On Forgiveness.
The concept of forgiveness, as explained by Archbishop Tutu, seems relatively counter cultural to what an average American would say about the matter. I think for many people, an elementary understanding of forgiveness is still present in their adult lives. The victimizer doesn’t fully comprehend the pain the victim has gone through, asks for the acceptance of an apology and the victimizer is again put back to their perspective life. This could be paralleled to the adult form of an older brother asked to apologize after wrestling too hard with a younger sibling. In extreme cases, perhaps a time like the occurrence of rape, the victimizer is never forgiven. The victim hopes that the bitterness stored up in their own lives will somehow bring destruction (conceivably a vile form of justice) to the victimizer. Tutu seems to flip this concept on its back. In the eleventh chapter of his book, Tutu argues that forgiveness is beneficial not only to the party who committed the act of violence, but is more importantly an act of transformation for the victim. Because Tutu believes in the concept of ubuntu, or the idea that a person is only made complete in their humanity through other people, this interconnectedness is the driving force for his necessary concept of forgiveness. The beauty of an intertwined humanity is broken down when a part of the whole is belittled or humiliated in any way.
In a catastrophe like apartheid where many blacks who were considered subhuman from a political and social standpoint were violently slayed with no reasoning, it surprises many that Tutu can speak of a holistic form of forgiveness. After South Africa became democratic and former alleged terrorist Nelson Mandela was elected president, Tutu helped create the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Instead of forcing retributive justice on the apartheid enablers, Archbishop Tutu went forward on the conviction that the only way his country could return to a stable form of peace would be with a focus on restorative justice. True forgiveness was sought after not only to bring the oppressor out of a mentality of denial or ignorance, but for the victims to be transformed into people who were set free from their pain and hatred. The apology of an oppressor is not a necessity, though. According to Tutu, forgiveness is more about the forgiver than the forgiven. His belief is based on the idea of the cross, the concept that Jesus Christ granted forgiveness to all, despite humanity’s lack of faith or acknowledgment of sinfulness. To Tutu, the act of restorative forgiveness is more than the acceptance of an apology; it is actively transforming our world into one more like the kingdom of God.
this is a long one.
On Friday, I arrived at camp feeling less than prepared. Smack dab in the middle of the black abyss of midterms, I couldn’t even find time to engage in the ‘normal’ social activities of a college student, let alone prepare my mentality for a weekend of model Christian directorship.
But, as always, my ill-preparedness stood as an inkling of an adversary to God’s sovereignty. Not only did a camp-ful of kids enjoy their weekend, they left with a thorough understanding that they need to be like Superman, not Batman. (Gotta love that Superhero theme.)
I am always drilled with the conviction that no matter how much crap I bring to the table (which, incidentally, I tend to have), God blasts it out and replaces it with His Greatness.
I often get discouraged by my lack of humility. I tend to get caught up in the times I’ve bypassed compassion, or traded my chances to extend holiness for a greater embellishment of my own self-interest. And, in the momentary engulf of emotion, I justify my acts as “just like the rest of the world”.
I find that anger is easier to resort to than peace.
I attend a school shrouded with hypocrisy.
I live in a city that ignores the conditions of its homeless. I live in a country that is engaged in a war it shouldn’t be in (call me a Communist, but I would hate the United States, too, if I wasn’t an ignorant American). I live in a world that closes its eyes to the fact that it has enough resources for all, and then turns a deaf ear to the cries of its refugee’s starvation.
But, despite the disheartening circumstances of our world, God is still sovereign. He is and always will be in existence. He will always dwell in the faces of those on 27th and Kilborne. He will always comfort those waiting for aid in Calcutta. He will always exist with those blasted by raids in Darfur.
He will always be.
Lately, I’ve found myself being called an ‘idealist’. But I kind of feel like idealism is just an extension of realism. It is an all-encompassing hope for an existence that is hard-wired in our brains; an existence of equality, compassion, and peace (but not pacifism).
I have hope that someday the Church will actually act on the ideals the Gospels teach.
I’ve been reading this book called The Impossible Will Take a Little While by Paul Loeb (you should read it, if you’d like). It’s a compilation of a plethora of people who feel that citizen activism is the only way to a world of equality. I understand that the following excerpt is quite long, but I promise it’ll leave you wondering (bolding is mine).
“Could we teach all our children the Torah, the Prophets, the Song of Songs, the Talmud, the New Testament, the Quran, the Upanishads, the teachings of the Buddha and of King and Ghandi, as treasuries of wisdom – and sometimes of great danger – that are as crucial to the world as Plato and Darwin and Einstein?
Could we learn to see the dangers in “our own” as well as in “the other” teachings, and learn to strengthen those elements in all traditions that call for nonviolence, not bloody Crusades and jihads and holy wars for holy lands?
Instead of only mouthing wishes, could we insist on doing deeds: …Creating peace between a secure Israel and a viable Palestine? Sharing abundance between the Starving World and the Obese World? Sharing disarmament among nations with suicide bombers and those (like our own) with hundreds or thousands of weapons of mass destruction? Learning to breath easy and use far less of the fuels that so quickly become a cause for war – instead of choking and scorching the planet with greenhouse gases of mass desolation?
Not every demand of the poor and disempowered is legitimate simply because it is an expression of pain. But can we open the ears of our hearts to ask:
Have we ourselves had a hand in creating the pain? Can we act to lighten it?”
Rabbi Arthur Waskow “The Sukkah of Shalom” pg. 109
be keen on.
wow.
Quite the while since I've posted, eh? Don't worry, I don't like the people who do this, too. The people who haven't posted for ten years and then apologize to the reader, implying that they feel some sort of remorse for paining them. Meh.
I've been at camp. Then I moved in. Now I'm in. Bartlett and Locust, here we are. Holler.
Now that brings me to this: the subject of love. Apologies for the jump in subject.
Camp was delightful. Nowhere else in the world do I feel more used; nowhere else in the world do I feel more alive, more supported.
Nowhere else do I feel the need to be loved. And not just the buddy-buddy kind of love; the clearly-you-need-to-be-in-a-relationship-otherwise-God-doesn’t-like-you kind of forced love. It doesn’t help that one is completely saturated with other people in that place. Kind of like oatmeal. It’s delicious, but sticky and watery and usually ends up in Erin’s stomach. (what?)
Anyway, one can’t help but find a fancy in
someone at camp. You’re a poorly-wired moron if you can’t. So, while on the outside one might see another worrying about the location of their munchkins, their insides shed light on something entirely different.
The scattered wonderings of the location of that certain someone.
And that, my friends, is the desire to be loved. Girl’s hearts are wired like this, you know. That’s why we coo at movies like
Pride & Prejudice and
Love Actually. Our minds tell us that if we aren’t involved in mutually responsive relationship, there is something severely and incurably wrong with us.
Dang.
But this truth may not be so purist. I have this friend who is in love with being in love. The thought, the excitement, the connection, gets him all fired up. The reality is that he wholeheartedly loves the consideration of being in love. Not the actual working-out of that.
Perhaps that is something we’re all guilty of. Perhaps, instead of jumping at the thought of being with the next ‘wonder’ that crosses our line of sight, we should step back and acknowledge that we just love the idea of being in love.
Hm. I didn’t mean to sound so preachy. Maybe more thoughts will come about this later.
On the flipside, my scattered wonderings have stopped. Almost.
quick update.
Hi, friends!
I thought I would post a quick update, since my last three weeks have flown by. Camp is phenomenal.
I was kicked in the butt when I got here. God always faithfully calls us closer when we have a season of ministry in our midst, and I definitely was slightly (ha!) intimidated by the position I was called to.
But, alas, as stated before, He is always faithful. As challenging as it is to write three Bible programs, come up with a counselor training program, and push myself until I can't go anymore, I love wallowing in the knowledge that God delights in me in this place.
To those at home, I miss you! I hope the summer is exciting and fun.
If you feel inclined, prayer is always encouraged. Our high school counselors are coming on Sunday. !! I'm astonished that its only two days away. Pray for our kids. Pray for the staff. Pray that He reveals Himself more and more each day.
grace and peace.
CHBC
Letters are greatly appreciated-
(and come with a guaranteed response).
Jerica Arents
Covenant Harbor
1724 W. Main Street
Lake Geneva, WI
53147
Until August 15th...
Graces.
coffee girl.
Can I tell you what the absolute most awkward thing in the world is?
Seeing my Caribou regulars outside of Caribou.
Today, in Old Navy, I glanced at a couple coming into the store. Before I could fully place the face, I was greeted with a
Hey! My Coffee Girl!Like I’m going to be like “Oh, yes, sir. My only purpose in this entire world is to hand you your large dark roast in the morning. Yep. I’ve got no life. In fact, I stalk you until you come into Caribou. That’s why you see me right now.”
Come on, friends! We’ve got more to us than just being “coffee girls”. I’ve got a passion, ya know. Ask me about my life. Really, I’m more than just a machine that smiles at your lame jokes. Ask me about my mission. Ask me about my thoughts on stem cell research. Ask me what I like to do in my freetime.
Hey! My Coffee Girl! is rather demeaning.
It’s kind of like
Hey! Theres that ring-tailed lemur! Or
Hey! My favorite pair of argyle socks I’ve misplaced since December!
Hey! That person I come in contact with on a regular basis!Apologies. I really do like this regular. He’s fun.
Its just awkward, ya know?
damien.
Find Damien Rice's
B-Sides CD. In some capacity. Somehow.
If just for "Lonelilly".
Phenomenal.
Thanks, Erin. Don't worry, I won't use you for your music next year.
Right.
