slink out of there.  He wants her to know that she can approach the throne of God with confidence.

Jesus is not an easy gig.  Take his comment, “Go call your husband and come back.”  It is not a polite comment.  While I don’t see Jesus taunting her, he is not mean spirited, it is a pointed comment.  He wants us to know that he knows, he wants us to end our pretense, with him, with each other.

If you are reading this I have question.  Do you have your “woman at the well” moments?  Those moments when you just really want to fly under the radar, do what you came to do and not be bothered.

My “Woman at the Well Moment” is often church.  I want to get in there, sing the songs, get the lesson, snatch the chunk of bread and the sip of wine and get the hell out.  Gone are the extremes of my struggles, I wasn’t drunk and stoned last night, I am not a mess, I don’t smell like a barroom floor or vomit and my clothes are clean. These days the sin seems to be more subtle, the self-centredness more cleverly disguised.  Not that I am a psychopath waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting church goer to get the last donut. 

But I don’t want to lay bare my struggles, let you know that at times I wonder if all the Christian nonsense is just an indication that I need to go on different medication.  That this week that I have been rude to the woman I love and cherish and have hurt her feelings.  I don’t want you to know that I lusted after the woman standing by the coffee pot. 

Church is one of my “Woman at The Well” moments.  I know Jesus waits there for me, and I wonder what does he want?

The story of the woman at the well can be found in the Gospel of John, chapter four.  

2. A Call to Love

2. A Call to Love

Mark 12:29 – 31 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

We like to have lists, the “Let me know what I have to do to make you happy and I will do it” list.  It is comforting, we know if we are doing a good job by seeing if we are obedient; by how many items we can check off our list.  Jesus is approached by the religious leaders of his time, and like the religious leaders of our time many of them are much more concerned about appearances; Jesus never was.  And like many of the religious leaders of our time they have managed to cross off a number of items off their list.  So they ask him a question, “Which oh wise teacher is the most important commandment?”

They think they are being crafty, they are plotting to trap Jesus.  But in their question they betray their entire lack of understanding of God, and his desires for us.  They had reduced the worship of God to following the rules.  Do you remember those kids in school, the ones that excelled at school?  The ones that knew exactly what they should be doing, and did it?  The teacher’s pet.  They knew what they were supposed to do and they did it.  These are those guys standing around Jesus, they are gloating for they follow the rules better than anyone.

I was unable to keep myself organized enough to do school.  I was the kid that added his home work to the dog’s dinner so that I could honestly claim that the dog had ate it.  The best I could do with following the rules was to not blurt out in class, or start a wrestling match with another kid.  I did stab another kid with my pencil one day just to see what would happen.  I was a bit surprised when the kid fainted.

Jesus answers them, and in the most brilliant of ways.  “There are two commandments actually.”  He says.  He then names the one thing that they are unable to do: love.  If spirituality is simply a matter of following rules or you are gonna get smacked down by God, there is little room for love.  Fear kind of does that to love.  And love for others?  If your best shot is being the best of the bunch, those standing next to you are your competition. Where there is competition, there is no room for love.  His answer must have been infinitely frustrating to those that had asked the question.  He told them that the greatest commandments, were  ones of love. 

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4 – 7.

Is there any question as to why I love Jesus.  For this "lineswere made to colour outside of" kind of guy, I am so relieved that I am not called to follow a bunch of rules, I am called to love.

We are called to love.  To love our God.  We are called to love the Lord our God, with all our hearts, with all our soul, with all our mind and all our strength.

We are called to love.  To love of each other, not just those we like, or who would make us look good, or are easy, or are fun, or are like us.  To love each other, not just when it is convenient, or beneficial.

I believe, and of course this is just my own opinion, that if I worry more about how I am loving, the entire question of behaving in a way that is respectful to God becomes so much simpler, not easier, but simpler. 

1, A Call to Joy

1 Thessalonians 5:16 – 18 - Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I am not sure if this is a New Year’s Resolution or simply an ill timed intent.  But for the year of 2013 I want to publish a written piece each and every week on a Blog.  Yes a Blog, the internet’s version of the Soap Box, or a street corner, where one can expound at length into the Blogosphere where all, some, or none of the inhabitants read what is posted.  I do recognize the level of narcissism involved in doing this, but that has never really stopped me in the past.  But I do feel called to speak up, not in defence, or in explanation, but in celebration of Christianity.

          I feel that the teachings of my Lord and Saviour have been greatly misrepresented, and thus Jesus has been relegated to the role of being a “Sanctimonious Douchebag.”  That is a term that I first read in an editorial by a Morgan Guyton a United Methodist Minister.  The term did a great job of explaining how I feel that God is so often portrayed by popular Christian Media.

          So I do want to write about my faith, a source of great freedom, great joy and great peace.  I do want to avoid any anti-doctrinal writing, but realize that there is a challenge in not speaking directly against beliefs of God that I find that I am almost visceral in my object towards.

          I want to write this, think right this, as a means of encouraging others to speak their mind, and the understanding of their hearts.  I want to write this as a means of expressing the deep joy and love to be found within my faith.  A joy and love that surpasses anything like relief for not being eternally consciously tormented cause we did not come to make an intellectual decision regarding divinity.  To be honest, I am much too immediate and concrete, read Attention Deficit Disordered, to maintain a faith based on arriving at a destination once I am dead.  More will be revealed regarding the intention of my writing as future pieces are published.

Phillipians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

          To start with - I believe, and every fibre of my being seems to resonate, that we are called to Christ to live in JOY!  Yes, there are times of great sorrow and regret for we have been the Sanctimonious Douchebags, but we are not called to live a life of groveling before the Lord because we are worthless worms!  No, we are called to live in Joy for we are restored into right relationship with God. 

          Whatever else you do, and the breadth and width of Christianity seems to encompass a whole host of possibilities, live in Joy.  Not because you are not rejected by God, but because he who has created you loves you.