Dear Friends
We forgive. We do this not for the sake of the one we are forgiving but for our own because to hold onto anger, resentment, bitterness and irritation eats away at us, gnaws at us, corrupts us: these are all punishments we give ourselves for the mistakes of others, forgiveness releases us so that we may be free. In fact, forgiveness is of such great benefit that everyone would do it save for one cause, it is really hard.
Alexander Pope (1688–1744) famously said, in his poem An Essay on Criticism,
To err is human; to forgive, divine.
And it is indeed divine; it is indeed a gift of God. Someone errs against me, sins against me, and I want justice exacted and vengeance enacted, I want retribution, I want public shaming and castigation; my dignity has been affronted and my honour besmirched: I demand justification. Yet what exactly could be done to assuage my wrath? And let us suppose that all is done as I dictate, would I be satisfied? And, furthermore, for how long would I survive in such a society where my slightest infraction against my neighbour would be punished with such malicious and bloodthirsty vengefulness? Yes, indeed, to err is human, and I err every moment of my life, yet through Christ am I given the grace to forgive others: and even more so, as much as I forgive others to that same extent Christ will forgive me.
So, I must work at it, I must pray to be given this grace to forgive others. And while on many occasions the infractions against me might seem minor and I learn to forgive quickly, some may have really hurt me and I must work at it, work hard and work often. But to forgive does not mean that we must forget about it or pretend it never happened—we have the phrase “forgive and forget” which is among the most stupid pieces of advice going—if someone has hurt us we are not called to place ourselves in a situation in which we will be hurt again; to forgive means, rather, we no longer hold it against them, we no longer keep it in our hearts deliberately causing ourselves pain and anguish. To forgive someone who has hurt us means they no longer hold power over us.
Yes, indeed, I must forgive all those who do evil against me, as a blessing from God and as an expression of my Christian life. And if I, from my ivory tower, regard those around me and graciously offer my benevolent forgiveness I will have missed the Gospel and be far from Christ. Because I must recognise in myself not only that I must forgive others, but that I must ask forgiveness. I want to view my sins personally, they affect only me, but my sins affect everyone. I have brought contamination and disease into society and into the Church, I have brought filth which affects everyone. My sin, my iniquity, affects all. And on the precipice of the Great Fast, as we prepare to start more earnestly our purification that we may receive the Great Pascha with joy, we ask one another’s forgiveness. We recognise this: however secret my sin is, it damages my relationship with each one of you.
I have sinned, I have fallen short of the Glory of God, and my sins affect you. For all I have done and neglected to do, for all I have offended and hurt you, for all I have kept you from knowing the love of God through our Lord Christ Jesus, I ask your forgiveness: forgive me, a sinner.
And as we gather on this Sunday—forgiving others and asking their forgiveness personally, directly, without pretence nor bitterness—let us pray that we may enter the Great Fast with joy.
Thy grace hath risen, O Lord, the illumination of our souls hath shone forth. Lo, now is the acceptable time; the season of repentance hath come. Let us cast down the works of darkness, and put on the works of light, that we may pass the great tempest of fasting and reach the summit of the third-day Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Savior of our souls.
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Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Judgement is before me and I stand, trembling, with fear. Judgement is before me and I have no place to hide. Judgement is before me and the King is enthroned before me, promising to return to me all I deserve, all I have worked towards, all I have granted to others. And those times in my life where I have said I desire a vision of Christ before me have become as nothing when I stand before Him and all my sinfulness is laid bare. “Woe is me,” says the Prophet Isaiah,
“for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.”
— Isaiah 6:5
I, too, am undone, unmade. I, too, have been called by God for His mission, His purpose. But more than the Prophet, I have been baptised, I have been regenerated from on High, I have been offered the Holy Spirit, I have partaken of the Bread of Life yet am I not only a man of unclean lips but of unclean actions, of unclean deeds, of an unclean heart. And in that moment, if I am not willing to turn away from my wickedness, I shall feel the millstone being hung around my neck (Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2) as His angels prepare the impending doom.
…
Read this Sermon, Judgement is before me.
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 20th February
No Discussion this week
Saturday 21st February
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 22nd February
Matins & Divine Liturgy, 9 am
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Online session is via Google Meet: please get indd contact for the details.
Please join us: all are welcome, come and see.
Attending Church
We meet at 3rd URC Scout HQ, Kings Rd, Chandlers Ford SO53 2EY. The Scout hall is behind and to the left of the URC Church. Come and See.
Can I help you?
I am here for you, you need only ask. Is there a way I can support your life of faith? Get in touch.
Can you help the parish?
Yes, absolutely. Offer yourselves to the Lord: pray! Make available to him all your talents and ask him how he would like you to use them — listen for his reply.
Your prayers!
With love in Christ
Fr Alexander
webenquiry@orthodoxeastleigh.uk