Forgiveness

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,
  and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.” (Matthew 10)

I witnessed a fight on the street yesterday. It was ugly, a fierce fight between two men who once were friends. What was the cause of the fight? Everyone in the crowd that gathered to see it knew the answer to that question: Jesus. Yes, Jesus, the man who preached love and mercy and peace. He was the cause of that fight.

The fight was made all the worse because as I said, the men fighting were friends, and both friends of mine. The three of us grew up together, sharing almost all of our younger lives.

But now, one of them has turned to follow Jesus. I say “turned” because that is what Jesus himself always preached: that we must repent, or “turn” away from our sinful lives and toward him as the source of our salvation.

And that’s what our other friend cannot accept. Our Jesus-follower friend is so happy, so joy-filled and so he can’t help but share what he now knows and feels. That’s what he was doing and what led to the fight: he was sharing his new-found joy and purpose with his friend.

But our other friend couldn’t accept this change, and that’s how the fight began. You see, he is totally opposed to the Jesus-movement, which is called “the Way.” And in fact, he has gone so far as to participate in the act of driving all of the Jesus-followers from our synagogue.

And so, now you may ask: what about me? Well, I am also a Jesus-follower, but for now, only in secret.

Let me back up and explain. I’m writing to you from Jerusalem in what you call the year 45. And yes, I am one of the Jesus-followers, one greatly impressed by the preaching of the disciples of Jesus. And, though we are few, our numbers are growing. So, as you might imagine, opposition to our movement is also growing.

The opposition began, of course, with the persecution of Jesus himself, who was crucified by the Romans. You may also remember that after Pentecost, Peter and the others began to openly preach in his name. And that triggered the reaction of our religious leaders, who arrested them, imprisoned them, flogged them, and charged them to stop.

Of course, they did not stop, but instead, preached all the more boldly. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they could not have stopped even if they’d wanted to.

Jesus himself had warned us:

“As for yourselves, beware, for they will hand you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them.  Sibling will betray sibling to death and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”  (Mark 9)

And so, it happened. First, Stephen was killed, stoned to death. Then, James, executed by Herod. There was by then, no doubt that these leaders of our Jewish faith were deadly serious!

In the face of such enmity, what has kept this small sect going? How could the disciples of Jesus overcome their fears and continue to preach so boldly in his name?

At first, I had no answer to this question. To me, these followers of Jesus seemed radical: extremists who actually invited opposition and punishment by their words and actions. I couldn’t understand how they could give up so much just to follow an itinerant rabbi who had been killed at the urging of our own highly respected religious leaders. How could Jesus be so important to these disciples that they’d give up so much and risk so much just to follow him?

But when I took a closer look, the answer came to me. You see, these followers of Jesus had something that I did not have. What they had was love, and a joy and peace that were lacking in my life. And what’s more, their love, joy and peace were so deeply felt that it was plain to see how devoted they were.

I spoke with my friend, the Jesus-follower about it. I had expected that after the fight, he’d never speak to our other friend again, and that he now considered them to be enemies. But that was not the case. Not at all.

“I will forgive him,” my friend explained. “I still consider him as a friend and I will continue to try to share my new faith with him. Even if he continues to oppose me, I will not condemn him.”

He went on: “When Jesus taught us how to pray, he spoke the words that now inspire me. We are to ask God’s forgiveness for our sins just as we forgive our brothers and sisters as they sin against us.”

“My hope,” he went on, “is that our friend will someday turn and join us in following Jesus.”

“That could take a long time,” I replied, “and it may never happen.”

“Of course, I understand that,” he responded, “but I must live in the hope of it. Because, you see, our friend is, just like you and me, a precious child of God.”

Forgiveness! I had never considered its power. Actually, I had never understood the depths of it, how it not only affects the one who is forgiven, but how it also affects the one who forgives.

Could I embrace a life like that? A life of love, joy and peace? A life made possible by forgiveness and mercy toward anyone who might wrong me? Could I speak boldly in the name of Jesus?

You must know that it’s not easy. But I have begun, starting with my baptism into The Way of following Jesus. And you know what? I have felt the love of this small community of disciples, and I have felt the calling of the Holy Spirit to share my newfound faith with others.

Jesus teaching forgiveness by

James Tissot

I think back about how Jesus said that he was bringing “a sword” that would divide us. And it’s true, we now live divided from family and friends who cannot accept him. The fight between my friends is just one example of such a division. But my hope is that someday, perhaps in your day, that division might be healed.

Because, you see, Jesus said more. Much, much more. For those who would accept him, Jesus was and is a source of peace. And he told us that we, his disciples, would be known by our love. A love that calls us to forgive, just as we are forgiven.