Love and forgiveness

"So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love."
"I tell you, that is why her sins are forgiven--because of her great love."
"Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she has loved much."
Three different translations of Luke 7:47

So I looked at three translations of today's Gospel reading to answer the question:
Which came first, the forgiveness or the love? In the first and third translations, it seems like the woman shows great love because her sins have been forgiven. In the second, her sins are forgiven because of her love. What gives? I think the bottom line in this is that forgiveness and love go hand in hand. Real love leads to forgiveness. Real forgiveness comes from love. They go together like peanut butter and jelly (thanks, Forrest Gump!) What does that look like in our lives? It means that, if we really love, we can go to the place, deep within our hearts and find God's grace to forgive. It's right there within us, all along. Our hearts sincerely want to reconcile and forgive because of our love for the other person. It doesn't mean the hurt didn't happen or that the pain just goes away, but that the love is bigger than the pain or hurt. The grace of God gives us that sense that our hearts are bigger, our love can overwhelm the hurt. Today, instead of nit-picking through the various translations (I saved you the trouble!), let's just remember that love and forgiveness go together, hand in hand, heart-to-heart. They are within our reach, too, deep in our hearts, to be given freely to others. Love, heidi

Welcome, then Rejoice!

"Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.'"
Luke 15:6-7

Our Gospel yesterday was the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin and I'm still thinking about it today. Pastor Gretchen asked us who the lost are in our world. Who are those who feel left out, on the fringe; who have wandered away from the fold? Did they feel unwelcome in the fold? Did they feel they didn't belong, or did they feel unworthy or deficient in some way? Should we, like the Good Shepherd go after them? And what if they return...would we rejoice? She pointed out that many ELCA churches have published statements of inclusion, welcoming everyone to their faith communities. No matter what your previous religious experience (or lack of), your race, creed, gender identity, sexual orientation, or political leanings. EVERYONE is welcome. Period. "Yay," I thought to myself, "This is why I joined this community." But, as I think about it still, I realize it must go way beyond just make an inclusion statement. It's much more than putting a rainbow on our sign or having a banner saying "All Means All--Are Welcome." It may mean stretching our own beliefs and putting our actions out there as visible testimonies to what our sign says. Our hearts may need to change before an inclusive sign will mean anything at all. Once our hearts change,  our actions follow, and then our sign will really BE valid. And then (here's the best part) we will rejoice! Today, let's think about who the lost may be in our own circle of influence...can we search for them as God searches for us? Love, heidi

Of wooden beams and closets...

"Remove the wooden beam from your own eye; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye."
Luke 6:42

Oh yes, the wooden beam in our own eye...the beam that blinds us to our own shadow side, as Fr. Richard Rohr calls it. Our shadows--those parts of ourselves we don't like to acknowledge or show to company. In an effort to keep them hidden from others, we tend to lose track of them ourselves and talk ourselves into believing they aren't really part of us. But, opps, there they are! It has been said that the things we find fault with in others are the very wooden beams in our own eyes. So, if I find you judgmental and overly opinionated, that's my own shadow showing and I need to pay attention to THAT.  In myself. It may be easier to make acquaintance with our shadow sides if we remember that God loves us, shadows and all. We can't keep our shadows hidden from God...God can open that closet we have shoved everything in we don't want guests to see. And the lovely thing is, God loves everything in that closet, even if it may embarrass us. If we have a chance this beautiful weekend, let's sit down with Jesus and gently open that closet door. With love and forgiveness, Jesus can help us see and sort through what is in there. Love, heidi

Always remember...

I bristle when I see posts that say "Never Forget" the events of 9/11. I prayerfully explored why earlier today as I walked, pondering the day.  I realized I tend to equate Never Forget with "Never forget what they did to us." Dwelling on the wrong that was done to us traps us there...in the negative, in the wrong. The hate wins if that is where we stay. But, conversely, if we remember the good that came from that wrong--the heros and heroines, the selfless acts of courage, the pulling together of neighbors and communities, the good wins. We learn that our compassionate and loving God forgives AND forgets our sins. That certainly would be an ambitious goal--to forget the wrong of the events of 9/11. But, as the years pile up behind us since that terrible day, can we move ahead in peace, understanding that to continue raging keeps the negative force alive?  Instead, let's remember the helpers, the first responders, the embracing love that scooped us all up in the aftermath of the hatred. Let's remember the good and decent people who were lost to their families and to those of us who didn't have the chance to know them. So, instead of saying Never Forget when it comes to 9/11, I'm going to say "Always Remember" instead. Always remember the helpers and the good.  Always remember that God loves us and can bring good from every tragedy. And always remember that we are to love each other, too, even those who hurt us.  Love, heidi

In our hands...

"When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him."
Luke 5:11

Most likely our calls to follow Jesus were less dramatic than Jesus calling the fishermen, Simon Peter, James and John. Maybe our call was more gradual, predictable; becoming a wife, a mother, a teacher, a nurse, a builder of stuff. For Jesus calls us to follow him, but Jesus also called us to our lives--our daily, work-a-day lives, as well. Where else would we practice following Jesus, if not in our everyday lives? The first apostles left their working lives to follow Jesus, but, for most of us, we are called to follow Jesus through our working lives. Jesus calls on us to act in our daily environments and situations as Jesus, himself, would act...with love and compassion. Jesus did not wall himself off in the temple, day and night, praying. Jesus took his prayer out to the streets and among the people. He turned his prayer into action, serving all who needed him. Jesus fed, nourished, healed and cared for all who others may have cast aside or banished to the fringe. Following Jesus means we must do the same in our own time and space. Believing in Jesus is one thing--easy, really. Oh, I believe in Jesus, sure. But following Jesus to the very edge of ourselves is something else all together. From our very edge, we can let go of our own efforts and let God take over, using our hands and feet. Today, our (hopefully) last 90+ degree day in Boise, let's recognize that God's work in the world is in our hands. Let's take that to heart in our Thursday! Love, heidi

Start a new habit!

"Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do."
Thessalonians 5:11

Hummm...not always do I build others up. Sometimes, I'm more concerned with building myself up. Making my own needs known, stating my own opinions. Remember me? I'm the one with a huge "purse of my own opinions" as St. Francis called it. Except mine's a footlocker, not a purse. I had a little realization, deep in the night when I couldn't sleep (again) and that is this: the only way I can change these things about myself is to let go of them, set them down and leave them. The best way to do that is to faithfully engage in some kind of contemplative prayer, like Centering Prayer, everyday. I have so much trouble with actually doing that, even though I know it's so helpful. It takes such discipline for me to sit myself down and turn my head off for a time. My head spins around like the little multi-color wheel on my MacBook when the system has stopped responding. And that's the whole point...the circle is going nowhere, like my head at that point, spinning, spinning, not responding. This is a new month, a new school year, a new season. It is an excellent time to adopt a new habit and build it into our day. For me, it's Centering Prayer--a gift of turning my spinning brain off, a couple of times per day. What about you? Are there any new habits you'd like to build into your day? Let's all begin together! And encourage each other, building one another up! Love, heidi