PASTORS MESSAGE
Questions of Faith -“When Is It Time?” (Part 2)
Some of you remember the story of the Hatfields and the
McCoys (some of our children probably do not even know this story). It appears that no one actually knows the
beginning of the conflict. The most often
used story is about a shooting death occurring over the ownership of a
hog. Whether or not this is the real
cause, there really was a hog and a shooting death. But behind this or underneath this story are
several other important ones. One has to
do with a McCoy coming back from serving with the Union army; the Hatfields
(and most of the McCoys) served with the Confederacy. There was great animosity with the Union, and
with the young man’s choice to serve. He
was murdered. Another has to do with a McCoy
daughter leaving her family to live with a Hatfield. Whatever the complete truth might be, there
were several shootings, kidnappings, lynchings, and mysterious deaths between 1873 and 1891.
You may wonder why I brought this up. On June 14, 2003, representatives of the two
families signed a Peace Treaty. They
hadn’t fought in years; in fact, many got together as very good friends. But they got together for an important reason—first
to create a symbolic gesture to support our country against the perpetrators of
9/11– and second, to show that if they can overcome an old conflict, anyone
can. No one to this day truly knows the
reason for all the animosity. The family
simply knew that if people chose, they could keep conflicts alive for no other
reason than to have conflict. Does that
sound like any conflict you know of in your life? And once we no longer even know the reason
for it, what good comes out of having the conflict. Forgiveness can become not only important,
but necessary for our health, especially when it no longer serves a just
purpose in our life or in the life of those around us. And, sometimes, forgiveness is an important
movement not only towards reconciliation, but as a commentary toward a greater
good.
Two families chose to value
their patriotism over their long-standing feud. Does this mean that all their arguments automatically went away? In their case, perhaps. Perhaps time did heal some things. Perhaps their collective “forgetfulness” and
the public shaming connected to being a Hatfield or a McCoy became an incentive
for them to move on. But I suspect that
it was a choice to honor a set of values over against other values that was the
most important thing for most members of the two families.
In our Christian Scripture, there is an important passage,
too often undervalued, from Colossians. From Chapter 3—”As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a
complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven
you, so you also must forgive. Above
all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect
harmony. And let the peace of Christ
rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body…” Inside of this Scripture are three very
jarring and critical thoughts:
1) Forgiveness is a
command, not an option. Yes, I know that
justice is also a command, but the two go together, not separately. For those who don’t remember, there are far
more than ten commandments in the Bible, and this is one that is underlooked;
2) Being Christ-like
means intentionally choosing what to wear—in our hearts and in our minds. We clearly have far more power over ourselves
than the world wants us to acknowledge. Being Christ-like means choosing to take on and take in what brings for
love, harmony, and peace; and
3) Being Christ-like
means openly challenging (and in Colossians language “putting to death”) what
is earthly, chief among them what is evil desire and idolatrous greed (what we
put in front of God which we want to worship as first in our lives).
I am convinced that we truly know when something is bad for
us, and when it will hurt someone else. We, as individuals, and as the Church, MUST challenge these unhealthy,
unforgiving ways. When we do not, we
allow for harm to continue, and to make impossible the values leading toward
forgiveness. When we do practice basic,
Christ-like values, bringing people together, helping them overcome their day
to day hurts, becomes not only possible, but ordinary. And anyone who knows anything about routines
knows that the more we practice something, the easier it is to do. And once it becomes normative, it becomes a
teachable value (meaning no one can say—”Do as I say, not as I do”). It leads to a healthy practice, and then, I
am convinced, our moral and then personal health. And it brings life to all around us.
When is it time to forgive? Always. Now. With an insistence for justice and a prayer
for mercy. And when we know that our
health, and the health of those around us is at stake.
For Our Health & In the Love of the Risen Christ, Pastor Joe
