Sermon - 2/20/22

24 min•0 plays•0 favorites

Religion

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There have been times in my life when I have truly struggled with forgiveness. And, when I take time to do some real introspection and self-examination, I realize there are still times when I struggle with forgiveness, maybe even daily. So, as I studied today’s readings, they tend to bite a bit because they address what it means to forgive. Our Old Testament reading tells us about Joseph. Now, anytime I hear this section of the Joseph saga, I cannot help but remember the scene in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat when Joseph reveals to his brothers who he really is. It becomes a powerful scene of forgiveness and ultimately reconciliation. Anyway, if you remember the story, Joseph’s brothers horrifically sell him into slavery. Once in Egypt, he faces false accusation and imprisonment. Then, years later he astonishingly forgives his brothers. He forgives them for sending him into years of hardship and says, “Do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” In our second reading, Paul writes to the Corinthians and talks about seeds and resurrection. He says seeds must die before new life can grow and reminds his readers that we cannot know ahead of time what God will do with the perishable seeds we sow into the ground. I think Paul’s message connects to forgiveness. When we forgive, we let something go, we let something die, and it creates in us newness of life. Truthfully, to be whole, we need to “die” to everything that hinders new life, and trust t

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