Forgive me; I am a sinner
I embraced her by the hands, looked into her eyes, and said, “Forgive me; I am a sinner.” After she repeated those same words to me, I exchanged with her the kiss of peace, whereby our eyes were brought back to one another’s as we both spoke, almost in unison, “May God forgive us both.” With a sincere but brief squeeze of the hands, she departed.
His embrace of my hands was much more forceful, and there was a tear in his eye as he said with conviction, “Forgive me; I am a sinner.” I repeated those same words back to him. We exchanged the kiss of peace, and unclasped our hands with the words, “May God forgive us both.” In like manner I was able to ask forgiveness from each and every person in attendance at St. Paul’s this past Sunday. This very powerful and humbling experience is called Forgiveness Sunday, and it marks the beginning of Great Lent.
Christ tells us, “Forgive and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37), similarly John tells us, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:8, 9)—it is in this spirit that the Orthodox celebrate Forgiveness Sunday.
Though there are many edifying benefits from such a holy practice as asking forgiveness from your entire parish one person at a time, it is the faces that stand out in my mind—the faces before God. As each parishioner stands before you (or you stand before each parishioner) you are presented with another face, another soul, another life for Christ. These are the faces, the eyes, the trembling voices that God sees and hears everyday; these are the people that make up Christ’s Church. Their wrinkled brows, or soon to be (even if in forty more years), are the faces for which Christ is an advocate.
As each person shared with me the kiss of peace, and exchanged with me the words of repentance, I became witness to a true instantiation of community: the people of God. We were not connected by socio-economic status, we were not connected by race, nor age, nor health, but we were connected on account of our shared sinfulness, our shared failures, and our shared need of God’s grace.
My friends, Forgiveness Sunday is yet another Orthodox tradition that has been preserved for the edification of God’s people. Forgiveness Sunday is yet another aid to the faith that Protestantism sorely lacks, yet another experience Protestants deny themselves. Forgiveness Sunday is just another reason why the experience of Orthodoxy makes inadequate a mere doctrinal study of Orthodoxy. Those who would dismiss Orthodoxy for “doctrinal differences”—“I read a book about what Orthodox believe, and I don’t like it”—those persons have not even begun to know what Orthodoxy really is. It is the Christian life.
Posted by jeremy stock at March 11, 2003 10:58 AMJer, this is really great. Thank you for posting it.
I like the way you describe the manner in which you greeted -- and were greeted. Sometimes the direct contact of the eyes and the firm clenching of hands were more powerful than the words themselves, as all that was spoken was conveyed in their actions -- they were like a ray of God's grace piercing right through me. At one point the tears almost got past the gate. This time, however, and maybe just this once, I retained the upperhand.
Posted by: Toshikazu at March 11, 2003 07:29 PMWayne,
Thank you.
If the faithfully preserved traditions of the Orthodox Church are any indication, then God has truly blessed His inheritance.
Posted by: jeremy at March 12, 2003 08:47 AMYou guys make out at church?
Posted by: at March 12, 2003 10:13 AM~~~You guys make out at church?~~~Not that this comment deserves a response, but I'll speak to it anyway.
The "kiss of peace" or the "holy kiss" is an ancient practice where the two persons exhange a small "peck" on each cheek successively (in many cases the "kiss" is nothing more than touching cheek to cheek).
Paul commends this practice at least four times. He does so in his letter to the Roman church, in both letters to the Corinthian church, and in his first letter to the Thessalonian church:
Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.The kiss of peace or the holy kiss then is yet another ancient practice preserved in the Orthodox Church. So...quib for quib...though the Orthodox are not "making out" I dare say the Protestants are losing out. Posted by: jeremy at March 12, 2003 11:04 AMAll the brothers here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
After reading your entries and replies to comments, I can’t help but notice the “This and only this is good” stance you take toward things. One can almost anticipate you writing, "Dostoevsky is the best author. Period. Those who have not yet read his work are missing out. In fact, until you read his work, your life will not be complete." I don’t want to call it hubris, but there is something off-putting in the manner in which you express yourself. Perhaps you're unaware of it, but it makes reading your blog difficult.
(It is not my intention to start an argument or insult you, so do not take it as such. It’s often difficult to express such things in an amicable way.)
Posted by: Veive at March 12, 2003 03:12 PMVeive,
I can understand this...
But while the *tone* can be come across this way, the actual *truth* of the statement may still be valid.
In other words, what if it really is true that Dostoevsky is "the best author?" Or, better yet (because it isn't so subjective) what if the Orthodox Church really *is* the fullness of the faith?
Is it still hubris to accept something as it is? Truth doesn't belong to us, it belongs to God. So accepting it doesn't give one a reason for being proud; it actually should result in more humility. (James 4:17).
However, you are right on one account: whether FD is the "best" author is a little harder to "prove" than something like the Orthodox Church containing the fullness of the faith. But I still think one can say that one is "missing out" having not read FD's works...
Posted by: Karl Thienes at March 13, 2003 08:51 AMKarl,
Thanks for your words; they are much appreciated, and very well said.
Veive,
For the record, my intention was never to promote Dostoyevsky as objectively "the best" author of all time, rather I merely contend that he is certainly the most influencial author of fiction in my life. Further, I see nothing wrong with asserting that others might also benefit from reading his work.
The "status" of the Orthodox Church however, is not a subjective issue, as is the appreciation of any author.
Thank you both for your time.
Posted by: jeremy at March 13, 2003 10:51 AM