Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each
other, just as in Christ God forgave you
(Ephesians 4:32)
All of
these "one another" passages are being considered as part of an
exploration of the idea of community. Today's passages focuses on forgiveness,
and it's a topic that will cover several days. Have you ever thought about what
a community would be like in which there was no forgiveness? This could take
two forms.
The first and most obvious society is the one that rejects, exiles or kills anyone who does anything wrong. No second chances allowed. The list of wrongs might be short or long, but the moment anyone breaks one of those laws, punishment is assured and not open to discussion. The second may be a nothing more than a variation on the first. It is the society in which there is no forgiveness because there are no rules. No matter what one does, there are no consequences. Both these societies would be perfectly fair, but neither would survive as a community. In the first, even if were no law with regard to an activity, the community would tend to divide over whether an injury was sufficient to deserve a law. The second sort of community would be destroyed because no one would be able to address the issue of an injury.
Some people might think of God as establishing the "no second chance" society. There are lots of rules in the traditional Jewish religion. Some of those rules required that people be kicked out of Jewish society; others called for capital punishment. Such was not the rule for most of the laws. Community under the Mosaic Covenant was maintained through a mixture of definite laws under which there were no second chances and mechanisms to provide second chances. Sometimes those second chances were for violations of laws for which there seemed to be no second chances.
The sacrificial system in Judaism was a system of forgiveness. Yes, it looked forward to the True Sacrifice. Forgiveness is through faith in Christ. But the sacrificial system also served a personal and interpersonal role. The sacrificial system was a means by which the law-breaker accepted forgiveness to himself. It was (or was meant to be) evidence of his repentance and of forgiveness given to him . It was also the means by the law breaker was brought back into fellowship with the community.
After Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, the need for further sacrifice was eliminated. Paul discussed the problem of sin in the Church and the need for forgiveness frequently. As someone who didn't grow up in the Church and who doesn't know Church history as well as I should, I'm not sure exactly what customs the early Church followed beyond confession and exclusion from or inclusion in fellowship. As time went on, more formal methods developed for confession and penitence became associated with tasks. As with Israel, the act became a substitute for true repentance. This mechanism was abandoned by Protestants as a result of the Reformation.
While the mechanism is gone, the need is not. Communities need laws, some of which allow no second chances, but for most of which there can be forgiveness. Communities also need ways to communicate that forgiveness to one another, and for the individual to receive it. Our communities would benefit from finding ways to communicate forgiveness more clearly, and even more formally, to its members. Forgiveness may be a fact, but its experience is vital to a relationship.
The first and most obvious society is the one that rejects, exiles or kills anyone who does anything wrong. No second chances allowed. The list of wrongs might be short or long, but the moment anyone breaks one of those laws, punishment is assured and not open to discussion. The second may be a nothing more than a variation on the first. It is the society in which there is no forgiveness because there are no rules. No matter what one does, there are no consequences. Both these societies would be perfectly fair, but neither would survive as a community. In the first, even if were no law with regard to an activity, the community would tend to divide over whether an injury was sufficient to deserve a law. The second sort of community would be destroyed because no one would be able to address the issue of an injury.
Some people might think of God as establishing the "no second chance" society. There are lots of rules in the traditional Jewish religion. Some of those rules required that people be kicked out of Jewish society; others called for capital punishment. Such was not the rule for most of the laws. Community under the Mosaic Covenant was maintained through a mixture of definite laws under which there were no second chances and mechanisms to provide second chances. Sometimes those second chances were for violations of laws for which there seemed to be no second chances.
The sacrificial system in Judaism was a system of forgiveness. Yes, it looked forward to the True Sacrifice. Forgiveness is through faith in Christ. But the sacrificial system also served a personal and interpersonal role. The sacrificial system was a means by which the law-breaker accepted forgiveness to himself. It was (or was meant to be) evidence of his repentance and of forgiveness given to him . It was also the means by the law breaker was brought back into fellowship with the community.
After Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, the need for further sacrifice was eliminated. Paul discussed the problem of sin in the Church and the need for forgiveness frequently. As someone who didn't grow up in the Church and who doesn't know Church history as well as I should, I'm not sure exactly what customs the early Church followed beyond confession and exclusion from or inclusion in fellowship. As time went on, more formal methods developed for confession and penitence became associated with tasks. As with Israel, the act became a substitute for true repentance. This mechanism was abandoned by Protestants as a result of the Reformation.
While the mechanism is gone, the need is not. Communities need laws, some of which allow no second chances, but for most of which there can be forgiveness. Communities also need ways to communicate that forgiveness to one another, and for the individual to receive it. Our communities would benefit from finding ways to communicate forgiveness more clearly, and even more formally, to its members. Forgiveness may be a fact, but its experience is vital to a relationship.
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