Peter, standing before the Council of Jerusalem, boldly says:

The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus... that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

and the risen Lord Jesus himself says to the disciples:

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

This is called the “Office of the Keys”,

            the business called forgiveness.

It is crucial for life in the church.

 

Always there are wounds in the body of Christ,

places where forgiveness and understanding are not being practiced, where anger and resentment rule.

--We know of annoyances that have sprouted and grown into full feuds.

--Folks in my knowing have carried ill-will for years, even all the way to death, without the situation ever being resolved.

--Someone says or does something at which we take offense; it is very easy to do, and it may not even be intentional.

But once begun, this cancer spreads rapidly.

I remember a situation in the hospital many years ago where a wife was demanding the doctors to revive her husband because there was something that needed to be put right.  It was too late.

There is an old saying to the effect that the one who harbors resentment and refuses to forgive is having himself for lunch.

That may be literally true if one's anger is physically manifested in an ulcer or other malady.

 

There may be situations where a person needs to move to another congregation; but there are many other times when the best thing to do is to offer and to receive forgiveness and reconciliation.

 

Let's put it baldly:

            without forgiveness, life in the church  becomes harsh and unpleasant, and perhaps impossible.

 

Cain killed Abel and God was both disappointed and rightfully angry.

What did Cain get from God?

He deserved death;

            but he got chastisement...but also a new chance at life,

and the mark of God's protection on his forehead.

 

The people of Israel did all manner of things;

the prophets enumerated individual sins and sins of the entire nation,

and warned of consequences of these offenses against God and one another...

but also the prophets pointed to the new and fresh things that God is determined to do with even these persons who have failed so miserably.

 

What about Peter who thrice-denies Jesus?

What about Thomas who has trouble believing the news of the resurrection?

God worked with them, changed them, and restored them to the community.

 

Where we would see no possibilities, God changes things.

Where we are busy making up things on our own, God breaks in.

 

Here we are in the pew on Sunday morning, fuming about what someone has said or done to us, and the pastor has just announced:

As a called and ordained minister of the church pf Christ and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

What is our response?

The appropriate one is Amen, that is,

“Yes Lord, I believe that announcement and trust it;

yes, I join the prayer, Lord, and ask for this outcome;

yes, Lord, this is my story, too, and what i need to hear this day.”

 

Too often, the response is much less spirited, though.

--It might be lackadaisical:

            Oh, it's just words that don't mean much!

--It might be cynical:

            That pastor! Well, I know some things about him! How could he have anything to say to me?

--A person's reaction might be totally distant:

            I don't have anything to confess.

            I don't need that forgiveness.

            It would be implying that I've been wrong, and that is just not the case.

 

Let's be clear:

            the forgiveness that the pastor announces and which each of us is to receive and put into practice in our lives is not something which the pastor manufactures.

It is God's gift.

One of our founding documents, the Augsburg Confession, says:

We also teach that God requires us to believe this absolution (announcement of forgiveness) as much as if we heard God's voice from heaven, and that we should know that through such faith we obtain forgiveness of sins.

                                    [AC XXV, 62.4]

 

Receive the word of absolution gladly, not because the pastor is speaking, but because it is God's word.

Do not cease to come to the Table because of some flaw or misdeed by a fellow member, or leader.

Come because it is God's gift which he offers for us all, freely, equally, and all together.

 

The forgiving activity of God has reached out to each of us, and is now the treasure of the whole church.

It is to be one of the distinguishing marks of the Christian community.

Rather proudly we have named our species homo sapiens = wise man.

I would suggest that two other names would be more appropriate to express our destiny and place in God's plans.

We should be known as

            homo adorans = praising man, and

            homo ignoscans = forgiving man.

 

It is a sad, no, horrifying thing for someone to refuse to forgive.

It means that we are treating that person as less than human.

It means that we are destroying community rather than building it up.

It means that we have not been willing to accept the forgiveness which Christ has offered to us!

It means that we have preferred to retain some of our sins.

It is neither physically nor spiritually healthy!

 

What happens when we get unexpected visitors at home?

We carefully guide them to one part of the house while quickly shutting the door to the messier parts.

When Christ comes to our house filled with the relationships with other folks, what shall we do?

Shall we try to close off the messy rooms where we are arguing with a brother or sister,

Shall we claim that we need no forgiveness for ourselves,?

Shall we claim that we do not need to share forgiveness with others?

 

There is a paragraph from the long service of public confession in the old Service Book and Hymnal about which we have conveniently forgotten.

After the announcement of forgiveness, it says:

On the other hand and by the same authority, I declare to the impenitent and unbelieving, that so long as they continue in their impenitence, God hath not forgiven their sins, and will surely visit their iniquities upon them, if they turn not from their evil ways and come to true repentance and faith in Christ, ere the day of grace be ended.

 

Here is what it plainly says: when we refuse to forgive, we are less than Christian and are losing our own forgiveness.

If that makes us uncomfortable, that is fine, because that is what is supposed to do.

That warning is shake us up, to re-direct us so that we are ready to receive and share God's gifts and thus to become truly human.

 

Here is one application of the point from ancient times:

The scene is Carthage in North Africa in the year 250 AD.

There has been widespread opposition and persecution of Christians in the area, and they are being blamed for the plagues that are afflicting the city.

They have reason to be angry at those who have vilified and slandered them.

Everyone is frightened. Bodies are piling up in the streets. It is a time to take care of yourself.

But the Christians are acting so peculiarly; they are going around and helping in whatever ways they can, even with strangers and those who have been persecuting them.

They offer forgiveness to enemies by what they did.

These efforts were organized by their bishop, Cyprian, who told the wondering observers that these things are commanded by the Lord Jesus.

Cyprian's bold and fearless witness and leadership undoubtedly contributed to the growth of the church, even though it eventually led to his arrest and martyrdom.

 

This is a powerful story and example.

What will each of us do this week?

Will we allow Jesus into every room in our lives, so that we can truly become homo ignoscans = forgiving man?

 

Amen.