The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
June 17, 2007
Vol. 10 no. 24

Everything But...
           Without a doubt the most difficult thing to deal with in the church is forgiveness. I say in the church, because outside the church forgiveness is generally a term of derision. “Justice” has replaced forgiveness in the vocabulary of our newscasts - the law of retaliation, an eye for an eye. The media rushes to the family of a murder victim or of some other brutal crime to see how satisfied they are with the verdict and sentencing of the perpetrator. More and more, victims are becoming practiced in being less and less satisfied - they demand more punishment in passionate and angry voices. Forgiveness is verging on unconstitutional. When the President of the United States pardons a political colleague convicted of criminal behaviour, is that forgiveness?
           Jesus relentlessly talks about forgiveness, in every shape and form. His brief parable about the two debtors forgiven of smaller and larger debts is a form of gratitude for the generosity of another. The spirit permeating much of Jesus’ forgiveness is that generosity is too big to be narrowed down and soured by bitterness and revenge. The more generous and giving you are, anger and hatred are pushed away like precipitation from a high pressure area.
           The harlot who washes and anoints Jesus’ feet with oil has offended no one directly. The offended Pharisees are taking umbrage over her soiled social status. A real rabbi ought to know a sinner when he sees one is their charge. What Jesus sees before him is a person who has begun a new way of life, and by forgiving her sins, he frees her to keep going forward. The Pharisees come back angrily, “Who is this who forgives sins?” That is still the question being asked on the evening news.