Learning and understanding

 I apologize in advance. This post is likely to be inflammatory, but I think that I need to write it. It is not intended to hurt anyone, but it is based on reality and the people involved will recognize themselves. I won’t identify anyone, I’m not pointing fingers, and this ultimately comes from love and concern. I’m happy to discuss the issues that I raise, but not the individuals.   St. Joseph Youth Group c. 1983  This is a photo of my church youth group.  We met originally during preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation in 1982/83. Classes were for 2 years on Saturday mornings, and our cohort became quite close. Our collective parents found themselves as hosts to a horde of teenagers regularly- almost never one or two! After we were confirmed, we went on to form a youth group, which remained quite active until we began to drift into adulthood and life continued.  The bonds are still there, although obviously not exactly the same. But this picture led to the situation that I nee

Continuing on the subject of “Forgive us as we forgive” This line has been cause for much debate, at least in my religious experience.  It’s tossed around as indicating that God’s forgiveness is limited; or that God’s behaviour is controllable.  It’s used as an admonition against real human reactions.  And it’s difficult to really grasp.  In my view, it’s not a way of limiting God, it’s a way to stretch ourselves.  Like the injunction to love our neighbours as ourselves, our ability to forgive tells a lot about us.  How many times I’ve heard people say, “I’ll never forgive you for that!”  But doing that gives our tormentors to live on our peace of mind, while they go around unaware. It’s all covered beautifully in William Blake’s 1794 poem The Poison Tree.  Serendipity is real. I encountered that poem earlier this week, and later, my lay minister dropped by, as he tends to do.  The reading that day was from the Gospel of Luke, the Sermon on the Plain, where we have the exhortation to