Absolution:: Forgiveness

My youngest son's favorite song in the entire world is Bach's Suite No. 2 in B minor

...is a sentence I wish I could type. It's actually "Sorry" by Justin Bieber. 

"I know you know that I made those mistakes maybe once or twice
By once or twice I mean maybe a couple a hundred times"

My little boy sings these breathtakingly profound lyrics with abandon. 

"Is it too late now to say sorry?"

We're starting a brand new message series this week called "Absolution" that's all about forgiveness and it's complexity. We collectively tout the significance and importance of forgiveness, but it is an almost impossible task many times. How do we move from anger, sadness and resentment to forgiveness when what's happened to us is so deeply painful? Abandonment, malice, sabotage and downright cruelty aren't the kinds of experiences that easily lead to forgiveness. 

Sadly, the church has been a voice that's pushed people back into abusive situations in the name of forgiveness. The directive to forgive has been more significant than the people who have been wounded and we've taken the beautiful gift of grace and made it a burden. 

Forgiveness is a grace to receive and to share, and the hope is that as a community we can explore this complex topic in powerful ways.