No Future Without Forgiveness

No Future Without Forgiveness “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity…. That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:2,9 The cycle and escalation of violence … Cain kills Abel (Genesis 4:8) Lamech kills a man (Genesis 4:23-24) Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. (Genesis 6:11) A perfect modern worldwide example of this is the events that led up to World War I, which in turn led to World War II. A political insult became an assassination which led to Word War I. Adolph Hitler was a soldier in World War I, and he felt that he and his country were so mistreated after World War I that the rest of the world must suffer. And suffer they did. The entire world suffered during these to World Wars and still suffers Has the world ever been at peace? Of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history. How many people have died in war? At least 108 million people were killed in wars in the twentieth century. Estimates for the total number killed in wars throughout all of human history range from 150 million to 1 billion. War has several other effects on population, including decreasing the birthrate by taking men away from their wives. The reduced birthrate during World War II is estimated to have caused a population deficit of more than 20 million people. New York Times July 6, 2003 Jesus offered a radically different vision of the future. The three words, “Father forgive them” offered to humanity a different future, the possibility of a new beginning. But that hopeful future is dependent upon our willingness to follow Christ and untangle our lives from the past through the practice of forgiveness. Without forgiveness, Solomon, the cynic, is right—there’s nothing new under the sun. Hope dares to imagine the future as a legitimate alternative to the vicious repetitions of the past. Our happiness lies in hope. Hope is the prevailing attitude that the pain and disappointments of the past do not have to be endlessly repeated. Forgiveness is closing the door on a painful past and opening a new door towards a hopeful future. Joseph the Dreamer At 17, sold by his brothers into slavery By 30, he had lived 13 years as a slave. He then was wrongly accused of rape by his master’s wife. Then ignored and hidden away. Thirteen years are of unjust suffering is plenty of time to potentially build up a lot of resentment From Rags to Riches The story doesn’t end there because the story is not really about Joseph but about the whole family of Israel and their salvation. Nine years later… The tables are turned Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. Gen.45:3 What did the brothers expect? Jacob dies…delayed vengeance? Gen.50:15-21 But Joseph told them, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, to judge and punish you? As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil, for he brought me to this high position I have today so that I could save the lives of many people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Rom.12:18-20 1. Joseph knew that vengeance was a cycle that never ends. Joseph’s forgiveness did no come easy. He did not forgive and forget; he forgave and remembered, but he chose to release his brothers to God. 2. Evil was still called evil This is the first place in the Bible that “forgiveness” is mentioned. 3. Without forgiveness the Bible doesn’t get past Genesis 4. God is able to alter the outcomes from evil Only in the Bible? In 1948, the all-white Afrikaaner National Party instituted Apartheid (a Dutch word meaning “separateness”) - Only whites-about 10% of the population were allowed to vote - Businesses, beaches, bridges, restaurants, theaters, hospitals, and even ambulances were designated “Whites Only.” - Protests against racial inequality were violently crushed. Activists were arrested. - A typical punishment was public whipping. Some were tortured, others just disappeared - The whites-only Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa assured their members that apartheid was certainly God’s will Eventually internal activism, international condemnation, and economic sanctions made apartheid untenable. In 1994, the apartheid regime was dismantled, and nonwhite South Africans were given the right to vote. The open door for Nelson Mandela to step onto the world stage. In 1964, at the age of 46, he had been sentenced to life in prison as an antiapartheid activist. Released in 1990 after 27 years of hard labor in a rock quarry Mandela became the leader of the African National Congress. Rather than reenter the struggle with bitterness Mendela worked with President F W deKlerk for a peaceful transition to a democratic government. Joseph’s story is repeated when Mendela is elected president of the new South Africa. Revenge or Reconciliation? Restorative Justice The Truth and Reconciliation Committee chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu If any person who had committed crimes under the apartheid system would make a full and public confession before the commission, they could immediately receive full amnesty for their crimes. (Unconfessed apartheid crimes remained subject to conventional criminal prosecution.) And what was the result? More than seven thousand people made their confession and applied for amnesty, although not all received it. Many of the amnesty hearings were conducted in churches. Another aspect of the Truth and Reconciliation project was the opportunity for victims to tell their stories—to tell the nation and the world what had been done to them in the name of apartheid. Their stories were broadcast on television and radio and printed in the newspapers. More than twenty thousand victims came forward to tell their story. As they did so, they gave truth the hearing it had so long been denied. Sin was named and shamed, and truth had its day. In this way, justice did not become ugly retribution, which would simply set the table for the next cycle of revenge. But neither was justice denied and victims forgotten. A third way had been found. The way of truth. The way of reconciliation. The way of forgiveness. The way that could give a nation a future beyond the self-destruction of forever seeking revenge. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Ps.85:10 (KJV) “We contend that there is another kind of justice, restorative justice. . . . Here the central concern is not retribution or punishment. . . . [T]he central concern is the healing of breaches, the redressing of imbalances, the restoration of broken relationships, a seeking to rehabilitate both the victim and the perpetrator, who should be given the opportunity to be reintegrated into the community he has injured by his offense. . . . Thus we would claim that justice, restorative justice, is being served when efforts are being made to work for healing, for forgiving, and for reconciliation.” Desmond Tutu No Future Without Forgiveness The cross of Jesus is how He righted the world Our cross is how we extend His kingdom Like God, like Believer