the following post is from the blog Mockingbird which is is a ministry that seeks to connect the
Christian faith with the realities of everyday life in fresh and
down-to-earth ways. We do this primarily, but not exclusively, via
publications, conferences, and online resources.
Whenever I’m in need of inspiration for a sermon, I re-read Judgment and Love
– it contains the exact sort of true stories of forgiveness and its
life-altering impact that always translate well in the pulpit. This past
week I heard a doozy of a new one – this actually happened (ht Will
Kulseth):
At a boarding school for troubled
teens in upstate NY, something terrible happened. Someone defecated in a
trash can, and then smeared the contents all over the walls of one of
the living rooms.
An assembly was called, and the headmaster, after voicing how upset
he was about the incident, told the group that they were now going to
sit there and wait for a confession. They sat for a long fifteen
minutes, and then a student said: “I know who did it, and if he doesn’t
confess soon, I’m going to tell on him.”
Finally a boy stood up and came forward. He said, “I did it”, not all that apologetically.
In perfect Luke-15-”While-he-was-still-far-off” fashion, the
headmaster embraced the boy. He said: “Son, I’m proud of you for coming
forward, and I want to tell you something very important: you are
forgiven.”
He dismissed the assembly, and led the culprit with him back to the
scene of the incident, where he had the boy sit in a chair facing the
soiled wall. Then the principle cleaned up the mess by himself, while
the boy sat there watching.
written by John Zahl Apr 5, 2010 • 2:43 pm
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