|
Who needs forgiveness?
Not me. I'm the injured party in all this. I'm the victim
here! It's them that need forgiveness! And they needn't look
to me for it… at least not until I've seen signs of them
repenting. They haven't even said sorry, never mind anything
else. They need to get down on their knees before God and
ask him to forgive them! There's no point asking me, I can't
forgive sins. And I won't forgive them. Not yet anyway.
Who needs forgiveness?
Not me. I'll admit, I did some dreadful things in the past,
but they were dreadful times. Desperate situations demand
desperate actions. So don't offer me your forgiveness. Thanks,
but no thanks; I've no need of it. You think you're better
than me!? You think that what I did is wrong!? Fine. But take
a good look at yourself… at you and your like. Make sure
you're really standing on the moral high ground before you
look down on me and mine…
In recent years,
a lot has been recorded about what has happened in the past
here in Northern Ireland. And that is important. But where
do we go from here? What do we do with all those memories?
We have been reluctant to mention forgiveness in the whole
process - including within the church. We have been wary of
re-victimising victims by imposing on them the expectation
of glib forgiveness. Some have even said that we have no right
to forgive without repentance. But if Christianity is not
about forgiveness, what is it about? It certainly was a hobbyhorse
of Jesus.
Who needs forgiveness?
The pious answer is, of course, that we all do. We have all
done things wrong; we are all in need of God's forgiveness.
And we have all offended other people in one way or another,
and need their forgiveness. We may not feel that we need it,
but that does not negate the need. We may not feel that we
need exercise or five portions of fruit and vegetables per
day, but the plain fact is, we do, whether we think so or
not.
There is a lot
of talk in nutritional terms about superfoods - foods that
are not only nutritious but also help to mop up some of the
dangerous toxins that float around our bodies. Forgiveness
is a spiritual superfood, essential for our personal and societal
health: helping to break down deep resentment; create the
possibility of restored relationships; reorientate our perspective
from hurts in the past to the potential of the future.
That isn't all
that we need: we also need a healthy dose of repentance. And,
although the two are inter-related, one doesn't need to come
before the other. They reinforce each other - like good nutrition
and exercise. Neither is a magic wand. Forgiveness and repentance
are not single acts, or forms of words; they are inter-related,
ongoing processes that will probably never be completed this
side of the grave. Just like eating and exercise.
It's easy to see
the failures of others, be it the deficiencies in their physical
condition or their need for forgiveness and repentance. But
we are not responsible for anyone else. We need to take control
of our own health - physical, emotional and spiritual. And
part of that is dealing with our need to repent, to be forgiven
and to forgive.
No point in waiting
for the time to be right, for someone else to go first…
Who needs forgiveness?
We all do. As individuals and as a society it is essential
for our spiritual fitness and, as such, we must do all we
can to foster a culture of meaningful forgiveness. As Desmond
Tutu said in the title of his book, there is 'No Future Without
Forgiveness…'. At least, no healthy future…
David Campton
To comment on
this or any other p.s. articles, please visit our p.s.
weblog...
Centre
for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland - Residential Summer
School
Listening Post - Rediscovering God, ourselves and the
world
31 May - 3 June, 2006
For further information visit: www.contemporarychristianity.org/events
'Out
of the Ordinary', a new devotional
resource from the Centre for Contemporary Christianity for
prayer and reflection leading up to Easter, is now available.
For more information visit: www.contemporarychristianity.org/outoftheordinary
|
