Forgiveness

I had a chance this weekend to listen, not once, but three times to a fascinating speaker at our church. His name is Miroslav Volf, a professor of theology at Yale Divinity School and the founder and director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture.

Volf’s message was a difficult one to swallow for many in this age of vengeance and retribution. Simply put, it is forgiveness. He said forgiveness is not just an act by those wronged. It is also the acknowledgment by the “perpetrator” that wrong was done. Moreover, Volf says the forgiver must reach a level of reconciliation with the “forgiv-ee” and then a forgetting of what was done. As was written in our bulletin, without forgiveness, reconciliation and forgetting, Dr. Wolf maintains, memories of evils done to us can consume and define our lives.

We must remember that, as Christians, the fulcrum of our faith is that Christ died for our sins; that’s all of our sins, from the beginning of time to the end. Think of the billions of sins committed, the atrocities, the suffering endured in the past 2,000 years. Well, God has forgiven us all those sins through His son.

Volf -- who has written several books including “The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World” and “Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace” – says that Christianity calls on us to forgive, forgo revenge and even love evil-doers. Again, according to the flyer in our church bulletin, Volf also says that the common emphasis on “never forgetting” wrongs should be replaced with efforts toward a special kind of forgetting, a “not coming to mind.”

Powerful stuff, huh? I’ve been fortunate in my life in that I don’t remember ever “being wronged.” Have I wronged people? Unfortunately, the answer is yes, and I’ve tried to make amends, seek their forgiveness. It’s amazing what can happen when you seek out the “wronged:” a softness can come over people, an acknowledgment that forgiveness is in their hearts.

The bigger conundrum for all of us is what about the “bigger” wrongs, the ones that nations or groups do against others? Volf addresses that too, saying it is a different kettle of fish. Speaking of an act such as 9/11, he said that punishment is within the purview of nations, of course, but ultimately, in the long view, forgiveness is still the ultimate goal for Christians.

I believe that if we can begin to forgive others, seek forgiveness and forgo revenge in each of our lives, then perhaps our leaders will take that message to heart. Perhaps the love that God wishes for each of us can, eventually, lead to a world led by light.

(You can connect here, http://www.yale.edu/faith/ to learn more about Dr. Volf.)