This week we will learn more about Miroslav Volf who has worked hard to form his own understanding of forgiveness following wartime atrocities committed against his people. Below is a quote which frames his challenge:
I, a citizen of a world at war and a follower of Jesus Christ, could not hang up my commitments, desires, rebellions, resignations, and uncertainties like a coat on a coat rack before entering my study, to be taken up and put on when the work of the day was over . My people were being brutalized, and I needed to think through the response appropriate for me, a follower of the crucified Messiah. How could I abstract from my commitments, desires, rebellions, resignations, and uncertainties?…The tension between the message of the cross and the world of violence presented itself to me as a conflict between the desire to follow the Crucified and the disinclination either simply to watch others be crucified or let myself be nailed to the cross…. I wrote…for myself-and for all those who in a world of injustice, deception, and violence (who) have made the gospel story their own and therefore wish neither to assign the demands of the Crucified to the murky regions of unreason nor abandon the struggle for justice, truth, and peace.
(Volf, Miroslav (2010-03-01). Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (p. 10). Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition.)
What tensions do you carry within your soul that block you from receiving or extending forgiveness?
How does your regular practice of watching over others in love inform your call to forgive?