Thwarting God's Salvation?

2 Easter - Year B
April 12, 2015 
Saint Mark's Episcopal Church, Bay City, TX
John 20:19-31

We heard today about Thomas doubting that his fellow disciples had seen the risen Jesus, and we hear about Jesus giving the Holy Spirit to his disciples and telling them to continue his work of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Have you ever heard someone say, "May God forgive you, because I never will"?  I think I've heard it more in movies than in real life, and Queen Elizabeth I is reported to have said those words, but I'm guessing she's not the only person in the history of Christianity to utter those words.  "God may forgive you, but I can't."

Who are we to think our complaint is greater than God's so that we can't forgive?  Of course we don't forgive and feel that we can't when we still feel the darkness of the hurt that was caused and we see the other as that person who caused us pain.

How then does God see us, that he can forgive us?  God sees us as beloved and broken, and hurting each other out of our brokenness.     God forgives us and sent Jesus to forgive us, and then Jesus sent his disciples to continue God's work of reconciliation and forgiveness.

"Receive the Holy Spirit," Jesus said to his disciples, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."  Jesus sent his disciples to continue his work.

So when we don't forgive others, we are actually thwarting the work of Jesus.  We're denying the work of God when we don't forgive.



1 John 1:7-8 tells us, "If we say we have no sin, then we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, but if we confess our sins, then he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  God forgives us.  Who are we not to?

In fact, as 1 John 1:6 says, "if we say we have fellowship with God while we are walking in darkness," say holding that grudge and not forgiving, "then we lie and do not do what is true, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin."

How do we square that, then with all of what Jesus told his disciples when he appeared to them in the upper room.  "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained"?  If Jesus telling his disciples that it is up to their good judgement as to when not to forgive?  If someone really really upsets you, then don't forgive?

That doesn't seek to square with Jesus' death on the cross, or what we heard in 1 John about holding darkness within us.  Not forgiving seems rather to be thwarting the work of Jesus.  Jesus gave his disciples the Holy Spirit so that they and we could declare God's forgiveness on others.  I think Jesus' statement to his disciples was not a command not to forgive, but a warning of what happens when we don't.  Beware in this ministry of reconciliation which I have given you to do, that when you don't forgive others, those sins are held, and that darkness that you hold on to thwarts the will of God.

Philippians 2:5-7 says, "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness."
Jesus emptied himself of his majesty and humbled himself.  Jesus chose forgiveness over righteous punishment.  For the same mind to be in us, we also would forgive, rather than holding onto our possibly righteous anger, and we would continue the work of reconciliation.

What of Thomas?  What is the role of doubt in this work?  Jesus said in John 10, to those who did not believe in him, "If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me, but if I do them, then even if you don't believe me, believe the works..."  There are lots of people who don't believe, and that's ok.  Thomas doubted, and that was ok.  What wouldn't have been ok is if Thomas didn't forgive.

Folks may not believe in Jesus, but when they see the way and the works of Jesus through the forgiveness and reconciliation we offer, then they may come to believe through those works.  We may doubt, but when we do, we must still forgive.

In order to do this work of forgiveness and reconciliation, I offer one final piece of scripture, that we might continue walking in the light of Jesus:  Colossians 3:12-15.  "As God's chosen one, 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.  And be thankful."  Amen.