They are pictures of the devastation which has been unleashed on the Pine River in northern B.C. this week. Oil leaking from a broken pipeline. The equivalent of 5000 bathtubs brimming full of the heavy, black stuff.
        Some above, and a lot hidden just below the surface.
        A slick over 20km long, poisoning the environment and ruining what was a pristine drinking supply for the nearby small town of Chetwynd, BC.

        Oil – a horrendous poison when let loose in the environment this way. A poisonous substance that, given the right time and controlled setting, can be very productive.

        Recently I happened across the work of a Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University named Fred Luskin. He’s been working with angry people – observing them, interviewing them, charting how they handled their anger. What he’s discovering is that anger, like oil, can be very productive and OK given the right setting and controlled environment.
        But when you let it burst all over the place, leak into small crevices and back eddies of life;
        when you let it float around, or settle in sticky masses to the bottom of your life to just sort of lay there for long periods of time it becomes toxic.

In a recent interview, this researcher with the Stanford Forgiveness Project said,
        "We hold on to a grudge, thinking that eventually we'll gain control or balance the scales, but it's only hurting us." And he tells the story of a fellow named, Morrie.
        Like so many of us who are deeply hurt when a friend disappoints us, Morrie had never forgiven his friend for not coming to see his wife when she was terminally ill in the hospital. Although his friend later asked for Morrie's forgiveness, explaining that he had shown his own weakness and inability to cope with illness and death, Morrie was not able to forgive him. On his deathbed Morrie realizes the pain and emotional suffering that he has carried with him throughout his life because he could not forgive his friend.

Getting hurt, being angry -
        - that’s a space in life that all of us face somewhere along the way. It happens, quite simply, because there are broken promises, failed expectations, deceptions, errors and plain ‘ol sin that messes up life between people.
        We don’t have a choice over whether we get into these situations or not.
        What we do have, however, is a choice about how we’re going to respond. What are we going to do with all that emotional energy? What kind of actions are we going to take? What sorts of thoughts will we hang on to?

        Which is where forgiveness comes in.
        Forgiveness – a project of the heart and soul that apparently is much more difficult for one group in our society than anyone else.
                That group....
                        ........ is men.

Women seem to forgive more readily than men.
Men hang on to their grudges longer. And they are less willing to talk about their issues, examine them, and get rid of them.
        In fact, the Stanford Forgiveness Project only managed to recruit 30% men into their research. They just wouldn’t deal with it.
And by "it" we’re not even talking about the big, thundercloud events and issues; the million dollar ticket items.
        Some of the worst offenders are the little things that accumulate in the back recesses of one’s life. They quietly pile up, until one day we realize that all our emotional storage space is occupied –
                – absolutely jammed full –
                        of this stuff that is weighing us down; slowly killing us.

Forgiveness - according to the research, if somehow you can get hold of it, you’ll find an observable difference in stress levels, self-image, optimism towards the future, heart condition, blood pressure, and - it seems - a reduction in susceptibility to a variety of different diseases.
        Exactly what those are, and what sorts of correlations exist, is the subject of the Stanford Forgiveness Project.

Forgiveness -
        Somehow, some way, getting free of the poisonous desire for revenge, the obsession with getting even, the need to see the one who has offended us receive harm in their life.

Forgiveness – getting free of that dark chain which binds us to the life and desired destruction of the one who has hurt or offended us.

Somehow, somewhere along the way, in some way shape or form.....
        ..... we’ve all got to get hold of it.

That’s what Fredric Luskin is telling his students.
It’s a teaching, as he himself acknowledges, that’s been trumpeted in the bible for thousands of years. Part of it we read earlier from Romans 12.19:
        "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord."

And Romans 12 isn’t the first place where this advice, to jump out of the circle of revenge, is presented.
        Those of you that were here last Sunday evening have already heard these words – invaluable words to live by.
        As we continue our summer series by that name, "Words To Live By" I’d invite you to join me as once again we hear the words of Jesus from Matthew 18.21-35, found on p.1110 in your pew bibles.
 
 

Forgiveness – what is Jesus getting at?
        The very first book of the Bible, Genesis, gives us helpful insight in the insight we need in 4.23-24. There we find the infamous boasting of a man named Lamech. "I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times."
                Avenged - getting even, taking back, make ‘em pay......
                        seventy-seven times.
Jesus says to Peter, "I want you to do the opposite of that..... 77 times!"
        Which was an ancient Palestinian way of saying, "again and again and again and again..... no ending..... again and again and again and again...."
        No avenging.
        Instead - Forgiveness!

Forgiveness is when I can take my deep desire to get even, to make that wretch pay, to have them feel the pain they caused - even if just for a little while,
        and....... release it, let it go into the Heavenly Hands of Almighty God.

Forgiveness is when I can look at the drunk driver, the abusive husband, the negligent child, the cheating employee or ruthless boss, the loose-lipped friend
        and give the anger, the desires to "let them have it, let ‘em rot, wish they were dead, I’ll get you back,"....
                ......to bundle that all up and drop it at the feet of Jesus and give Him the space and permission to deal with it as He must and will.

Forgiveness – If you haven’t already found out the hard way, you’re going to - trust me - you’re going to discover that’s it’s one of the biggest, most difficult projects you will ever face.
        Hard because of the constant barrage of little offenses that come our way, trip us up, and need to be let go of before they clog and poison our soul.
        Hard because, when the occasional huge offense comes along, getting rid of the desire for revenge, to personally oversee that person’s demise —
— that is one incredibly difficult and sometimes slow process.

        This morning I want you to understand that forgiveness is not some cruel divine joke meant to add insult to the injury I’ve already experienced. Instead, it is a necessary divine road to release and healing for my life.
        Check out Matthew 18.34. The unforgiving servant - see what happened to him? The parable is just a story, and says he’s handed over to the jailers. The literal translation of that word, "jailers" is actually - "torturers".
        And while it’s just a story, that bit about the torturers is SO true!

Forgiveness, in a real way, is more a spiritual project about MEthan it is about the one that has offended me.
        Can you see that?

Just think about a time in your life when you held and nursed a grudge.
Most of us have.
        Who was the one staying awake at night?
        Who’s stomach was tied in knots?
        Who walked around with the long face?
        Who’s performance at work suffered?
Remember what the Stanford researcher said about sickness and forgiveness?
        I think of a woman I worked with many years ago. She was continually haunted by depression, and a whole range of physical disorders including skin rashes, joint swelling and neck problems. The doctors had thrown up their hands in exasperation. No pill would help.
        When I asked her about her mother, her eyes began to blaze with fire and cry with hurt at the same time. Asked her about her husband, and a horrible air of resentment filled the room.
        She never let go of her rage and resentment.
        To my knowledge she still carries that burden.... and still is ill.

Lack of forgiveness will leave me tied up, imprisoned and tortured. It will leave me with toxins flowing through my veins. It will torture me till I can let it go!

My friends, the one who spoke these words about forgiveness
        – Jesus –
is one who has sacrificed his very life to set us free from the poison of sin.
        He gave His life in suffering and death for us.
        He carried the burden that would have destroyed us.

Because of Him our Heavenly Master forgave us the huge debt we owed Him.
And now looks us in the eyes calling us to forgive the 100 denarii debt that others owe us – which, translated today, is about $20.
        No coincidence, because most of the offences committed against us, the poison that clogs our pores and brain, as Luskin observed, are little $20 offences. But they build up over time. And come back to haunt us.

Forgiveness - in it’s most basic sense, it’s Romans 12:19 sense,
        – letting go, and letting God.

Vital for our own spiritual life and liberty.
        As one horribly abused person once mentioned to me some years ago, "Ken, I have to work on forgiving this person. If I don't I'll be carrying this dirt around for the rest of my life and it will kill me. I want to live. I want to be free. I don't need this garbage! I didn't deserve it and I don't have to keep it. I won’t!"

Forgiveness is also vital for the sake of the community – why do you think Jesus brings it up immediately after the section about trying to sort things out between you and someone who has wronged you, sinned against you?
        Where there is no forgiveness, there can be no renewed relationships.
        Where there are no renewed relationships, the body of Christ is broken.

Where there is no ongoing forgiveness, the Church will be slowly destroyed.
How many $20 offences do you think can pile up over the almost 50 year history of this congregation?
        And if they’re nursed, collected and polished up from time to time, I guarantee you that this community will become a fragmented gathering of angry individuals who gather without the blessing of God.
        And Calvin church would slowly die.

So let me ask you a couple of rather blunt questions by way of reality check -

1. Last week we shared Holy Communion. Is there someone in this congregation that you would not be willing to sit beside to take communion?
2. Earlier in this service we extended a hand and passed the peace of Christ. Is there someone at Calvin to whom you’d just as soon not extend a hand?

Ask yourself "why?"
        Is it one or more $20 items?
        Is there something more significant?

Can we let it go? Give it to Christ to handle in His holy, perfect way?
        If we do – there is life.
        If we don’t – we’re the ones most harmed
                individually and collectively.

Let me leave you with a few very quick notes about the whole process of forgiveness. Beginning with some things to watch out for.

1. Forgiveness isn’t avoiding or ignoring the hurt done to us; pretending it doesn’t matter or didn’t occur. And it’s not coming up with a raft full of excuses to let the offender off the hook. The parable deliberately counts the cost of the debt. Up front. It needs to be acknowledged. Really.
2. Forgiveness is not giving permission for the hurtful behaviour to continue. The judicial process may still need to be followed. Precautionary measures may be put in place. Relationships may be changed. Things may NOT be the same as before.
3. Forgiveness is NOT forgetting. It is letting go of vengeance. Scars may still remain. The fallout may still be real and present. No ignoring it.

1. Recognize that granting forgiveness may be like peeling an onion. Layer after layer. Peel one off to discover another below it. It takes time. And is a process.
2. Forgiveness is an act of the will. Notice that Jesus doesn’t command us to feel like we should forgive. If we wait till we FEEL like forgiving, nobody would do it. In your will recognize the hurt and your response of rage or resentment or whatever. Recognize the need for releasing that response into the hands of Jesus. The feelings are like a caboose on a train. They come somewhere way down the track.
3. Forgiveness needs prayer. As we begin to recognize the violations, we take them, piece by piece, to Christ in prayer; to him who has first forgiven us. In prayer we acknowledge the hurt we feel, the desires for revenge – lay them all on the table before his heavenly throne.
4. In more prayer ask for the spiritual help to carry on. Ask for protection from demonic forces that will want to build dams against rivers of forgiveness flowing through our lives.
5. And, as we pray, let’s visualize the cross of Jesus - where our offenses against God were forgiven by Jesus - "Help me, Jesus! Help me to forgive!" It’s hard to forgive without seeing ourselves first as forgiven people.
6. Then try to say the words, "I forgive...." Not cheaply, but recognizing all that has happened - the event, the pain, your bitterness. Try to say the words. Perhaps they will need to be said over some time, with much prayer, maybe again and again. But slowly, bit by bit we’ll move to the point where YES!! we can sense that this forgiveness is coming. The hold that this event, this malice, had on us is melting away! And maybe even – by some divine miracle of grace – we will eventually find growing inside of us the ability to wish that other person well.

Forgiveness - for Peter, for you and me. Essential, difficult, but with God's help, the most liberating act in life that we can practice. May our Lord guide us in this challenge. May the Spirit grant us strength to flow forgiving mercy through us.