Sermon: "The Challenge of Forgiveness"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

[This sermon by Bishop vonRosenberg was delivered using the following notes.]

Our Collect for today presents us with one of the great Christian paradoxes into which we are called to live. Today's Collect - the prayer especially for today - refers to the "steadfast faith and love" that come from the Lord. In that atmosphere - and with such gifts of faith and love - we then pray that we may both proclaim God's "truth with boldness" and, at the same time, minister God's justice with compassion." Now that is a lot to ask for - "truth with boldness" and "justice with compassion." Doing one or the other is pretty good; but accomplishing both is nearly impossible, in my own experience as well as in what I have observed in the lives of others. In fact, this paradox of intention points to one of the challenges in the Anglican Communion these days, it seems to me.

That is, if we truly evaluate our own lives and faith - or, the lives and faith of others - in terms of the paradox of our Collect this morning, I suspect that each of us will come up short. I believe I can safely say that we do not proclaim God's "truth with boldness" and, at the same time, minister God's "justice with compassion" on a regular basis.

As a means to address the challenge of our Collect, the Bible readings today point to several very human, very contemporary-sounding dilemmas for people of faith. It is helpful, therefore, that those readings remind us of an essential aspect of the practice of Christianity, given the reality of our humanity. And that practice is forgiveness. The practice of forgiveness needs to lie at the heart of our everyday Christian lives - as we struggle to follow the way of our Lord and as we fall short, over and over again, in doing so. As our Lord points out in the prayer he gave to us, we need to seek God's forgiveness, and, in addition, we need to forgive others as well. Such giving and receiving of forgiveness lies at the center of what it means to be a Christian. The Collect for today challenges us with the need to receive forgiveness and to exercise it … and, then, the readings give us examples of such needs.

At the very beginning of Psalm 32, the theme of forgiveness presents itself to us. The Psalmist opens his passage this way: "Happy - or, blessed - are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away!" There we are. Forgiveness cannot be avoided today, even though we might prefer to concentrate on other matters. Indeed, forgiveness demands our attention this morning.

In the Old Testament reading from Second Samuel, we see King David at his worst. Actually, it was just prior to this passage that David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then, David made certain that Uriah - Bathsheba's husband - would be killed in battle. Not very appealing behavior for the king of God's people!

The prophet Nathan confronted David - first in an indirect way, with the story of the poor man and his lamb. When David became upset at hearing about the rich man who had the poor man's lamb killed, then Nathan spoke more directly as the Lord's prophet. He said to David, "You are the man!"

Following that confrontation comes an amazing and instant recognition. David readily accepts his own guilt. "I have sinned against the Lord," he affirms. And then, perhaps even more amazing comes this word of forgiveness from Nathan: "Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die."

It is interesting that the words of Psalm 32 are thought, by some, to be a personal expression of David's reaction to his confrontation with Nathan. That is, David had a hand in writing many of the psalms, and whether he wrote this one or not, the words certainly are appropriate to his circumstances: "Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away!"

In the reading from St. Luke's Gospel, we hear the subject of forgiveness addressed once again. However, in this case, the emphasis changes from the one who is forgiven to the one who forgives - and, in particular, to the Lord. You may remember that the whole passage involves the theme of forgiveness. Jesus speaks of forgiving great debts, and he compares that to forgiving great sins. Jesus expresses forgiveness toward the woman who was characterized as "a sinner." Then, in amazement, the people say, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" You see, in traditional Jewish understanding, God alone could forgive sins. Jesus' word of forgiveness, therefore, was a truly remarkable thing.

I suspect, my friends, that we do not concentrate enough attention on the matter of forgiveness, nor do we understand it for the profound event that it is. Even though the Lord himself instructed us to pray, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," still we seldom appreciate the centrality of forgiveness to our Faith. We cannot expect God to forgive us for our various sins - known and unknown, intended and unintended - unless we are willing to forgive others who have wronged us. May we therefore look at those around us with new eyes and with greater care, recognizing our need to forgive them - perhaps especially those closest to us.

Finally, in the reading from Galatians, St. Paul writes that we Christians "have been crucified with Christ." He affirms, "I no longer live but Christ lives in me." Therefore, using St. Paul's personal perspective, the sinner that I am has been crucified so that the Christ in me may live. Thus, I, who have been forgiven, am enabled by the Christ in me to forgive others. And that is indeed good news!

Some of us today will be baptized, confirmed, or received. All of us will affirm our Baptismal Covenant with God. As a way to renew that Covenant, we will be asked certain questions. Among them is this one: "Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?"(BCP, p.417). Our response, "I will, with God's help", indicates our commitment to living a life centered on forgiveness - God's forgiveness of us and our subsequent forgiveness of other people. May we recognize that in life and in death, in good times and in bad ones, it is a central responsibility for Christian people to be about the work of forgiveness - accepting the forgiveness of God and, then, practicing forgiveness toward other people.

In conclusion, therefore, it is most appropriate that we claim our place along with the Psalmist, who may be King David himself and who proclaims, "Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away!" Happy, indeed, are we that our transgressions are forgiven and that our sins are put away! Amen.

Copyright © 2007 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee