The Key You Already Hold

Father, into your hands,
I commend my spirit.

This last week,
I had the opportunity to witness
something beautiful.
It was not a loud or heroic act.
It was not made for television.

It was the forgiveness of two friends,
a forgiveness long overdue.
They had carried a grudge so long
that they had forgotten.
It had become like furniture in their house.
It was just part of their lives.

One leaned into the other and said,
"You know, I am sorry. I was wrong."
And the other calmly said,
"Yeah, I know. And so was I."

What struck me was not the precision of the words.
It was what happened afterwards.
The light in their faces.
Their faces changed,
both of them, simultaneously.
Their faces became lighter and brighter.
It was as if a heavy weight
had been taken off their shoulders
that they forgot they were carrying.
Just beautiful.

Today, we come before the cross,
and we ponder the message of Christ
coming among us and dying for us.

And truth be told,
the message is a scandalous message,
one we do not like to tell.
It is even hard for us to hear it on this day.

It is not so much that somebody died,
but that while he died, Christ forgave them
while they were still hating him.
Still protesting him.
Still betraying him.
The soldiers, the chief priests,
even his own disciples had abandoned him
except for a few women.
And yet, he still forgives them.
That is the message of today.
While we are still sinners, he forgives us.

It was not when we are ready,
or when we came to him for forgiveness,
or when we had somehow earned it in some way.
No, while we are still sinners, he forgives us.
He loves us.
He draws us into himself.

That message is hard for us to hear
because sometimes
we think we earn it.
Sometimes we think that we deserve it.
Sometimes we think we got it
because we are better.

None of that is true.
Jesus comes to forgive us while we are still sinners.
And in that love and in that forgiveness,
he draws us into his very self.
The love of God for him,
the love of him for God.
That is the freedom we want to live in.

But here is the part
that is really hardest of all.
If we are willing to accept that,
and I guess we are all here
so we are willing to accept that,
then what are we doing
holding on to unforgiveness of other people?

We have no right to do that.
We cannot accept the forgiveness from God
and then hold back from others.

Why?
Because God has done that for others too,
and we are the ones getting in the way.
Here is what happens.
We lose our own freedom when we do that.

You have heard me use this before,
but it is worth repeating.
When we choose to not forgive,
we are putting ourselves
in a prison cell of our own making.

We hold the key in our hand,
and we do not use it.
The cross has given us the key,
the key of forgiveness,
and we are called to open the gate
and let ourselves out.

Here is the interesting thing.
When we remain unforgiving,
we are convinced that the other person is in prison.
But it is not true. We are.

They are often out free
and oblivious to our unforgiveness.
Sometimes they are unforgiving toward us,
but often they are going about their life,
and they do not care about us.

They have long forgotten the hurt
that they have given to us,
and yet we are holding on
as if it is some treasure.
It is not. It is a prison cell.

So, here is what we are called to do.
We are called to use the key of Christ,
the wood of the cross,
to open up the lock, the door, and to set ourselves free.
To stop holding on to our unforgiveness.

Now, it sounds straightforward but it is not.
In Silicon Valley, we love to fix things.
We look at problems and we come up with solutions.
We engineer it.
We figure it out.

But here is the thing.
Unforgiveness is not like that.
Unforgiveness is not something you fix.
It is something you let go.
You have to surrender and simply let it go.
And when we let it go, then we become free.

So, today, as we come forward to the cross,
with whom do we have a grudge?
With whom does a person have a grudge against us
that we need to forgive,
that we need to let go to remain free?

Because the cross is not for tomorrow.
It is for today.
It is not for someone else.
It is for you and for me.
Christ comes to set us free.

Let us not get in the way.
Let us accept that freedom,
allow the forgiveness into ourselves,
and let it flow through us
into those who have hurt us.

Whether that be many years ago
or only a few days ago,
let us forgive as we are forgiven.
That is the power of the cross.

Into your hands, Father,
I commend my spirit.