Hello,
I am not a horse racing follower, but I do find myself drawn to watch
the three races of the triple crown. And as someone who like to root for the underdog, this
year’s triple crown had an added interest when California Chrome, a horse whose
owners had only made an initial
$10,000.00 investment compared to the six and 7 figure investment of the
rest of the entries, won the first two races. Unfortunately, he came up short in the third race, and its
owner spoke some harsh words about the horse that won who had not run the first
two races. The owner was dubbed a
poor loser by many, and so two days later, he went on national TV and
apologized for the things that he said and the way that he said them.
I was watching Mike and Mike on ESPN the next morning (as you may recall
from a previous Bungee Cord that I am an analyst for Mike and Mike), and they,
along with their listening public, got into a discussion on the veracity of
this owner’s apology. Was he truly
sorry…after all it took 2 days to issue his apology? Was he just saying the right things to get him back into the
good graces of the horse racing world?
The debate went on and on, one Mike ready to accept the owner’s apology,
the other Mike doubting his sincerity.
How do we ever know if a person is “really” sorry? What makes a person “really”
sorry? When does a person’s regret
become enough to pass the “really” sorry mark? If a person does the same thing, does that mean they weren’t
“really” sorry? Are they sorry for
what they have done, or are they sorry that they got caught? If we offer our forgiveness to those
who are “really” sorry, how are we
to know who and when to forgive?
We Lutheran Christians believe that sins (the things that we do that
bring pain to God, ourselves, and the world) have a way of getting in the way
of our relationship with God and with others. That is why we begin each of our services with corporate
confession and forgiveness. In the
presence of God and in each other’s presence we acknowledge to God that we have
“sinned against you in thought, word and deed and we have not loved our
neighbors as ourselves” ….and we are sorry. It seems rather rote.
It seems rather sparse of deep thought and conviction. Are we “really” sorry?
Fortunately, it seems that God does not mete out divine forgiveness
based upon the rather nebulous criteria of being “really” sorry. In the Bible, we hear Jesus cry from
the cross for those who had nailed him there, “Father, forgive them for they
know not what they do.” And later
in the book of Romans, “But God proves his love for us in that while we still
were sinners Christ died for us.”
It is not the “real-ness” of our regret that drives God’s forgiveness,
it is the “real-ness” of God’s love that does so. Because of God’s love for us, God will not let sin stand
between God and us, or us and us.
God forgives, really forgives, and it is that forgiveness, not our
regret, that tears down the walls that separate us from God and one another.
When I go to church on Sunday morning, I go quite aware of some of the
pain that I have brought to God and those around me….but some of it I am
completely oblivious to, and truthfully not burdened with regret about it. But nonetheless, God forgives
it…forgives all of it. When I hear
the words of God’s forgiveness…when I walk past the Baptismal font where God
forever claimed me with forgiveness…when I get up from the Lord’s table where I
have received the tangible forgiveness of Jesus’ body and blood….I discover
that God is transforming me that I may also break down walls with forgiveness,
too.
Are there walls of pain separating you from God, or you from those
around you? Well, God has taken
aim on those walls, not because of the “real-ness” of your “sorry-ness”, but on
the realness of God’s love for you.
God is waiting to transform you with forgiveness, forgiveness that will
transform your world.
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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