A Sermon of The Rev. Moses O. Sowale, M.A.
All Saints Parish
Brookline, Massachusetts
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
July 25, 2010
Audio - Download mp3 (length: 13:45) |
In Justice Remember Mercy - Homily of The Rev. Moses O. Sowale, M.A., Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, July 25, 2010 |
Text:
"Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea,
which can be neither measured nor numbered;
and in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people,"
it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God."
Hosea 1: 10
Teenage pregnancy is a very disgraceful occurrence in my Nigerian culture. It is not only shameful to the teenagers involved but also to the parents and their entire family.
Teenagers from reputable families would decide to abort such pregnancy in order to save themselves and their families the shame and prejudice from the society.
Some teenage girls have lost their life in the process of abortion. We recently lost one of our youths who in the process of trying to get rid of a pregnancy, passed away in the hands of inexperience doctors. This was very painful to me and her parents.
Some have abortions and then later present themselves as "good couples" and therefore qualified for the church’s so-called white wedding, making their parents and the church proud.
Only God knows the true White Wedding
Few teenagers who have the courage to face their challenges and take responsibility for their loose sexual lives have decided to keep such pregnancy and allow the unborn to come to life.
Such teenagers would be scorned by the society, they will be denied the white wedding in most churches; the Anglican Church may do for them what is called "a blessing of marriage." They are usually tagged as having a bastard child (a child outside wedlock).
These can be very traumatic experiences for these teenagers and their parents.
I have observed that despite rejection and prejudice, mothers of these teenagers have always stayed close to them, forgiving, comforting, helping, and reassuring them of the future hope that awaits them and their baby.
Looking through the readings for today, I see themes of the pain involved in forgiving an unforgivable person.
How do we as parents forgive a child who has out rightly disappointed us?
I could imagine how painful it can be for a faithful woman to forgive her promiscuous husband!
The relationship between God and the Israelites has been a continuous rhetorical experience of rebellion and disobedience.
By telling Hosea to marry a prostitute, God was expressing His own pains of disappointment in the people of Israel.
Three children were born out of Hosea’s marriage with Gomer (the prostitute). In God’s anger, bitterness and pain, God gave names to the three children to show what He has decided to do with His people, the Israelites.
The first child (male), was named Jezreel meaning; "I will punish and put an end to the kingdom of Israel."
The Second child (female), was named Lo-ruhamah meaning; "I will no longer pity and I will not forgive Israel."
The third child (male) was named Lo-ammi: "for you are not my people and I am not your God."
These are expressions of extreme disappointment
But as disappointing as Israel has become and as strong as the judgment of God looks, God could not execute these decisions because of his unfailing love and covenant with Israel.
The concluding verse in this passage reads: "Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; And in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God."
The love of God is a mystery
Until I became a parent, I could not understand why it is very hard to disown a child no matter how terrible they have become.
The bond between a child and mother is so strong that nothing can separate them; this is also a mystery.
I have seen a mother weeping and standing by her child as he was sent to execution after he committed murder and armed robbery.
In Nigeria, convicted armed robbers are executed by death sentence. On the day of their execution, these individuals are taken down to their hometown and driven around the city, so that their friends, family and all other youths will see them for the last time before their execution. Then fully armed soldiers march forward and shoot them to death in the presence of everyone. I have seen mothers weep and make a final prayer for her child before he is shot. It is a painful experience.
This kind of situation explains the heart of God for Israel. Even when God became extremely annoyed, God could not carry out the verdict.
The gospel reading for today presents the Lord’s Prayer. The portion which resonates with our theme for today says: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us" (Luke 11:4).
If we are to play on these words and reverse this statement, it will read: "Do not forgive us our trespasses as we do not forgive those who trespassed against us."
The process of forgiveness is hard especially when you are hurt by someone with whom you have shared your heart and your love and on whom you have invested your life.
It is hard to forgive those who have not repented or those who have no clue to what pains they have inflicted on us. Yet the scripture says; "... While we are yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8).
Christ did not die for us when we have become saints and am not sure if have become saints yet. He died while we were still cruel in our sinfulness.
The whole world hurts today.
The black race is yet to recover from the slavery expedition by the western world. Even though the westerners have apologized, modern slavery still persists in our society. There are people living in the Western countries today who do not know their country of origin due to the act of slavery. They seem to be cut off from their people forever. How do such people forgive?
Women, wives and mother are still bleeding from the wounds caused by men’s abusive attitudes, the domination of patriarchal and male oriented society. Women battering and domestic abuse still persists in many homes today. How do we tell women to forgive these men?
Many Christians, both Catholics and Protestants, still feel the hurt by church policies and doctrines which oppresses and suppresses their humanity. The global Anglican community is presently being torn apart because we have failed to forgive and listen to one another. While the issue of sexual abuse was still being resolved, the Roman Catholic Church recently issued a statement that aligns women’s ordination with Child abuse. How do we reconcile the world to God when we condemn their humanity?
I hope and pray that the church will one day stop raising barriers which Jesus have broken down by his death and blood.
Teenagers, youth and young adults are continually hurt by misjudgment, lack of respect and abuse from the adult world.
Name it; we all have our hurts — God does too.
But we must forgive! We must forgive the unforgivable! And the best place to start this process is with yourself.
You need to forgive yourself because you hurt the most.
We need to admit and forgive ourselves of our failures, knowing that failure is not an end in itself. Failure is a means to an end.
It is very liberating for me to know that failure is actually the first step towards success.
Forgiveness is not a denial of our feelings of hurt, bitterness and anger.
It is not a suppression of our need to vent our anger and the pronouncement of our verdict; in actual fact we must express our feelings as God did in the Book of Hosea, otherwise we would become hypocritical.
Forgiveness is Remembering Mercy in Justice
We must forgive so that we don’t oppress like our oppressors.
Paulo Freire in his Pedagogy of the Oppressed said, "the oppressed in their struggle for humanity may eventually become oppressors."*
If you don’t want to become another offender and oppressor; you must be ready to let go and let God.
I don’t know how you feel at the moment.
I do not know who has hurt you so badly.
I don’t know your disappointments, pain and struggles.
But If God can forgive us of our massive failures and iniquities are we ready to forgive one another?
Amen!
*Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York: Continuum, 2000), 70.