December 26

Scripture focus: If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn…the other also…" Matthew 5:39

In Matthew 18:22 Jesus commentates on forgiveness by saying that we should forgive "seventy times seven."

"Read through the lens of distorted spirituality, Jesus seems to be proposing that we run a forgiveness super-marathon, making 70 X 7 (490) laps around the same issue before we finally let go of our resentments. We would propose, instead, that in this text, Jesus is encouraging us to come to a place inside ourselves that feels like lap 490 – a place where we are so exhausted by our attempts to forgive and forget on our own power that there isn't anything left for us to do but turn our resentments over to God. Forgetting is not the key to freedom from resentment. The key is to come to the end of our efforts to forget and to surrender our resentments to a God who we know values both justice and compassion." Soul Repair, p.177.

I hope the Christmas holidays are a huge fun event for you and yours. But if your holiday plans went off without a hitch, I suspect that you are either in denial or terminally unique!

Most of us will be reminding ourselves today that relationships are messy. I love the words quoted above. I thought that maybe they might be helpful on the day AFTER the day that most of us hoped would be perfect, but alas, was not.

Be ye blessed.

Recommended reading: 3 John 1; Psalm 142 - 145

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

No day is ever perfect but that doesn't mean we can't make the most of each one. Each day that we can get out of bed and greet the sun is another chance to take the next right step and to be thankful for.
I'd like to take the opportunity to thank all my family at NorthStar for just being there.
d.

December 26, 2009 at 4:54 AM
Lil Cletus said...

When I was in active addiction the the season was one big depression fest.

Cant say I had any "hitches" this year and one reason might be no expectations attached. There were no super duper big presents that I thought would be life changing, fantasy. Even went to the gym a few hours after dinner for the first time in a long time for a short easy workout.

I like the getting to the point of surrender that God can can do what He said he would do for us. Page 552 in the AA big talks about praying for the one we resent asking for everything we are seeking from God for ourselves for the one we resent. And it states we should do this for a week straight. Being the stubburn soul that I am I have to do this twice a day for two weeks. If I forget a day or one time then I start the day count over and keep doing that until I get two consecutive weeks of twice a day and it works everytime. While doing this I am focussing on God and not the resentment, no longer resisting evil. God seeking rather than situation resisting seems to work for me.

What seems to happen to me while doing this is I reach a level of forgiveness. Not the type of forgiveness I might extend to someone asking to be relesed from debt but forgiveness of someone that might be spiritually sick like uncle Cletus that got liquired up on Christmas day and went after aunt Urma aunt Edna's sister.

Peace Y'all
C

December 26, 2009 at 7:18 AM

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