Forgiveness

I pulled into the road in between two cars.  I had ample space and time to accelerate so as not to cause the car behind to slow own.  However, the driver in the car decided to speed up and tailgate me.  In my rearview mirror, I could see the driver yelling at me.  In a moment of frustration, I raised my hand in the air as if to say why are you mad at ME?  I’m not proud that I let this person aggravate me and that I acted the way I did.  And, I am especially not proud that my reaction caused this person to show her anger even more through an action requiring only one finger.

But as the driver turned onto the ramp, away from where I was headed, I realized something that I had not considered before: I had caused this person to sin.  She may have already been angry, but my reaction made things much worse.

We do things all the time, some that cause us to feel guilt and others that we don’t give a second thought.  And both of these affect others, from people we love and know well to those who we have never met or will never meet.  Our simple, meaningless actions can cause others to falter.

More other than not, when contemplating forgiveness, I lean toward thinking about how other people have wronged me.  I do not first consider how I may have wronged them.  There are an infinite number of ways that we may have hurt others or even sinned against them without knowing it.

This Sunday, in the Orthodox Church, is called Forgiveness Sunday.  “It received this name from the pious Orthodox Christian custom at Vespers of asking each other’s forgiveness for discourtesy and disrespect. We do so, since in the forthcoming fast (Lent) we will approach the sacrament of Penance and ask the Lord to forgive our sins, which forgiveness will be granted us only if we ourselves forgive each other. “If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matt. 6.14, 15)” (From a sermon in 1901 by St Tikhon, when he was Bishop of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.)  It is a time when we literally ask forgiveness from every single person in our local church body (this can then be extended beyond that as well).

I can remember first learning of this service and thinking how strange it was that I would have to ask forgiveness from people who I barely knew, but as time went on, I realized that I cannot know if my words or actions have caused sin in the lives of other or if I have hurt people without intent.  These are the reasons that I must ask for forgiveness.  Before we take communion, we pray, “forgive me my transgressions, voluntary or involuntary, in word or deed, known or unknown.”  And with that, please forgive me, a sinner.

Have a blessed Lent!

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