The Rev'd Jane B Bearden Trinity, Haverhill July 4, 2010
Do you remember the book and the movie, Dead Man Walking?It was the story of an horrific murder/rape rampage committed by Robert Lee Willie and David Vaccaro in south Louisiana in the 1990s and the pastoral care of Robert Lee by a Roman Catholic nun, Sister Helen Prejean.Sister Helen is a passionate opponent of the death penalty.But the book I am talking about cae after that and was written by Debbie Morris.Debbie was one of Robert Lee’s and David’s victims.She was repeatedly raped, tortured, beaten, and threatened with death.It was Debbie’s testimony that ultimately sent Robert Lee Willie to the death penalty.So why would I want to use a book about the victim who lived to testify to a gruesome crime on a day when the text is about forgiveness and love?Debbie wrote her own book several years after the incident.Her book is called Forgiving the Dead Man Walking.Debbie was relieved when Robert Lee Willie was executed, she felt safe from him and she sought to find solace in her relief.But Debbie did not find solace through Robert Lee’s death.This is what she wrote:
I needed to be able to let go of the hate and the anger before he died. I needed to find a way to forgive him. Even if I hadn’t resolved the things that happened to me or I can’t say that, - that I had recovered from the things that happened to me but I didn’t want a person dying without me being able to find a way to forgive him…. I think I did to the greatest extent that I could. I don’t know if I was able to fully forgive him. I wanted to and I tried … later on in my life I had a lot more problems dealing with the actual things that happened to me…. And when I dealt with those issues, a lot of anger came up—but it was different. It wasn’t as much like it was directed at him. So I feel like I did forgive him to the greatest extent possible and I think since then, I’ve done a lot of healing which has brought me more to a fuller forgiveness.”1 Debbie Morris is not an articulate writer in my opinion – nor is she a particularly thoughtful theologian.She is a human being that came to identify her own personal demons as those which denied her the freedom to let go of the pain and suffering she had endured.What she came to realize was that as long as she held the anger and hate inside her she could not find peace herself.Perhaps it is a cruel twist of fate that we as human beings only find true freedom and peace, when we let go of our inner demons and let Christ’s love fill the yawning gap in our hearts.Now don’t get me wrong, I am not here telling you that someone who has been brutalized by another person should forgive and forget and that the abuser is absolved from any responsibility - not at all.But what I am saying is that when we let our anger and our hatred of another person overwhelm us what we are really doing is allowing the abuser to continue to control us with a strangle hold that blocks our ability to allow God to heal the wound.And the same principle is true whether we are talking about a person, a country, or a faith community. The texts today are the propers for The Fourth of July.In this reading form Matthew, Jesus admonishes his followers and us to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.Now perfection is a difficult enough concept, but Jesus defines perfection for us - as offering even our enemies that same love that God offers us.So hold that thought and think about today. Today is the Fourth of July, Independence Day.As a child I could hardly tell patriotism from faith in God.the two were inseparable.If one was not a good Christian person then one was a traitor to our country and vice versa.To pray for ones enemies and to love those who do not offer even a hint of love to me is a really difficult thing to do.Truth is, we Christians have not done a very good job over the centuries of praying for those who persecute us. Now I do not want to leave the impression that I think this is a uniquely Christian disability.I think it has more to do with our humanness than it does with our faith or perhaps our lack of faith.This admonition by Jesus is counter-cultural, it turns our natural fight or flight instinct on its head.To pray for ones enemies is not a natural thing. G.K. Chesterton once remarked, "it is not that Christianity has been tried and found wanting, Christianity has been found hard and therefore not tried".Fear grips us, anger consumes us, and we fallvicti m to the very feelings and actions that our Lord says keep us from God.Paul, in Romans says I do what I do not want to do and I don’t do what I want.Paul knew well about human weakness.But Paul knew something else also.He writes in Romans 7 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!The power of anger, hatred or violence, whether wielded by a country or by an individual is nothing compared to the power of Love.The act of forgiveness found through prayer opens up a new and surprising freedom to grow and to thrive with joy and consolation.That joy and consolation is just not there for those who choose anger and hatred.I had a spiritual director once who told me that anger was like a burning log, the only one who gets burned is the one who holds it. Patriotism and faith – I am OK with that – because if we reach to the teachings of Jesus they will serve us well in our policy making.If we follow Jesus’ teachings then we will be known as peacemakers.Peacemakers offer God's shalom in the midst of conflict. God is the Peacemaker. God in Jesus Christ makes peace where there is no possibility of peace, provides forgiveness and healing in the face of evil and brokenness. God's love is not dependent on our actions or our attitude. God acts first, moving to love us, to bless us. It is in being open to receive God’s love that we are freed and enabled to love our enemies. When that happens our enemies no longer have power over us to strip us of our joy and happiness, to control our reactions.Christ is our mediator, our teacher, our hope for the Shalom, the Salaam , the Peace of God.It is in recognizing the emptiness of our souls when they are held by anger and the yearning of our hearts for love that we are able to receive God’s deep, deep love for us. Amen