April 25, 2006
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sin... Eckhart Tolle, calling it "the primary error" , defines it as "forgetfulness of [God]...the illusion of absolute separateness that turns reality into a nightmare"... (A New Earth, p54)
we have talked alot about it over the past 6 weeks, not surprisingly since it was Lent, then Easter... especially at Easter when we praise God that we can be freed from sin and its consequences... i like Tolle's definition,though, for it seems to cover most of the ground of our sinfulness > we sin against God when we forget that we are a part of God's good creation, and act as if we did not need to care about the world around us. we sin against our fellow humans when we forget that we are all connected by the Holy Spirit and by Jesus' saving death in the family of God's children... we sin against God when we forget that God loves each and every person, believer or no, with an all-consuming love, and that we are all connected within and through that love...
the Gospel lesson for this past Sunday speaks of Jesus appearing to his disciples in the upper room, which was locked out of fear.... when Jesus appears, he doesn't even acknowledge the betrayals of his followers, the falling asleep in Gethsemane, the running away when the soldiers took him, the denial of Peter, the abandonment on the hill of Golgotha... all he does is wish 'Peace".... and right on the heels of the overlooking of all their shortcomings, Jesus tells them that if they forgive the sins of any , they are forgiven, and if they retain the sins of any, they are retained...
how can we not forgive others, and right away, when Jesus refuses to even reproach, as he righteously and rightfully could, those who had failed him? that is exactly what we are called to do, to love everyone enough to be able to accept their shortcomings, their betrayals, as part of their humanity....
if you truly love someone, you are aware of their weaknesses, and you love them anyway. so the call is to be aware of these weaknesses, and when they cause your loved one to betray you, you forgive them anyway, without reproach, without recrimination, without even mentioning it. even if it WOULD make US feel better...
"and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us..." in the same way that we forgive, so are we forgiven....
Comments (8)
I'm glad we think on the same page.
I really don't know why I'm so skeptical about "life". I sit outself for a breather at nights at think about the most random shit that crosses my mind. And somehow, I feel that it's not real. That everything we're in, isn't real.
Politics, economy. It's all there to confuse us. I'l definitely check out that book.
Yeah, I know not all Americans are the same, I am just a good portion of the people, if not the majority. But I have met plenty Americans who are very well-educated and cultured and who have taught me things about the world.
Strong thing we have here. :lookaround:
Aren't hazel eyes pretty!? :sunny:
Thank you so much for responding!!! I love your post above. I wish more Christians would take grasp of this concept of forgiving and put it into practice. Thanks for you post. Growing up in a southern baptist church, i never even really heard of the book of prayers you were talking about. My church was very adamant of only teaching bible stories. i'm so glad you encourage your students to ask questions. since i just graduated out of the "youth department" at my church last year, i deeply appreciate your methods of teaching. I wish i had a deeper knowledge of Christian traditions like most Episcopal, Orthodox, and Catholics tend to have. I tend to approach most of the masses with much awe and respect, especially ones so full of long held traditions and meaningful liturgy. so i'm curious about your seminar experiences. growing up baptist, i had never seen a woman pastor/priest until i was in high school. do you face much adversity being a woman and wanting to be a leader in your denomination? what do you think of women being missionaries working without a spouse or a male overseeing the operation? I'm all for it, but that is definitely a big no for a baptist to be thinking (which i do not consider myself a baptist, if the truth be told. i consider myself either a generous orthodox, or an emergent).
Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to learn.
RYC: I actually have PMDD... do you feel like your PMS really interferes with your life and relationships with people? If so, you might want to do some research on PMDD... and trust me, you're not the only one that gets depressed and cries a lot.
Yeah, I can relate to the PMS. Well, that was an amazing poem you posted. I like dark poetry! :love:
I am glad to see I am not the only one who embraces my writing. And just for your info, it's copyrighted now! :spinning:
I'm happy! That's the first step towards publishing my book.
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