Losing Heart and Self Forgiveness

(Posted October 18, 2019)

"Was memory always as much of a burden as it could sometimes be a blessing?" - Mary Balogh, 21st century

This weekend we are given a very short gospel in parable form about a very tiny woman in the eyes of the powerful in Jesus’ time. She was tiny, not necessarily in stature, but in order of importance in the Roman world. The woman was a widow, with no “man to speak and take care of her.” Even the word, widow, translates in Hebrew to mean, “one without a voice.” She came enlisting the aid of a self-important judge because she had been wronged, and no one seemed to care, including the judge. It would have been easy, even typical, if she had just given up, lost faith in fairness, but she did not. You might even say, “nevertheless, she persisted.” As a result, Jesus points out, he finally gave in and helped her, because she wore him out with her petition for help. He tells us how we “need to pray always and not to lose heart.” Losing heart is the worst thing we can do for ourselves when we bring our woes to God.

Church Services on Sunday

Service begins at 10 a.m. All are welcome to worship with us. 

The problem many of us deal with in the area of “losing heart” is the fact that so often we are our own worst critics, that in OUR hearts, we remember how imperfect, even sinful we’ve been in the past. We can’t seem to let go of our pasts so that we can move forward with life. Too often our biggest, most unforgiving critics are not other people -- it’s ourselves. Moving forward then starts with self-forgiveness and a pledge not to look back, but to plan to move forward, and realize that we are worthy of justice. This Sunday we will be looking at ways to leave the past behind and to learn to love the persons we are trying to become. See you at 10 on Sunday. - Pastor Pat