forgiveness

On shore

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Christ Appears on the Shore of Lake Tiberias – James Tissot via Wikimedia
Meal of Our Lord and the Apostles – James Tissot via Wikimedia
 
The blame forgotten,
shame covered,
Peter leapt into the sea.
Where tears once drowned hope
and denials became despair and self loathing,
his eyes had seen that figure on the shore,
that body once strung across the stained wood of execution.

A revived fishing business,
the dull depression of remembered cowardice,
of failed courage,
bad dreams of abandonment,
a deep sea of pain,
now splashed with new hope.

Peter would make it to the shore.

He is risen.
Peter is risen from the dead.
Three times denied.
Three times invited to love again
by him who three times prayed his own despair
and, three times mocked ‘mid three crosses,
in three days rose to resurrect Peter.

Peter made it to the shore.

Others made it to the shore.
They ate together,
a fellowship of grace and rehabilitation,
of forgiveness and hope,
a symbol of the persistence of divine love,
also for you and me.

 
William Loader, 1944- , Australian minister and professor
 
_____________________________________
 
 
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.
It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), 
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” 
So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, 

    but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” 

When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” 

As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” 
    he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, 
    for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.
When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

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things I know that I should not wish for

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Do Not Covet (THE COMMANDMENTS)
image by loswl via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
 
Father, I know that I should not wish for my neighbor’s (nicer) house, 
    or my neighbor’s (more beautiful/ handsome) spouse.  
I must not think to myself that I should have anything belonging to someone else –
    not ever the smallest thing. Not even their dog.
 
In the other nine commandments you have forbidden 
    all injuries and evil practices against my neighbors.  
Now you charge me to beware of thinking any evil thoughts against them.
 
And for this reason I have great reason to praise you.  
You care about my home and everything I own, even my dog, 
    and you command everyone else never to wish they had all my things, 
    instead of me.
 
The apostle said we should be 
    “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 
It is true, and I find it true. 
In this way you care for us, and so you would have us care for one another.
 
But gracious Lord, I must confess that I have forgotten 
    and have broken this commandment, and I still do every day.  
I am wishing and coveting every minute of every hour.  
I could have been content, 
    but I have always thought my neighbor had too much, and I too little.  
And the dregs of these things, Lord, are not quite out of my heart.  
I deserve your severe justice.
 
But keep in mind the frailty of my flesh, 
    the corruptions of my nature, and the many temptations.  
Remember how I am able to do nothing of myself – 
    and how I would come to nothing if left to myself.  
Be merciful and pardon me in this way also, for the sake of your son. 
Amen.
 
John Bradford, 1510-1555, English reformer and martyr
 
___________________________
 
 
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; 
you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, 
or his male servant, or his female servant, 
or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

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wash me with your tears

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Jesus Wept by Daniel Bonnell
 
Lord, we show you our wounds so that you may heal us.
And even if we do not, you know,
    and you wait to hear our voice.
Do away our scars by tears,
    like the woman in the gospel who washed your feet with hers.
 
You know how to help the weak,
    when there is no one who can prepare the feast,
    or bring the ointment,
    or carry along a spring of living water.
You come yourself to the grave.
 
So come to this grave of mine, Lord Jesus,
    that you would wash me with your tears.
With my dry eyes I have no such tears
    as to be able to wash away my offenses.
With your tears I will be saved, if I am worthy of your tears.
 
With them you will call me out of the tomb of this body and say, 
    “Come forth.”
Then my thoughts will not be kept pent up
    in the narrow limits of this body,
    but may go forth to you, and move to the light,
    that I may think no more on the works of darkness,
    but on the works of light.
 
Ambrose of Milan, c.339-397, Bishop of Milan
 
___________________________
 
 
When Jesus saw her weeping,
    and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping,
    he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
“Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
 
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, 
    “Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out, 
    his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, 
    and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, 
    “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

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I fly to you for refuge

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
photo by jonathan emili via pexels.com
 
 
I fly to you for refuge, blessed Christ, my only redeemer and savior.
My sins are certainly great.
But greater still is the payment you have made for them.
 
Great is my unrighteousness, but greater by far is your righteousness.
I admit my sin.
Please, in your grace, would you pay its penalty?
I reveal the sin, in your mercy conceal it.
With remorse I uncover it; please hide it, in your grace.
 
There is nothing in me but sin that deserves your condemnation.
But in you there is nothing but grace that gives me a blessed hope of salvation.
 
I hear a voice in scripture which tells me to hide in the clefts of the rock.
You are the rock that cannot be moved, and your wounds are those clefts.
In them I will hide from the accusations of the world.
 
My sins cry aloud to heaven for vengeance,
    but still more loudly cries out your blood shed for my sins.
 
My sins accuse me before God, 
    but your suffering is mightier for my defense.
My horribly wicked life calls for my condemnation,
    but your holy and righteous life pleads more powerfully still for my salvation.
I appeal from the throne of your justice to the throne of your mercy.
I have no desire to come before your judgment –
    unless your holy merit intervenes between me and your sentence.
 
Have mercy on us, only God of mercy,
    and turn our stony hearts to you! Amen!
 
Johann Gerhard, 1582 – 1637, Lutheran church leader and theologian
 
___________________________
 
 
Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
    for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
    He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
O my people, trust in him at all times.
    Pour out your heart to him,
    for God is our refuge. 

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prayer before the prayer

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Desmond M. Tutu CC BY 2.0
 
 
I want to be willing to let go, to forgive.
but dare not ask for the will to forgive,
    in case you give it to me
    and I am not yet ready.
I am not yet ready for my heart to soften.
I am not yet ready to be vulnerable again.
Not yet ready to see that there is humanity in my tormentor’s eyes
    or that the one who hurt me may also have cried.
I am not yet ready for the journey.
I am not yet interested in the path.
I am at the prayer before the prayer of forgiveness.

Grant me the will to want to forgive.
Grant it to me not yet but soon
Can I even form the words?
Forgive me? Dare I even look?
Do I dare to see the hurt I have caused:
I can glimpse all the shattered pieces of that fragile thing
    that soul trying to rise on the broken wings of hope.
But only out of the corner of my eye.
I am afraid of it.
And if I am afraid to see
How can I not be afraid to say: Forgive me?

Is there a place where we can meet?
You and me
The place in the middle where we straddle the lines
Where you are right and I am right too.
And both of us are wrong and wronged.
Can we meet there?
And look for the place where the path begins
The path that ends when we forgive.
 
Desmond Tutu, 1931 – 2021 & Mpho Tutu, 1963- South African Anglican priests,
 
___________________________
 
 
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, 
    you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, 
    kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 
Make allowance for each other’s faults, 
    and forgive anyone who offends you. 
Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
 

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Open unto me

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 
 
Open unto me, light for my darkness
Open unto me, courage for my fear
Open unto me, hope for my despair
Open unto me, peace for my turmoil
Open unto me, joy for my sorrow
Open unto me, strength for my weakness
Open unto me, wisdom for my confusion
Open unto me, forgiveness for my sins
Open unto me, tenderness for my toughness
Open unto me, love for my hates
Open unto me, Thy Self for myself
Lord, Lord, open unto me!

Howard Thurman, 1899-1981, American author, educator and civil rights leader
___________________________________
 
 
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
   the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
    the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners;
    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
 

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my neighbor has injured me

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Photo by Rana via Pexels
My Lord Jesus Christ, 
    my neighbor has injured me,
    hurt my honor by talking about me,
    and interfered with my rights.
O God, hear my complaint.
    I would gladly feel kindly toward my neighbor,
        but I cannot.
    How totally cold and insensible I am.
 
O Lord, 
    I am helpless and forsaken.
    If you change me, I will be sincere.
O dear God, 
    change me by your grace,
        or I must remain as I am.
Amen.
 
Martin Luther, 1483-1546, German Reformer
 
________________
 
 
Even my close friend,
    someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
    has turned against me.

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you have forgiven me such great sins

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 
What return shall I make to the Lord 
    for my ability to recall these things with no fear in my soul? 
I will love you, Lord, and thank you, and praise your name, 
    because you have forgiven me such great sins and such wicked deeds. 
I acknowledge that it was by your grace and mercy 
    that you melted away my sins like ice. 
I acknowledge, too, that by your grace 
    I was preserved from whatever sins I did not commit,
    for there was no knowing what I might have done, 
    since I loved evil even if it served no purpose. 
I avow that you have forgiven me all,
    both the sins which I committed of my own accord 
    and those which by your guidance I was spared from committing.

What man who reflects upon his own weakness 
    can dare to claim that his own efforts have made him chaste and free from sin, 
    as though this entitled him to love you the less, 
    on the ground that he had less need of the mercy 
    by which you forgive the sins of the penitent? 
There are some who have been called by you 
    and because they have listened to your voice 
    they have avoided the sins which I here record and confess for them to read. 
But let them not deride me for having been cured by the same Doctor 
    who preserved them from sickness, 
    or at least from such grave sickness as mine. 
Let them love you just as much, or even more, than I do, 
    for they can see that the same healing hand 
        which rid me of the great fever of my sins 
        protects them from falling sick of the same disease. 
 
St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430
 
_____________________________
 
 
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
    he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
    I will call on him as long as I live.

The cords of death entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
    “Lord, save me!”

The Lord is gracious and righteous;
    our God is full of compassion.
The Lord protects the unwary;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.

Return to your rest, my soul,
    for the Lord has been good to you.

For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling,
 that I may walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
 

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Separate us from forgiven sins

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image, Steve  F, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
 
Father, when You forgive sins, 
You separate them as far from us as the east is from the west
 
Bury them in the bottom of the deepest sea
and put up a sign for the devil that says,
NO FISHING.
 
Corrie Ten Boom, 1892-1983, Dutch Holocaust Survivor and author
 
______________________
 
 
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
 

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forgiveness that recreates

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image, Rebecca Kennison, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
Jesus’ prayer was, ‘Father, forgive them,
they know not what they do.’
A prayer born in death, writhing with pain.
A prayer risking faith, facing the sorrow.
A prayer living in hope, seeing the future.
 
My prayer was, ‘God, how can I forgive them?
They do know what they did.’
A prayer saying, ‘ It still hurts.’
A prayer wanting vengeance.
A prayer seeking direction.
 
My prayer became, ‘God, help me forgive them;
they know what they did.’
A prayer saying, ‘They were wrong.
A prayer wanting reconciliation.
A prayer seeing courage.
 
My prayer became, ‘God, forgive them;
they know what they did.’
A prayer that wrestled with injustice.
A prayer that acknowledges weakness.
A prayer that found hope in God’s love.
 
My prayer remains, ‘God, forgive them;
they know what they did.’
Because forgiveness recreates life from death.
Because forgiveness cleanses the healing wound.
Because forgiveness builds the bridge of freedom.
 
Jared P. Pingleton, Christian psychologist, author, and speaker
________________________
 
 
Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, 
    and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 
Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, 
    it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

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