Date: Tuesday, March 17th
Scripture: Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
by Rev. Tabitha Ssonko, Pastor, Monumental AME Church, Steelton PA
Forgiveness is hard! When we are wronged, we want to exact vengeance, or ensure that perpetrators receive their due. We don’t like to talk about forgiveness, it is uncomfortable and messy. Forgiveness requires sacrifice, the ability to move beyond our need to blame and shame. Somehow we have convinced ourselves that blame, shame, and anger have no place in the process of forgiveness. Yet ask anyone who has endured any type of trauma or crime, there is a lot of time attending to blame, shame, and anger. Victims and victimizers struggle with these issues, and whether or not they will be forgiven, or even more exercise forgiveness.
Our modern criminal justice system is particularly complicated. There are constant reminders of how systemic racism, classism, and lack of agency contribute to the absence of fairness for many persons. Certain communities are always plagued with certain violence or problems, even more, certain persons always seem to over populate prisons or are wrongly accused for crimes, or receive unfair sentencing. Stigma, bias, and accusation become the identifying markers of not just the victimized, but also the presumed victimizers. Both are left broken by the same system.
This verse offers simple yet profound solace to all committed to repairing this and other breaches within our community. The call to kindness, compassion, and forgiveness is no trifling thing. It requires courage, grace, and agency. Courage is the strength to persevere beyond our fears. Grace is a gift given by God identifying favor. Agency is freedom, to make choices independent of others. Together these three attributes can lead all who are broken towards a path of redemption and reconciliation. Forgiveness is important in the process of redemption and reconciliation. The Lenten season is a time of evaluation, an opportunity to reflect on forgiveness, and remember that we are forgiven. This forgiveness is not bound to systems, but is given freely to us by God who exists beyond systems. Even more, this God desires that we freely live with courage, compassion, and agency so that we are truly free.
Prayer: Dear God, Grant us the courage to forgive one another as you have forgiven us through your son, our savior, Jesus Christ. Help us to cultivate the courage, grace, and agency required to forgive. Amen.
Fact: As of 2016, PA had more prisoners in solitary confinement than all but four other states.
Action: Get together a group of friends and host a staged reading of the play “If the SHU Fits” developed by NRCAT incorporating voices of those who have spent time in solitary. The play can be downloaded here: http://nrcat.org/storage/documents/if-the-shu-fits-script.pdf
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