Luke 24: 36b-48
Looking through the pages of history, while I think we’d all agree that every moment bears some measure of significance, there are those moments – those events, those natural occurrences, those human actions – that have measurable significance in much larger ways. Some, for better or for worse, forever changing the course of the days ahead.
The first use of fire by humankind, dating back as far as 2 million years ago. Those first forms of communication – of language. The invention of the wheel. Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press. Alexander Flemming’s discovery of Penicillin. The X-Ray in 1895 by German engineer and physicist Wilhelm Rontgen, like many famous inventions, discovered completely by accident. Edison’s invention of the light bulb. Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone. The Wright brothers and their first human-operated flight. Tim Berners-Lee’s invention of the World Wide Web. Zuckerberg’s creation of Facebook. The first photograph. The first to walk on the moon. And of course, where would we be without Joseph Gayetty’s creating the first ever role of toilet paper – what he described as the “greatest necessity of the age”… few of us would disagree, I think… The list goes on and on.
When it comes to the things of faith, there are such moments as well. Those firsts, that in their own way, changed the course of history.
God’s creation of light and darkness… of sky, sea, and dry ground… of plants and animals – those first creatures of land, air, and water… of the first humans… Of the world as we know it.
Humankind’s first responsibility – to care for all that God had made. The first sin. The first fear – Adam and Eve hiding from God after the first sin. The first prayer, coming from Adam amidst their hiding. The first birth – little baby Cain – a result of the first… well, you know how these things work…
Abram, credited as the first to have faith. Ruth, as the first to have hope. Abraham, as the first to love – his feelings for Isaac, his only son – that which he thought he’d never have. Joseph, recognized as the first to forgive – pardoning his brothers after selling him into slavery.
Like those more significant moments on our historical timetable, the list spiritual firsts goes on.
Today’s gospel brings before us another biblical first – the first resurrection appearance of Jesus to the disciples, according to Gospel writer Luke. The risen Christ standing among his closest followers in their countless emotions, after experiencing the events of his crucifixion and his death on the cross…
Extending his peace… Showing them his hands and his feet – the marks where the nails were driven through… Eating with them – a sign, meant to prove he truly is alive, that he isn’t a ghost or a figment of their imaginations… Talking to them… Reminding them of his teachings – that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations... That like Jospeh, the first to forgive, so too should they.
There’s a midrash of old – an ancient commentary on the Hebrew scriptures – that tells of a Jewish legend, in which God, before creating the heavens and the earth and all its creatures… before creating humankind… created forgiveness. Believing, knowing, that the ability to forgive would be a necessary component of creation, making forgiveness the foundation of the created world. Under this tradition, the midrash teaches, that when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and were removed from the Garden because of the first sin, the gates of paradise closing behind them, they were, in that moment, forgiven by God.
The rabbis go on to describe that this act of forgiveness, led to another biblical first. Filled with sorrow and remorse over what they had done, grateful for God’s act of forgiveness… Eve turned to Adam to see tears running down his cheeks… Her own cheeks burning hot, she touched her eyes, only to find them wet as well. In a moment, the tears turned to sobs, until finally the whole of their bodies shook as they cried. Thus was born the first act of repentance – of turning away from past mistakes. The tears of God’s forgiveness washing away the image of their sin to reveal a new kind of peace, an opportunity for new life.
C.S. Lewis once reflected; “Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive.” And isn’t that the truth? Forgiveness sounds great, until we ourselves have to do it. At times, the act of forgiving is more painful than the act we are forgiving. Yet for followers of Christ, as Jesus makes clear in today’s gospel, forgiveness is to be front and center in our lives. The foundation of creation. The foundation of discipleship. As Luther writes in the Large Catechism; “For just as we sin greatly against God every day and yet he forgives it all through grace, so we also must always forgive our neighbor…”
So back to the beginning of the sermon. Like histories most significant moments, the list of Jesus’ thoughts on forgiveness goes on and on. Likely that our forgiveness would do the same – that our forgiving would go on and on.
Chances are, you and I aren’t going to change the course of the future. Who knows? Though, through our forgiving another, we might just change the course of their future… even our own… Washing away the image of their sin, to reveal a new kind of peace… an opportunity for new life… a taste of paradise to ease the days ahead…
Today in this place, we gather with the risen Christ around His table and share in the meal of grace. In bread and wine – flesh and blood – and in one another, we experience his presence. Through His Word our minds are opened to the scriptures… his command to the disciples, becomes ours – that repentance and forgiveness be proclaimed to all nations.
We are witnesses of these things. So, let us witness. With tears of repentance for wrongs committed, extending forgiveness wherever it is needed. Forgiving others. Forgiving ourselves. Trusting, that God in Christ, from the foundation of creation already has. Amen.
~Pastor Andrew Geib
Sermons at St. James Gettysburg 