Comments for Julia Other sermons.    

13 year old Elana is to becoming Bat Mitzvad next Saturday.   I’ve been working with her on her presentation that focuses on forgiveness.  Part of her speech is her own reflection of what the world would be like without the practice of forgiveness.  Here are some excerpts from her speech:

“Imagine the hatred held between fellow humans.

Many people would be irritated with at least one person (and for sure themselves) No one would ever forgive one another so simple accidents, or little feuds could ruin a friendship and eventually completely destroy the world. Just think of the little physical/emotional things you have done in your life that hurt someone. If you lost someone’s pencil, bumped into someone, or said a mean joke, no one would ever forgive you. If reconciliation was absent from our day-to-day life then those minuscule actions would end a bond or relationship held. Everyone would feel isolated and lonely because they would have lost someone due to the lack of forgiveness. The world would be full of chaos; it would be a world where sorrow, hatred, and seclusion would take over.”

Elana knows already a lot about the power for forgiveness even as a 13 year old.  Forgiveness is the sustenance to human connection just as bread is the sustenance to our body’s survival!  “Without mercy, some Rabbis teach, the world cannot survive. It’s vital to our lives as people wanting to live lives of justice, peace and love. 

First, a couple of main points about the Lord’s prayer
I want to address the differences between debts, sins and trespasses.  I’ve heard some people ask why do we use debts instead of trespasses or sins.

Luke uses both Sins and debt—forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us—

Sins means “missing the mark” which is also conveyed in the words “going astray” or trespasses.

Matthew uses Debt— Leonardo Boff in his book “The Lord’s Prayer it is an expression drawn from the business world but it also took on a religious nuance, as a synonym for “offense. Offense is the breaking of an interpersonal relationship that involves God who is present  in every person and in every relationship.”

Second point which is made
It is clear in the Lord’s prayer that just as we need to be forgiven we also need to forgive.  This mercy flows through the same channel so to speak.  Jewish tradition states that the necessity of forgiving others ties in to one’s ability to receive forgiveness.  “Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray (Sirach 28:2).   There is a parable in Matthew where the indebted servant goes to his master and asks for his debt to be forgiven and the master grants his request.  After being forgiven he then proceeded not to forgive his fellow servant who owed him a smaller amount.   His master called him a “scoundrel!”

So we all get this.  We’ve heard the prayer.  We’ve even memorized it and say it.  The question I want to grapple with is   How do we do this? How can we truly willingly forgive?  How do we become transform ourselves into this open, kissing, freely loving Father character in the Prodigal Son parable?

This well known parable has three characters —one so willing to forgive, one wanting and needing forgiveness so much he is willing to forgo his place in the family to be a servant and one the elder son who is possibly the most human of all—he is angry, jealous, rightfully so and his father comes out and doesn’t quite say, but almost say—please forgive him.  The story ends here.  We don’t know what the elder son will do.  Will he let go of his own pride of doing things the right and honorable way and go party with his brother?  Or will he go out into the fields angry, resentful, hurt wondering when he will get his due.  He is stuck. with his own emotions/attitude

If we are truly confessional about our own Christian lives, and I’ll be the first one to go here—this life we are called to live is extraordinarily difficult—really almost impossible.  Love our neighbor as ourselves—love God with all our hearts soul and mind.  One more—the biggie—Love our enemy???  HOW!  This is my journey—how are we supposed to do this—especially when we are so tired and busy just trying to make a living and get to work on time.  RIGHT?

Several months ago I attended a talk about “Unconditional Love and Forgiveness”  which is based on two bodies of work.  1)the ancient Essene “Code of Conduct” written in the Aramaic and 2)psychosynthesis a holistic, transpersonal psychology created by Robert Assagioli.     Basically it’s precept is that we can’t forgive without unconditional love.  “Forgiveness is a natural, normal process when we hold the attitude of unconditional love.”

First—the Essenes-members of the ancient sect who live 3 centuries before X and one century after.

With the discovery of theDead Sea Scrolls 1945, it has taught us about the Essenes—how they lived, their values, their great contributions to our spiritual traditions
Known for their ability to heal and live in great harmony with each other amidst much war and strife.  Code taught them how to live with each other and how to relate to God.    Supposedly the principal founders of Christianity, Joseph and Mary, John the Baptist, Jesus and John the Evangelist were  Essenes.

The Essenes had exceptional knowledge of psychology with an understanding of the subconscious and conscious mind.
–their minds needed to be filled with positive harmonious thoughts—and it would calm the whole body.
They made great use of their will to master feelings and their health.

What was crucial to their belief system and way of living was to forgive or cancel all debts.  Their code states:

“To forgive is to cancel all demands, conditions, and expectations held in your mind that block the attitude of Love.”  

In other words what keeps us from forgiving is our own demands and expectations we have of others to live a certain way.  The elder son had an expectation that if he lived by the rules he would get rewarded.  But that didn’t happen with his brother and all of sudden his world turned upside down.  How often do we hang on to our resentments and anger because our expectations weren’t met?

The Essenses had believed in their connection with Naphsha (NOFsha)  connection with the source of life——naphsha seen as life, breath of life or breath of God.  God breathed into Adam—naphsha anad he bcame a living soul.

Naphsha is always available to us and we might not realize it because we are too busy to notice it or cut off the connection …it is our source of wisdom, healing—center of life-giving energy—energy field around us.

Naphsha keeps us in harmony with self, world.  Attitude was key to their spiritual lives.  They felt how we perceive the world can change how we feel and think about the world. 

They lived by The Essene Law of Attitudes and 8 attitudes (see if this sounds familiar to you)
Law of attitudes
3 parts
Love the Source of our life, our Creator with our whole self—align ourselves
2)Love ourself as a creation of the Source
love our bodies—take care of it
love our emotional life—honoring its great capacity to feel
to love our thinking life—great ability to plan, think and reason
to love our Naphsha—the holy spirit—that which directly connects us to god.
3)Love unconditionally all those of whom we are physically or mentally aware.

8 attitudes—and I will only mention 3 today.
Each attitude starts out—“A transpersonal (touvey) attitude is theirs…”—Touvey is Aramaic noun referring to a part of the brain which has a heavenly dignity/function—that part of our brain in harmony with the will of God

1)Those whose home (rest) is in Rukha spirit, energy, essence, force
this force is able to break up and change the effects of wrong doing—the peace of mind which is beyond  ordinary understanding—if we truly understand ourselves and each other
“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we could find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostitlity”

You can do to practice living, resting in this
when we wake up, make of list of everything you want to do and then imagine each job being done with ease and enjoyment.  (did this experiment with a construction company and had tremendous success) 
Rest in rukha can be our attitude

2)Those conscious of their wrongs ( which is the Aramaic word -abilii  refering to a sect of Hebrews devoted to social truth—who professed their sins and  the sins of the society—rather than hide or hold on them.)
they shall be cured of their mental stress
this is hard for us—we all want perfection
it’s very hard for me as a minister to admit—I blew it.
The prodigal son admitted his wrong doing and came home.
The elder son doesn’t think he has done anything wrong—instead he has done everything right.
Letting go—letting go of our pride and our need to do it all right. 
There is something missing in our not having confessionals—safe places to go to confess and heal our wrongs
At the end of the day—sit—breathe deeply
Think about the day as if were seen through a movie camera—without judgement—without regret.
Just presence to your day.
Did I maintain a loving attitude today
Did I look for good in others and in circumstances
Did I start the day by resting in rukha—that place of rest and peace
Was I critical of myself or others today
Did I feel compassion for self others
Was I forgiving

2)Those with humility they will gain the earth (all that is needed—all that they can use)
Humble, respectful, cooperative, non arrogant,
As I was writing these descriptive words down I started crying thinking about all my senior adults here.  I pay homage to all of you and how you have dutifully served this church and the world for so many decades.  They are so humble in many ways—I think of Neville Platt washing many many dishes—just loads of them and Audrey and Ruth Kaupert scraping cleaning cooking—Ruth haigh finding enough tea pots and table cloths to fill our social hall with beauty for our Xmas tea—and all the sisters how they serve each other with tea and goodies—they have been my models of true humility and service.  I will miss all of you and I will hold all of you in my heart—meeting the needs of others.

Again the prodigal son comes home just willing to be a servant as his father’s pride is disappeared—no pride about his money being gone—just pure rapturous love.

How to get humble
Meet the needs of others
Listening
Silence—Dag Hammarskjold—Silence is the language of God; it is also the language of the heart.—silence + wisdom + service =humility

I met with a friend for tea this past week.  She had spent 10 weeks a a Quaker retreat Center—Pendle Hill.  She said one of the things which really  touched her was sitting together every morning with all the retreatants.  She said it was like sitting with the whole world—people from India, Africa, Korea and Japan from all over Europe and every morning that sat in silence—holding the quiet and peace together.  Elizabeth said that it healed so much of her soul which has been so wounded by the world’s cracking.

So just as we started by imagining a world without forgiveness we will end by imagining a world filled with forgiveness, love and understanding—filled with the image of the Father of the prodigal son.

So close your eyes, imagine sitting with your whole family—parents, even if they’ve died, your children and grandchildren and all your relatives—your spouse, is there anyone in this room you need to forgive—imagine letting go of any debts  you’ve been holding on to—now just for this moment—let it go.  How does that feel to release and cancel this debt.  Now let us imagine this church filled with people from all over the world people from Iran, Iraq, China, Korea, Japan, German, Russia, people who are in prisons for the worst crimes—imagine all of us linking arms and singing
“Love will overcome, love will overcome, love will overcome some day oh deep in our hearts, we do believe that love will overcome someday”  This is heaven on earth.  Amen.

Resources
“Unconditional Love and Forgiveness”  by Edith Stauffer

 
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