Helen Chang: February 21

Saturday, February 21, 2015

A Reflection on Forgiveness from Helen Chang

In a world where our children move from our homes and daily lives, it is good to realize they respect their heritage. Life has changed little from this story of the Prodigal Son and his Dutiful Brother, where a loving Father makes all the difference.

Daniel Chang, a new St. Olaf graduate summarized his African Peace Corp Experience to his parents:

The overwhelming nature of village life in Africa is hard to describe. The very nature of people is so radically different that nothing can prepare you for it. My new home was a society of a few dozen people living in mud huts in the middle of the rainforest. They had never gone to school, never seen a map or globe, and had never seen a lake or horizon. All they knew were the people and animals they lived with, and the plants they used for food and medicine. I, on the other hand, came from an academic lifestyle where people expected me to succeed and achieve. These men have no hope for a better life, no education to support them, and no opportunities. Hope for the future was all but non-existent. It is very difficult to internalize how this must feel to a young man. In America we are taught that anybody can rise to the loftiest of positions. Possibility alone is worth risking everything. It dawned on me that both my grandfather and father were classic examples of this. I have great respect for my father. I knew it was not an easy thing to leave his homeland and go somewhere foreign with no money, no connections, and no real plans. My pride for my father and grandfather was teaching me about the world. More importantly, I saw my place in it and the opportunities that lay before me. I draw strength often by conjuring up the faces of my villagers, my grandfather, and my own father, who came alone from a war-torn country to this land of possibility. What I do is easy by comparison. I owe much to the many people who opened my eyes to the world, whether they are in Africa, India or elsewhere. I also owe much to my grandfather and my father who sacrificed and took a chance to make a life for me.

Prayerfully:
 O God, as you seek to make the human family one family across the earth, we commit ourselves to you. You have made each one of us unique and special; help us to appreciate the differences. Help us to appreciate our common humanity. Grant that we see the beauty of our diversity and the beauty of our commonality. Help us to build the kind of family that guards each person’s dignity and each person’s pride. Amen.

Kait McCullough: February 20

Week 1 - Luke 15:11-15

Friday, February 20, 2015

A Reflection on Forgiveness from Kait McCullough

The light at the end of the tunnel can be seen as forgiveness. In order to see the light, you usually need to be in a dark place. First, we need to admit to ourselves that we need to be forgiven, then ask God and follow God’s plan as the brother in the scripture reading did. 

It was a total of five seconds of my life, but it felt like a lifetime as I watched myself drop into darkness and come into the light of forgiveness. I found myself yelling even louder than my kids. I had told myself that I wouldn’t yell at my kids the way my dad did at me, and yet there we were. In that moment of devastation and failure, I could not remember what I was so upset about. I felt shame surround me, and then I was able to admit to myself my mistake and ask for God’s forgiveness. In the moment I realized I also needed to ask my kids to forgive me. That’s something my father never did, but I could use the moment to teach instead of fester resentment. Even as I stopped yelling and called, “Time out! Family hug!” I felt lighter. As I apologized and asked my kids to forgive me, they looked at me with those eyes, as only children of God can, and said, “Yes, I forgive you!” It was as if God was speaking to me through my children. The unconditional love I felt through their forgiveness is a true reflection of how God loves us and wants us to feel God’s love. 

Thank you, God, for your message of forgiveness today. The innocence of a child exudes forgiveness and forgives all by showing unconditional love to us. As I look to forgive myself and others in this season of my life, I will remember to look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Please allow me to see my need for forgiveness and feel your love. I know that you will lead me through my own tunnel and allow me to forgive others, as you forgive me, with unconditional love. Amen.

Andrew Cherney: February 19

Week 1 - Luke 15:11-15
Thursday, February 19, 2015

A Reflection on Forgiveness from Andrew Cherney

In the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), we see a story of arrogance, greed, wastefulness and most importantly: repentance. The son is gifted his rightful inheritance and squanders his wealth by living wastefully. What I find most intriguing about this passage is the passionate and realistic way Jesus shows us the depths of the prodigal son's despair. The depth of his sorrow drove him to a point where he saw himself as unworthy, so much so that he eventually began to prepare for his apology. First he confesses his sins, and then returns home to make his restitution to his father. It's this moment of realization that is to be celebrated.

This passage reminds me of a recent visit I made to Serenity Inn, a transitional living program for homeless men who choose recovery from drug or alcohol abuse. The mood when I arrived at the house was jubilant and filled with grace. We sat around a dinner table sharing stories about our past, but what stuck with me most was a man who asked the very poignant question, "What would you do if you were in a position in your life where you felt you couldn't help or serve others?" I felt naked at that moment. Here was a man at a very exposed point in his life who had chosen to take ownership of his life. Instead of asking a very predictable question about why we serve or how it makes us feel to serve, he immediately turned the table and asked me and the other volunteers to take a walk in his shoes. My response was one of brokenness. We've all experienced times in our lives when we've felt helpless or humbled or in search of answers. It's in that moment that we realize we've been trying to live out the Christian life from our own power and knowledge rather than out of the power of God.

So will you be as courageous as the prodigal son or the men of Serenity Inn to give yourself up to ask for help when life is making you feel lost? No matter how far we wander from God, He wants to do more than just help us - He wants to save us.

Dear Heavenly Father,

We ask you to open our hearts and minds to receive your guidance in times when we have turned away from you. When we ourselves are feeling lost, please enter into our hearts as a reminder that you are with us both in our moments of darkness and in our moments of light. Amen

Pat Foldvary: February 18

Week 1 - Luke 15:11-15

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

A Reflection on Forgiveness from Pat Foldvary

This scripture calls to mind the term “unconditional love,” so popular in today’s world.  It is a vivid example of a father’s perfect forgiveness in rushing to welcome home his younger son, the prodigal, with an embrace and a kiss.  Before ever hearing his son’s confession, the father is filled with the flood of love and relief a parent feels at first sight of a lost child returned.  Marring the moment, the older son is angry and resentful, exhibiting a “Dad likes you best” attitude.  

When we say the words of  the Lord’s Prayer, we are reminded that asking for forgiveness for our trespasses is only part of the petition.  We are to forgive, without bitterness or resentment, those who trespasses against us, offering to others the same gift that has been given to us by God’s grace.  

In their grief, parents of children killed in tragedies such as those occurring at West Nickel Mines School in Pennsylvania in 2006 and Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012, chose love over hate.  They reached out in compassion to the families of the perpetrators of those violent actions.

Gracious Father, thank you for your forgiving presence each and every day.  We know you understand the burdens that lie heavy on our hearts before we even speak them.  We need only turn to you.  Jesus forgave from the cross.  Our faith assures us of your forgiveness.  Guide our focus away from self and toward compassion for others, opening the door to healing and reconciliation. Amen

Introduction from Pr. Matt Kruse: February 18

Introduction to St Matthew’s Reflections on Forgiveness

Ash Wednesday – February 18, 2015

Forgive me, Lover, for I have sinned.  For I have done You wrong.  For I have hurt beyond repair, and when tears occurred, and I didn’t care. Forgive me, Lover, for I have loved You Wrong. —The Swell Season, “I Have Loved You Wrong”

     I’ve included the words to one of my favorite songs above, in part because putting my need for forgiveness into words has been hard. In my own preparations for Lent, I have, time and again, found myself without the verbiage to express what it feels like to admit I have wronged another child of God. I cannot put into powerful words the feelings of pain I feel in my gut as I learn of the ways I am complicit in systems that oppress and dehumanize my own brothers and sisters. I sense in myself a great deal of reluctance to put forgiveness into words, in part because it means giving voice to my sins (misguided trust in things) against God that makes forgiveness so necessary.  It means also putting into words the brokenness I have helped to perpetuate and create.  

     I confess that I have sinned against you this day.  Some of my sin I know—the thoughts and words and deeds of which I am ashamed—but some is known only to you.  In the name of Jesus Christ, I ask forgiveness.  Deliver and restore me, that I might live in peace.

     By the mercy of God, we are united with Jesus Christ, in whom we are now forgiven.  We can rest now in the peace/wholeness of Christ, and rise anew each morning to love and serve.  (ELW Night Prayer, p. 321).

     As we enter into a Lenten Season where our worship and devotion are focusing on forgiveness, I commend to you these devotions, particularly because they each, in their own way—put forgiveness into words, into the flesh of human experience, into our consciousness each day.  I am so grateful for the deep wrestling each author has done with a bible story, and for their creative expression of their own faith.  Thanks also to Petey Lund and Sonja Mohr for their extensive work on compiling this inaugural devotional resource for our congregation.

     My prayer and hope for us this Lent is that we might, through worship, through study, through self-examination, and through corporate confession, learn what theologian Greg Jones calls, “The Dance of Forgiveness”—and may we help each other learn the dance steps of forgiveness God shows us through the gracious life, ministry, & death and resurrection of Jesus.  

—Pastor Matt