No Future Without Forgiveness

In the ritual that accompanies the baptism of a child, there is a lovely little blessing for the parents of the child. For all of the baptisms I have witnessed that have taken place during Mass here at St. Bridget, I have never seen that blessing being given. But whenever I have celebrated with just the family, or at the hospital, I've offered that blessing. The one I give is different from the one in the book -- and it includes asking for God's many gifts to be in abundance within this family.

One of the gifts I always pray for is the gift of forgiveness. Rare is the person that doesn't have some secret hurt inside that goes unforgiven. The example I gave from my own life is absolutely true.

Second Sunday of Easter, 2007

Today’s gospel is really a remarkable gospel. The whole story of our Doubting Thomas captures our imagination, so much that we usually overlook the first part of the story. But the first part of the gospel is very important. You see, the apostles were gathered in a locked room, after dark, and the reason it was locked is because they were afraid. In the previous 3 days, Jesus had been arrested, beaten, scourged, nailed to a cross, crucified, and finally laid it a tomb. They had all run away in fear. All their hopes, all those wonderful teachings about the Kingdom, all those miracles & healings, everything was torn down. They didn’t know what to do or where to go, but some of the disciples had already left. But then, our passage says, Jesus came, stood among them, and said “Peace be with you.” And after this, he shows them his hands and side, and fear leaves them, they rejoice. And then Jesus says again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And then Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit into them, and gives them the ability to forgive. Jesus sends them into the world with the peace & presence of the Holy Spirit, with the power to forgive as he did.

Really forgiving is so difficult. I’m sure that a great many of us can relate to that. I have my own story there. You see, before I ever met Joan, I was engaged to someone else. I was so young and foolish – just out of college. And we weren’t engaged long – only about 6 months – but she basically canceled the engagement during the Christmas holidays. Today’s terms, she dumped me!

Well, that’s really easy to talk about now, after being happily married for 32 years. But that wasn’t always the case. Because I was so hurt and angry that for years I couldn’t even think about my former fiance without getting furious. It’s not that I ever saw her or got together with her again – it’s just that things remind you of the past sometimes, and whenever I happened to think of her I was really angry. And I remember vividly the day I actually was able to forgive her: I was forty five years old! And I had been angry with her for over half my life. And I still remember when I let go of anger – it was so powerful a feeling that I broke down in tears.

Anger – fear – hatred – deep wounds, physical or spiritual. All those things can infect our system and make it impossible to forgive. I know you may not agree with me, and you’re probably are in a different place than I am about this, but when 9/ll happened, along with the horror and tragedy that I think we all experienced, I was also so very aware that so many people in our land became hardened with fear and fury; and I personally feel that that internal hardening of spirit collectively hurt us as a people more than those planes did.

But whether you agree with that or not, I think we can all agree that what is going on in Iraq today, with the Sunnis and Shiites bombing and killing one another, hatred returned for hatred, is just … so sorrowful. There is no peace because there is no willingness to forgive.

However, my examples today are not all so awful. One of the best examples of forgiveness comes from Africa, and from a very unlikely place: South Africa. I read a wonderful book last year, in preparation for my visit to Africa last summer. It was called No Future Without Forgiveness, written by Desmond Tutu, the Anglican Archbishop of South Africa. It was the story of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa.

Now you might remember that for generations, the native people of South Africa suffered under the system of apartheid. It was a strictly separated country, white from black. The native African people in South Africa were viciously oppressed, people were beaten or killed, sometimes in very horrible ways, and especially so if they dared to protest the injustice. And not very long ago, as we know today, the black majority took control of the country. And as that was happening, everyone from outside South Africa was waiting for the explosion, the disintegration and civil war that was sure to occur. South Africa would go up in flames.

But it didn’t. The country held together. It happened because there was inspirational leadership. But it happened also because people somehow learned to forgive. What happened was that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, chaired by Archbishop Tutu and composed of leaders from both communities, black and white, held hearings all over the country. And if those who caused so much suffering, however heinous their crimes, if they came forward and told the truth, the whole truth, everything they did, then what they confessed to would be forgiven. And what happened, over and over again, was a release of the poison that had built up over years and years of institutionalized evil. People could hear the awful truth, grieve over it, and then move on. The only people who were prosecuted were those who found it impossible to admit what they had done, and who then wound up being brought to legal trial and conviction.

All kinds of people said it was impossible – but it worked.

No future without forgiveness.

In a few moments, we will say that universal Christian prayer, where we ask for God to forgive us, as we forgive others. And then we will share a sign of peace with one another. Forgiveness and Peace. Today these gospel words are for you and me, disciples of Jesus, spiritual descendants of those apostles in the locked upper room. “Peace be with you. Receive the Holy Spirit. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” We have the power to forgive one another, the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of Christ’s Peace.

No Future Without Forgiveness.

Deacon Denny Duffell