Presence Weekly 7/29/2024: The Process of Forgiveness (Part 1)

The church we attend says the Lord’s Prayer every week. I love that! The Lord’s Prayer is a beautiful and wonderful prayer. It also has a unique ability to humble us in ways that we would rather not be humbled, especially when we are praying it out loud around others. You know what I am talking about. No one wants to be the person who says debts when everyone else is saying trespasses. And no one wants to say trespasses when everyone else is saying debts. 

This brings up three questions. 

First, how do you avoid the embarrassment? You have two options: You can go loud and proud, belt out DEBTS, and then bask in your moment. Or, you can do what I do, which is go into whisper mode and wait for the next line. 

Second, which one is it supposed to be? As a confessionally reformed and ordained Presbyterian, I am going to tell you that it is debts. And I think the Greek supports me. In verse 12 the word translated debts is the Greek word, ὀφείλημα, which is more specifically the moral debt incurred as the result of sin (or a transgression). However, in verses 14 and 15 the word is, παράπτωμα, or what a person has done in violating the will and law of God by some false step or failure. While they are very close in meaning, they are actually two parts of the same problem - sin. 

Perhaps the best illustration of this is your credit card. The transgression is the wrong use of the card, and the debt is the bill that is owed as a result of the misuse. One is the wrong action, and the other is the debt that somebody needs to pay. (We will save talking about the national debt, now over $34,000,000,000,000, for another time.) 

There is a third issue that this moment raises for us. The momentary discomfort and confusion of choosing the right word steals the actual aspect of the prayer that is supposed to humble us: that we are sinners who need to ask for forgiveness, we are sinners who need to receive forgiveness, and that as the forgiven people of God we are called to offer forgiveness. 

But embracing the three calls of this petition - to ask for forgiveness, to receive forgiveness, and to offer forgiveness - highlights our need for the gospel in ways this prayer has not yet accomplished. Coming to this part of the prayer, we are forced to realize how desperately we need all three of these, and how difficult all of these are to do, primarily because our hearts get in the way. Thankfully embracing this prayer results in the transformation of our desires. That’s because The Lord’s Prayer, I believe, is intended to change our posture towards God, ourselves, and others.

Who has been wronged?

Every transgression, ultimately, is a transgression against God, and results in the damage of a relationship. Of course, some transgressions do not involve others. You don’t need a list. But those sins still damage our relationship with God. They cause us to not honor him the way we should, or to not treat ourselves the way he designed us to be treated. When we sin in this way, we hide from God (see Adam and Eve in the Garden), or withdraw from him, or even set ourselves up as God in our own lives.

Then there are the transgressions that involve our neighbors. When we murder, rob, steal from, slander and gossip against, lie to, or act out of envy or jealousy towards our neighbor, we are not only sinning against them, we are violating the very Law of God. We are destroying the community that God has created for us to live in. God takes that transgression very seriously. As a result, we need to ask for forgiveness - from God and from others.

Obstacles to asking forgiveness

Sometimes it’s our ignorance. We don’t know we have done something wrong until we read that portion of Scripture that speaks directly to our sin. Sometimes we don’t know about our sin until a friend comes and tells us, “You have wronged me.” This is why Scripture and good friends who love Christ are so important. It is why Matthew 18 is in our Bibles. It is also why there is the expression, “Ignorance of the Law, does not remove the penalty of the Law.” 

But. ignorance is not our only obstacle to asking for forgiveness. There is also our heart.  When confronted with the reality of our transgression, some of us minimize, because we have a big view of ourselves and a low view of others. We do so by saying, “It’s not that big of a deal.” Some of us justify – “He made me do it”; or even, “They deserved it.” For some of us, our pride gets in the way of asking forgiveness because we do not want to be wrong. For some of us, it is the shame of what we have done that keeps us from asking for forgiveness. 

For those serving and leading in the public square, all of these are intensified by traditional media and social media. Not only do they hinder us from admitting we were wrong because of magnifying our error, but also because they can even tend to prompt an apology that is solely for the sake of the media. 

Even though they are different – pride and shame both result in the same problem – we remain in breach of relationship and in need of reconciliation. We repair that breach by asking for forgiveness. In doing so, we find that our hearts are transformed.

The starting place

There are those things that we need to confess publicly and together. This is a part of every church service that at the church we attend. I am reminded that we have committed some sins corporately. In our corporate confession, we are not trying to elevate ourselves, but to humble ourselves before our neighbors in acknowledging that sin is something we all have in common. But there is also a place for silent confession – a time when we can ask God to forgive us for the sins that we would rather not say out loud. 

How should we go about asking forgiveness of God and of others? First, we should clearly and directly state what we have done. As Jesus says at the beginning of this section, we should not pray in order to be seen by others so that we turn our asking for forgiveness into an opportunity to elevate ourselves in the eyes of others, fuel our egos, and garner supporters (see the media complication).

One more, and very important, reason

God knows we are wrong. He does not think it was his fault. God does not think it doesn’t matter. Other people, however, are not God. We need to ask forgiveness of others because they need to hear we were wrong and they need to hear that they were wronged. This is important because it will help them to re-wire the false narrative in their head that they deserved it and that it does not matter. Our asking forgiveness is not just healing to us, it is healing to them. 

Asking for forgiveness is just the first step in reconciliation and only the beginning of the process of transforming our desires. More on that next week!

• Monday: Morning: 1 Samuel 22: 6-23, Romans 15:14-33, Psalm 38, 39, 40 // Evening: 1 Samuel 23, Luke 8:1-21, Psalm 38, 39, 40
• Tuesday: Morning: 1 Samuel 24, Romans 16, Psalm 44, 45, 46 // Evening: 1 Samuel 25:1-43, Luke 8:22-56, Psalm 44, 45, 46
• Wednesday: Morning: 1 Samuel 26, 1 Corinthians 1:1-25, Psalm 50, 51, 52 // Evening:1 Samuel 28:1-29, Luke 9:1-17, Psalm 50, 51, 52
• Thursday: Morning: 1 Samuel 30, 1 Corinthians 1:26-2:16, Psalm 56, 57, 58// Evening: 2 Samuel 1, Luke 9:18-50, Psalm 56, 57, 58
• Friday: Morning: 2 Samuel 2:1-3:1, 1 Corinthians 3, Psalm 62, 63, 64// Evening: 2 Samuel 3:2-39, Luke 9:51-62, Psalm 62, 63, 64
• Saturday: Morning: 2 Samuel 4-5:12, 1 Corinthians 4:1-17, Psalm 68 // Evening: 2 Samuel 6, Luke 10:1-24, Psalm 68
• Sunday: Morning: Judges 16:4-31, Mark 9:30-50, Psalm 71, 72 // Evening: 2 Samuel 11, Acts 8:26-39, Psalm 71, 72

• Cabinet Agency: The staff of the Food & Drug Administration, in their responsibility to protect public health, ensure the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices and the safety of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.
• Think Tank, Lobby group, NGO: The Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding represents compounding pharmacists and technicians as they work to ensure that the practice of pharmacy compounding is not merely preserved but elevated as a key component of health care delivery for millions of patients across America.
• Weekly delegation: The Congressional Delegation of Delaware.
• News events: For staff at the Justice Department and DEA who orchestrated the arrest Ismael Zambada Garcia, also known as "El Mayo," who founded the Sinaloa cartel with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, on weapons, money laundering, and drug trafficking charges! For the new, interim head of the Secret Service, Ronald L. Rowe, as he and his staff work to correct the issues of security protection breakdowns for former President Trump.  For the Senators, House Members, and their staff who are on August recess. For interns who are returning home and back to school after serving in Washington. 
• Personal requests: For someone looking for a new position in Washington and another looking for one outside Washington. For someone working on a book project. For someone feeling overwhelmed with their kids’ summer schedules. For someone dealing with a declining parent. For someone dealing with the loss of a spouse.

• The New York Times (and many others) have the wonderful story of the arrest of Ismael Zambada Garcia (see above) whose Sinaloa drug cartel is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans and the devastation of countless more families. 
• Several weeks ago, Christianity Today released the transcript of a conversation between Russell Moore and Marilyn Robinson on Genesis entitled, Evil Is Not the Essential Feature of Reality. It is spectacular! 
• The Gospel Coalition has an intriguing piece by Dr. Robert Yarbrough on how liberal theologian Eta Linnemann came to embrace orthodox faith.
• The Imaginative Conservative has a lengthy, yet enthralling, piece on The Truth of Beauty: Educating the Moral Imagination, which is a literature lover’s and culturally-interested Jesus follower’s dream. 
• The Rabbit Room has a piece asking, We Are All Moderns Now, but What Has Modernity Done to Us?

• It’s August Recess in Washington, so most think-tanks and policy centers are on break. Enjoy!
• Wednesday, July 31, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm ET, The Brookings Institution will host an online discussion, “The changing landscape of economic opportunity by race and class in America: New data and policy implications.” Rescheduled from last week. 
• Weekdays 12:00 - 1:00 pm, LIVE! CONCERT SERIES ON THE PLAZA at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center’s Wilson Plaza. On stage this week,
• • Mon. 7/29 - Dave Wilson, Jazz
  • Tues. 7/30 - Janelia Soul, Soul
  • Wed. 7/31 - King Teddy, Swing & Rockabilly
  • Thurs. 8/1 - Kiti Gartner & The Drifting Valentines, Rockabilly Country
  • Fri. 8/2 - Groove Spot, R&B
• Fridays, Now - September 6, 5:00 pm ET,  Live Music at Key Bridge Boathouse Join others at Key Bridge Boathouse every Friday night in the summer for live music, lawn games, and a discounted Kayak Monuments Tour. Live Music will be playing from 5-7:30pm with a different entertainer every Friday. 
• Monday 29 - Sunday, August 4, The Mubadala Citi DC Open returns to Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. Top-tier talent from all over the world will compete for a prestigious trophy, leading to action that you do not want to miss.
• Tuesday, August 13, 5:30 – 7:00 pm, The Hoover Institution in Washington presents, Ideas Uncorked: State of the Race: Where America stands on the policy issues heading toward November

Someone gave me a copy of this book a couple of months after we launched Faithful Presence in October 2021. Sadly, it sat on my desk for almost three years before I had time to read it. 

Written from the perspective of the former mayor of Knoxville and former governor of Tennessee (2011-2019), Faithful Presence lays out the case for and application of faithful presence (a term coined by Dr. James Davidson Hunter in his 2010 work, To Change the World) in the public square. Along the way, Gov. Haslam pulls back the curtain on his time in office and the difficulty of navigating the realities and complexities of the public square from the position of a leader. Haslam gives real-world examples of trying to apply whole-life discipleship for the public square highway bills, prison commutations, and gender issues impacts on education and tourism. The former governor makes a clear and compelling case not for theocracy, but for the blessing of well-discipled and well-informed Christians participating in the public square.