Forgiveness

I am working on an upcoming sermon for Trinity XXII. The topic of forgiveness is one that has been at the forefront of my mind for some time. Indeed, much of the difficulty our Parish faces has to do with an unforgiving spirit. Sometimes blame for our problems is misdirected, sometimes it is properly attributed, but there is an endemic problem in the way we treat each other.

It has been my opinion that some in the Parish do not pay attention to the Lord's Prayer, especially the implied conditional nature of forgiveness. And frankly, I struggle with this as a preacher; there is a depth to this that I cannot easily breach. Is forgiveness dependent upon repentance and contrition? In other words, are those who wait for an apology for slights real or imagined correct to withhold forgiveness? What if they wait (in vain) for an apology from one who has not wronged them? Or perhaps they wait for an apology from one who will never apologize. What then is our obligation regarding forgiveness?

Evidently, I have much to learn and consider. Indeed, much of my struggle comes from my own unforgiving heart towards those who have tried to damage this Parish. It's funny in a way, because I bear no ill will to those who malign me personally; but I have trouble forgetting or forgiving those who attack our Parish, our Clergy, and those I consider friends.

I don't know why, but Elvis Presley springs to mind:

Well, you can knock me down,
Step in my face,
Slander my name
All over the place.

Do anything that you want to do, but uh-uh,
Honey, lay off of my shoes

I don't know that our Clergy would consider themselves flattered at the reference, but it fits in an odd sort of way.