Scriptures: Psalm 32; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Key Verse: "You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance." (Psalm 32:7)
After my evening class at the seminary in Hyde Park, I called my husband who, at the time, was working at the Metropolitan Chicago Synod office in Lincoln Park. It was January 29, 2008, a bitter cold day with a sudden heavy snowfall. My daughter was with me and we were warned not to drive home through downtown Chicago or I-290. After talking to my husband, we decided to head home. It took a great effort for my daughter and me to remove all the snow from the car without proper tools. It was almost 10 p.m. when we were able to move the car out of the parking space due to the surrounding snow. After we reached I-290, we saw my husband entering the highway. We got so excited and even waved at him. Traffic was moving at less than 10 miles per hour and we ended up next to each other in different lanes. We chatted on the phone about the chocolate cookies he had in his car but couldn’t share with us. On the way home, we saw several snow plow trucks working as hard as they could. It took us nearly 5 hours to get home for only a 45 mile trip.
It was the longest drive ever. Having been able to talk on the phone with my husband and knowing our daughter was with us, the trip home wasn’t too bad. The whole city was paralyzed for nearly a week. It took days to remove all the snow from South Lake Shore Drive which was the road I usually took. We could have stayed in a hotel for a night or two, but eventually we had to go home.
This made me think of the path we take when healing--from being wounded to being comforted to finally being healed at the end. Whenever we are hurt, we need to pace ourselves and allow ourselves to heal. The most challenging question we tend to ask is, do we have to forgive in order to heal?
It might be helpful to think of forgiveness as a snow plow truck that is needed when snow accumulates and blocks the passageway, or to think of forgiveness as a stent that is needed when plaque is attached to the walls of a blood vessel and blocks the passageway for blood to flow. And now think of the Holy Spirit as either a snow plower or a stent that you need in your life for a healing process. Do you recall what Jesus gave to his disciples before he commanded them to forgive in John 20:23? He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound.” Only through the power of the Holy Spirit who is our advocate, comforter, and guide, we are able to do what St. Paul said in Ephesians 4:31-32, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Healing can be a very long and lonely journey. And we all know that forgiving doesn’t mean we can forget our offenders. Instead of suppressing any painful emotions and memories, it is recommended that we practice emotional reconstruction by taking some helpful steps towards our wellbeing, such as learning more about ourselves, processing our emotions with someone, praying for strength and healing, relocating that piece of memory by knowing that it takes time to heal, etc. If we keep suppressing our emotions, it should not be surprising to see an emotional explosion which is triggered by a related or similar issue that we have avoided dealing with.
In Luke 15, Jesus told three parables to the tax collectors, sinners, Pharisees and scribes: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. In all these three parables, Jesus describes God’s desire to have all under His wings, to love and care for them. The owners of the first two parables initiate the act of searching for the lost item. However, in the third parable, the father wasn’t in search of him, but the lost son found his way back. Having a desire for healing while learning to forgive is our way back to God. There is only one God, one same Love for all. Like the young son in the 3rd parable, his simple intent was to be forgiven and to have a place to return. That’s his father’s home. And the moment his father saw his return, he ran to him and embraced him in his loving arms. May we all find ourselves in God’s bosom after each healing path as it says in Psalm 32:7, “O God, you are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.” Amen.
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