The Past Is Forgiven; the Future Is Open

One of the most effective Young Church moments I ever witnessed was when a mother with two children talked about their family’s nighttime routine. She or her spouse would sit on the side of each child’s bed and talk about their day – what went well, what did not go well, etc. – and say a prayer after. Then, especially on days that had been very challenging for the children or the parents, she would tell them that tomorrow would be a new day, a time to begin anew, and all is forgiven. It was a nighttime routine that embraced the words we heard last Sunday during worship, “The past is forgiven and the future is open.” And that’s how I invite you to embrace the beginning of this new year. 

 

The past is forgiven – that’s an interesting phrase. The word “forgiveness” itself is quite interesting. The Greek term ἀφίημι that is sometimes translated “forgiveness” in the New Testament is actually a very versatile word. It can be translated as leave, forgive, allow, forsake, put away, send away, divorce, lay aside, let go, or yield up, depending on the context. Translators simply have to do their best with it, since translation is also interpretation. I’ve notice that if the word “evil” or “sin” is anywhere nearby, translators tend to go straight to “forgive.” I wish they could be a bit more reflective on it. Nonetheless, the thread of continuity among all the potential translations is that ἀφίημι involved letting go of something. 

 

So, when we say “The past is forgiven,” what might we mean by it? The phrase many of us have been taught to say it that we need forgiveness for “things done and left undone in thought, word, and deed.” There is a lot of wisdom in that phrase, but I think we often hear it too narrowly. What if the word “forgiven” is secondarily about our life experience on an individual level, but primarily about the life we have together. If, for example, someone we love has mistreated us and we are harboring pain over it, for that past to be “forgiven” does not mean that we are assuming fault, but that we are letting it go, or at least bracketing it into its proper place, rather than letting it destroy us any further. Or, if we live in a system that benefits some and punishes others, to say the past is “forgiven” can we a way of being liberated from simply accepting injustice as “the way it is” and to allow for new possibilities. In each case, the connection between the past being “forgiven” and the future being “open” is powerful. 

 

So, how might we live into the phrase, “The past is forgiven and the future is open”? On an individual level, I pray that you will find ways to be as forgiving of yourself as God is of you. Whether it is something “done or left undone in thought, word, or deed,” or whether it is a hurt that you have suffered that has taken the wind out of your sails, God is a renewing God, ever ready to give a new beginning. On a congregational level, I pray that we can be as forgiving of one another as God is of us. If you are someone who has had to pull back from the community – perhaps driven by doubt or disagreement or simply not ready to be in close quarters with the coronavirus still at large – here’s what I want you to know. No one has to stop and grovel at the door. It is there for you to enter joyfully and you will be joyfully received. And on a communal level, I pray that we will be liberated from some of our more ungraceful, unmerciful habits of mind and begin to find beautiful ways to live in harmony with the earth and with one another. May the past be forgiven and our collective minds freed to think anew about what it means to be human in the 21^st century. 

 

No doubt you can imagine other ways of living into the phrase, “The past is forgiven and the future is open.” I invite you to do so. And please, feel free to send me your thoughts on the matter so that I can benefit from your insights. 

 

The past is forgiven and the future is open, 

Mark of St Mark