Replica Life: forgiveness

Showing posts with label forgiveness. Show all posts

Easter: Knowing the Love of God

The one theme which stands out above all during Great Lent as we approach Easter is how much God loves us. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16-17). God loves us infinitely more than we can imagine, and this is why He also gave us the Holy Spirit to be our comforter, and as He said, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). This is the focus of our faith. We believe that God became man, so that by dying on the cross, Christ can save us, and by rising from the dead, He can offer us eternal life. Christ’s love for us draws us to Him. Why would anyone want to resist such a love?

According to John, “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19). That is a powerful force, which comes against us. The “wicked one” only knows how to lie, hate and destroy. This means that we need to be able to discern truth from among all the world’s lies. The truth is that Jesus is God and He loves each and every one of us. When we fully understand that truth, we cannot help but be in awe of what God has done through His Son. Christ was not just some man who happened to be executed because He wanted to be King of the Jews. Jesus was the only human who was perfect, never having sinned even once. He was pure goodness and love. Christ demonstrated His divine power through amazing miracles, including raising people from the dead. He often performed these miracles with thousands of witnesses present. Christ was God, who humbled Himself and willingly accepted crucifixion because He loves each and every one of us and wants us to be with Him for eternity.

As Christians, it is our responsibility to develop our spiritual maturity by cultivating a relationship with Christ. The best way to do that is through prayer, or in other words, just talk to Jesus. Prayer is the most available means to cultivate our relationship because it is always accessible, no matter where we are. Your prayers do not have to be too long or involved. Just express what is on your heart.

Another way to develop our spiritual maturity is by participating in the Sacraments, especially taking Communion. The whole purpose of Communion is to receive remission of sins and to be united with Christ. It is a mystical union, which we experience through the Holy Spirit. Receiving the Eucharist is one way we energize the Holy Spirit within us, who brings us closer to God. During Lent, we should also participate in Confession. I have to confess, myself, that until this last year, I had only gone to Confession once in my life. I was terrified, especially because there were decades of sins I had never confessed. If you have reservations, one thing I can tell you is that only by facing a human being, like a priest, do we truly feel repentant of our sins. Confessing to a God who we cannot see is easy! I genuinely experienced the love of God when I participated in Confession and knew my sins had been forgiven.

We can also develop our spiritual maturity by remembering what we ourselves say each time we recite the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Preparing for Easter requires us to forgive all those who have sinned against us and hurt us. After all, by reciting the Lord’s Prayer, we are basically telling God to only forgive our sins, if we forgive others. That means God may not forgive our sins. Before approaching a person who you need to forgive, spend some time thinking about your own sins. Ask yourself, if you committed similar sins, and maybe even committed those same sins against the same person. If you really think about it, none of us is any better than someone else. We have all sinned. That is exactly why we must forgive others their sins. We show them compassion by forgiving them. Reconcile with anyone you are estranged. This may also mean that you must ask someone for forgiveness yourself.

When you have prepared yourself during Lent, Easter will be much more joyous! In our Orthodox tradition, we spend Holy Week at church, attending services that recreate the events of Christ’s betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection. The prayers and Bible passages are intended to remind us of the sacrifice Christ made for us. They are intended to put us in the right frame of mind, so that when Easter arrives, we have a deeper understanding of why we are so thankful that God offered us a way to Heaven. The Orthodox services during Holy Week are unique to our faith, particularly the services on Holy Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. On Thursday, Christ is placed on the cross. On Holy Friday afternoon, He is taken down from the cross and in the evening, we follow in a funeral procession to bury Him in His tomb. On Saturday morning we joyfully anticipate the Resurrection and at midnight we jubilantly sing “Christ is Risen,” while a darkened church is set alight by the flames of our candles. We experience the joy of Easter by reliving it!

http://www.helenkamenos.com/

This Christmas Season

The Christmas season has become so commercial, hurried, and even stressful at times. There are so many things on our to-do lists. At the same time, it is the season to cherish family and friends, to experience joy by giving gifts and to enjoy the lights and Christmas music. Each year, as I think about Christmas, I become joyful, and at the same time, anxious. My senses bathe in the Christmas sights and sounds, and yet I fret over what I should buy everyone on my Christmas list, when I know they already have everything.

This year I thought about adding God to my Christmas list. Now, that is someone who definitely has everything He wants. What could I possibly give God? Naturally, the first thing that comes to mind is to give God thanks for all the blessings He has bestowed upon me. I have much for which to be thankful. I decided to Google Bible verses about giving gifts to God and what kind of gifts please Him. Do you know what came up? Lists of gifts God gives to us! There was one verse that I remembered from Psalms 51:16-17:

For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

A broken and contrite heart is when one experiences sorrow for the sins he has committed, a deep genuine sorrow causing one to become humbled. I have felt this many times, more than I can count. I pray that God will forgive me and guide me in the future. I know in my heart that all God desires is that we love Him and love our fellow human beings. He asks us to be kind and compassionate, generous and caring. In the hustle and bustle of this season of Christ’s birth, I have decided to make it a priority to truly enjoy and appreciate those who He has placed in my life, my friends, family, co-workers and all the students He has entrusted in my care. I will enjoy even the passersby in my life, who I may only meet once in my life, my fellow shoppers, salespeople, drivers, everyone. I will slow down long enough to experience the joy of the Christmas season.

This means that I will forgive the crazy driver who cuts me off, almost hitting my car, to take the parking space I was pulling in to. I will politely forgive the shopper, who jumps in front of me to hurriedly grab the last item on the shelf that I was reaching for. I will forgive the rude salesperson, who becomes impatient with me because I cannot find my credit card in my purse. Forgiveness is the greatest gift we can offer God, especially if we forgive those who have hurt us deeply without cause.

Christ is our example. He never sinned, which means He never hurt anyone. He was always kind and compassionate, full of love for everyone. Yet, He was rejected, mocked, beaten and crucified. Some were offended by the truth He spoke, but even the truth did not warrant such hostility and violence. As Jesus hung dying on the cross, He forgave His executioners and all those who hated Him. His heart remained pure. This is the purpose of forgiveness. We forgive to keep our hearts pure, free from bitterness and hatred.

Join me this Christmas season in giving a gift to God. Appreciate all those who He has placed in your lives. Spend quality time with your friends and family. Thank God and thank all those in your life who have blessed you. Show kindness and compassion to everyone you meet. Forgive everyone. Reconcile with anyone from whom you may be estranged. Put the bitterness and ill-feelings in the past. When you do, you will truly experience the joy of Christ and have greater cause to celebrate his birth.

http://www.helenkamenos.com/

Hatred

Is it just me or does violent hatred seem to be on the rise? Why is it that certain topics cause such venomous passions to rise to the surface and burst into brutal attacks? Two of the hot buttons of vicious responses include race and religion. I am saddened by the deaths and injuries caused by such hatred and injustice. I grieve for the families who have been impacted by such animosity.

As an Orthodox Christian, I find these attacks abhorrent. Orthodox Christians are not ignorant to such attacks. We have been persecuted from the beginning. This is the response to our faith that Christ told us to expect. “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you… If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:18, 20). The question that remains is how are we to respond to such hatred? According to Christ, we are to be happy and rejoice:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).

What a strange response! How can we be happy when we are hated, persecuted, attacked and even murdered? Unbelievably, Christ taught us to love our enemies and pray for them. Love is the proper response to hatred in all circumstances. Yes, I know it seems impossible, especially if we have personally experienced this hatred, but with Christ, nothing is impossible. If we allow the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts, the only possible response is love. As Christians, we are asked to act in humility with mercy and forgiveness for all, no matter what. We cannot help but be grieved by those who do not know the love of God. We have compassion on those who do not know God’s infinite love.

The worst thing we can do is to respond in anger. Hatred toward us is meant to create hatred in us. We cannot allow others’ hatred to fill our hearts. God said, “Be angry, but do not sin…and do not make room for the devil” (Ephesians 4:26, 27). Anger, acted upon, can easily become hatred. All of the political correctness and tolerance in the world, taught in our culture, is impossible without genuine love for our fellow human beings. This is what Christ taught. “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (John 4:8).

Let us follow the example of the Coptic Orthodox who suffered at least two attacks on their community. "Likely the first to die in the blast, Faheem saved the lives of dozens inside the church. ‘I’m not angry at the one who did this,’ said his wife, children by her side. ‘I’m telling him, May God forgive you, and we also forgive you. Believe me, we forgive you. You put my husband in a place I couldn’t have dreamed of’” (http://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2017/april/forgiveness-muslims-moved-coptic-christians-egypt-isis.html). Let us follow the example of the mourners in Charleston who suffered an attack on their church during a Bible study where nine were murdered. “I will never be able to hold her again. But I forgive you and have mercy on your soul,” said daughter of 70-year-old Ethel Lance (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/families-show-forgiveness-for-alleged-church-shooter/). Let us follow Christ's example when He forgave His executioners, while still dying on the cross. Only when we forgive can our own hearts be emptied of hatred and bitterness. Only when we forgive can we show love toward our fellow human beings, even when they hate us.

http://www.helenkamenos.com/