Ephesians 5:8-14

There was a time when you were darkness, but now you are light in Christ. Live as children of the light. Light produces every kind of goodness, justice and truth. Be correct in your judgment of what pleases our Savior. Take no part in deeds done in darkness, which bear no fruit; rather, expose them. It’s shameful even to mention the things these people do in secret; but when such deeds are exposed and seen in the light of day, everything that becomes visible is light. 

Luke 22:29-46

Just as God has given me dominion, so I give it to you. In my reign, you will eat and drink at my table, and you’ll sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  “Simon, Simon! Satan has demanded that you be sifted like wheat. 

 But I’ve prayed for you, that your faith may not fail. You, in turn, must give strength to your siblings.” “Rabbi,” Peter answered, “with you I’m prepared to face imprisonment and even death!” Jesus responded, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today you’ll have denied three times that you know me.” 

Jesus said to them, “When I sent you off without purse, traveling bag or sandals, were you in need of anything?” “No, nothing!” they replied. 

He said, “Now, however, the one who has a purse had better carry it; the same with a travelling bag. And if they don’t have a sword, they should sell their cloaks and buy one! 

For I tell you, what was written in scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘The suffering servant was counted among criminals’—for whatever refers to me must be fulfilled.” 

And they said, “Look, Rabbi, here are two swords!” Jesus answered, “That is enough.” Then Jesus went out and made his way as usual to the Mount of Olives; the disciples accompanied him. When they reached the place, Jesus said to them, “Pray that you not be put to the test.” 

Then Jesus withdrew about a stone’s throw from them, knelt down and prayed, “Abba, if it’s your will, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done.” 

When Jesus rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, exhausted with grief. He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Wake up, and pray that you not be subjected to the trial.”

In today’s scripture we are presented with the context to last week’s readings. Jesus is sitting with his disciples and tells Peter that he has prayed for him “that his faith may not fail.”. He instructs Peter that he “in turn, must give strength to his siblings.”

He goes on to tell the disciples that they need to be prepared for what is to come. He knows that he is about to die at the hands of the state, and that once this happens, things may turn hostile for his followers. He knows that the goodwill they have relied upon during their travels with him are not something that they will be able to count on as the state bears down on silencing the Jesus movement that is growing. 

One of my mentors, Reverend Orville James, also a hockey fan, used to always refer to believers as being on “Team Jesus”. I always liked this metaphor, but in today’s story we go from Team Jesus who have spent three years scoring hat tricks and growing their fan base to the loyalty of the Habs to Team Jesus that is about to experience a loss greater than the ones that us Leafs fans suffer each year. 

Joking aside, things are not looking good for Jesus and he knows this. Remember, he is aware that at that very moment, Judas, formerly a devoted follower of Jesus is now on his way to betray him to the Roman Empire in exchange for 30 silver coins-the equivalent today of about $250. 

Even one of his closest friends-Peter speaks up and reassures him saying Rabbi, (or teacher), with you I’m prepared to face imprisonment and even death!” Yet Jesus knows that this isn’t true and accuses him of betraying him three times-not just betraying him but denying that he even knows him. 

I don’t know about you, but I find this story riveting. The drama, betrayal, violence, foreshadowing-it has all the makings of an oscar-worthy movie. I mean it’s no surprise to me that despite issues such as anti-semitism within it, “As of February 2022, “The Passion of the Christ” which came out in 2004 ranked as the all-time highest-grossing R-rated movie in the United States and Canada. The film generated almost 371 million U.S. dollars at the so-called North American box office.”

Yet in the making of movies like The Passion of the Christ or Jesus of Nazareth, which focus on the melodramatic, what often gets missed for me is the kindness and gentleness Jesus shows the people closest to him. 

Jesus knows that Judas is betraying him. He knows that Peter is going to deny knowing him. We know from last week that Jesus even knows that God might not answer his prayers. And yet he continues to spend his time with these people and talking to God. 

Even though he knows that Peter is going to deny him, he prays that Peter’s lack of faith will be short-lived and that he will regain his faith and then set an example for his siblings, or the people around him. 

This preemptive forgiveness is kind of incredible. Imagine having a relationship that strong, whether it is with your spouse, your children or your friends, where you acknowledge that things are not always going to go well, but you are willing to continue working on the relationship to make it solid and to recover from bumps along the way. Even some serious ones. 

Sometimes I will admit that I am too quick to just throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater instead of working through the hard things. It’s an area that I have grown in as I have gotten older, and it’s still something I’m working on. 

The Bible tells us a lot about forgiveness. 

Colossians 3:13

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Proverbs 17:9

“Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.”

Matthew 18:21-22

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’ “

Forgiveness is something that helps to rebuild relationships and to forge deeper relationships. Yet biblical forgiveness is also something that has been used to wound people and to further painful feelings of guilt after traumatic experiences. 

Asking someone to forgive a child for telling them that they are a terrible parent in the middle of a temper tantrum is very different than forgiving people who are responsible for the abuses that people experience either at home, on the streets, or in the world at the hands of people who are thirsty for power and addicted to control. But scripture has been used over and over to make victims feel guilty and to further diminish their self-worth and agency. 

Yet according to scripture, forgiveness requires repentance. The word for repentance in the new testament is “Metanoia” which is a military term that means to stop marching one direction, quickly do a 360 degree turn and begin marching in the opposite direction. 

To repent is to change your entire way of thinking and acting so that the way that you live out in the world is completely different. 

The Bible tells us that in order to be baptised we must first repent. Many of us think that an unwavering belief is what God demands of us to enter their family. But scripture is clear, that while belief is important, yet something that most, I would bet all, of us falter at, it is repentance that is key. 

We see this demonstrated through Jesus’ approach to Peter. He knows that Peter is going to show disbelief in the most tangible way possible-not only denying that Jesus is the son of God but by also denying that he knows Jesus at all. However Jesus also seems to know, and we don’t know how, that Peter will repent from his denial of Jesus. 

Maybe it’s because he knows Peter’s personality, maybe it’s because he knows that witnessing Christ’s resurrection will be transformational, but whatever it is, Jesus is able to extend grace to Peter even while feeling betrayed and hurt by him. 

But do we always have to extend grace? 

Again and again the Bible instructs us that repentance is the key to forgiveness. But God also recognises that repentance will not always happen.

In the book of Isaiah, Isaiah warns the people who are sinning that they could have repented-turned their lives around in true metanoia saying “This is what the Sovereign God, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” ( Isaiah 30:15) 

Scripture also reveals that God “is not slow concerning their promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because they do not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9). 

Yet at the end of the day, God is clear that if wrong-doers do not repent, they will be reckoned with. Romans 2:5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when their righteous judgment will be revealed.

We receive good news that God is patient and will wait for us to change our minds and the way we live our lives but will also deal with people who don’t repent. Jesus knew this and in fact doesn’t ask for forgiveness but turns it over to God. 

And to us as part of “Team Jesus”, this is good news, because we all make mistakes. We all do things that require forgiveness. But it doesn’t matter the scope of the act, one thing that always remains true us that in order to deserve forgiveness, repentance has to come first. 

I learned a lot about forgiveness from the Indigenous Elders in our church. Let’s watch this short video that was made for the 25th anniversary of the apology to Indigenous people in the United Church.

There were two responses in this video from the Elders. 

Gladys Taylor’s personal response was to assure the church that she has waited to hear these words and that she forgives the church for it’s wrongdoings. 

At the same time, the official response from the All Native Circle Conference was that “The All Native Circle Conference has now acknowledged your Apology”….note the word acknowledged, not accepted, “and hope and pray that the Apology is not symbolic but that these are the words of action and sincerity.”

And I think that this is a good reminder for us, that forgiveness is not a pass to continue acting the way we are, or for our actions to be forgotten about, but it is a reconciling action that brings both parties closer to God. 

I also think that the way that the church has played out part of it’s reconciliation is a good example for us, that reconciliation doesn’t always mean that we just get to go back to the way things were before, or that we even have to be in each other’s presence. 

The act of forgiveness is not taken lightly, it requires a radical change of action. And that radical change of action is not something that covers up our pasts, but allows us to move forward in good ways, while still living with the consequences of our choices. 

There is never a guarantee in the Bible that we won’t be held accountable for our actions, or that we will be able to move around in the world without our transgressions being recognised. 

Because that’s not reconciliation fed by forgiveness, that’s just creating a situation where it is easier for people to reoffend. 

What reconciliation is, is the allowing of all parties to move forward in good ways while constantly working on the restoration of the wholeness of all humanity. And sometimes that requires boundaries. 

In order for the Indigenous church to move forward and walk a healing path, it has required someseparation between the indigenous and non-Indigenous church witht he creation of the All Native Circle Conference, Now the National Indigenous Council.  

This is a boundary that has allowed the Indigenous church to worship and experience God in culturally relevant and healthy ways, and that has left it up to the Indigenous church to choose what to share and with whom-whether it’s beliefs, cultural items, emotions, and physical spaces. 

Scripture is very clear that boundaries are important and that an abused or oppressed person is never required to interact with their victimiser even in the name of forgiveness and reconciliation. 

Titus 3:10 tells us  to “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.” 

God recognises that for many people, they will never be able to turn their lives around. To commit metanoia. To truly repent and become new. 

God is always patient and hopeful that people will make the choice to undergo a transformation, but is also realistic that there are many things in this world that shape us into who we are and influence the choices we make. 

And without that transformation, in the words of trauma specialist Anastasia Pollick “If they are not willing to do those things, then it is not forgiveness they are seeking, it is absolution without repercussions.” And that is not God’s intention for us.  Yet the word does assure us that God “binds up the bruises of their people and heals the strokes of their wound.”

So when repentance isn’t offered and forgiveness isn’t justified, what do we do?

In the words of one of the church’s Elders: “We have to dance”. 

In recounting the story of when the Indigenous church asked for an apology, former moderator and Elder Stan McKay said : “Some of us had a deep fear about what it would mean if the church refused to make an apology. But I have an image that will always stay with me. One of the elders said, “We will have the drum group come.” 

There was a discussion about that; then someone said, “What if the church doesn’t apologize?” The elder’s response was, “Well, it doesn’t matter. We have to dance whether they apologize or not.” That positive framework of being a people, no matter what the church did, was for me the moment of a statement of liberation.”

And this is the truth for all of us. That we are a people liberated by God, loved by God, and called to dance even when it feels impossible.