yesterday, i read the second half of miroslav volf's new book, free of charge (zondervan 2006, but don't search for it--it's not listed online yet), and met together with david miller and mv's research student, peter forrest, to talk over the manuscript and ideas for last edits before it goes to the printer. it is a really wonderful book, an invitation to christian faith as a way of life, if truth be told, and it is divided in two parts--god who gives and god who forgives. but through those two rubrics, he deals with the whole round of topics in theology. especially delightful, in my view, is the fact that the book is a pauline and lutheran take on these questions (drawing especially from Luther's great commentary on Galatians). it is, for those who know about these sorts of things, the archbishop of canterbury's lenten meditation book for 2006. so rowan williams will write a forward for the book.
anyway, so i was reflecting on the dynamics of forgiveness and how one of the blocks to good forgiveness (when we welcome our life in christ and act out of His indwelling) is when we enjoy the power of having another beholden to us because they've wronged us. we enjoy that they know they've blown it. and we withhold forgiveness so that we retain the power over them. or likewise, taking pride in how lovely our forgiveness is, how magnanimous. all of this is a bunch of crap because we only ever can forgive because god has forgiven us, and we only ever can offer god's forgiveness, passed along to others. so our action acts with god, as god, for god lives within us in christ. it sounds wacky to an american ear so trained to think of itself as autonomous and in control. yet from a christian perspective, such autonomy is hell and true freedom is acting according to or within god's will.
so this morning sonja called me (on her way to work) as i was rushing around at home getting the kids ready to leave for school. distractedly, i tried to answer her question about her work schedule posted on a sheet of paper near our phone. after giving her more information that she needed, she poked fun at my mistake in a way that seemed beyond the limit of *friendly* poking. so i hung up. mad, i stomped off to get the kids shoes on, teeth brushed, clothes folded, and myself ready. i delighted in my virtue taking care of the household, as somehow that proved my innocence and further highlighted her guilt. She called, but I was getting in the shower so I didn't take the call. I could have, but I didn't want to. After I got out, the phone was ringing again, and the kids answered it. They brought me the phone and I said ,'hello.' she said,'i'm sorry.' and i said, 'thanks. [silence] i've got to get the kids out the door. have a good day.'
but i didn't want to say 'i forgive you' yet because i was hurt, mad, and wanted to seek to inflict my own revenge by making her stew in the juice of her remorse. and so as i was driving to work the whole conversation from last night hit me, and i recalled what i'd read, and i thought--this is going to be one hell of a lenten mediation book. it hits so many levels, stepping on our toes for our inhuman behavior, and if we readers take it seriously, the book asks--like discipleship in christ should--for our whole lives turned to God's purposes and away from our own pleasures. anon, and +peace
Hi, I'm a political economist turned seminary student at Bethel Seminary in MN.
I am working with the Affiliation of Xtn Engineers to write a practical theology paper on whether Xtn engineers should care about the level of ethics in their profession. You can read about it here. http://christianengineer.blogs.com/christian_engineer/ Would you recommend for us to read Miroslav's new book as part of the deliberation for this paper?
dlw
Posted by: dlw | August 12, 2005 at 12:04 PM