Forgive me Lord for I have sinned.

There are so many things that need to be forgiven.  It is easy to forget that truth when you rear up in high dungeon all puffed up with self-righteousness and demand your pound of flesh, demanding that the terrible wrong done unto you be atoned for until your ruffled feathers or bruised ego has calmed itself again.

There are so many things that need to be forgiven, and you and I have been responsible for at least half of them.  Sure, we have been wounded by others, and for this we too often insist on full and satisfying restitution.  We prefer to press to the back of our memory all those 'unfortunate incidents' for which we require forgiveness.  We prefer to play victim rather than admit being the villain even though we know that hides the truth.

Because of our behavior, we are as much in need of the forgiveness of others as we are wounded by the sinfulness of neighbors.  When folks start pointing fingers, there are plenty pointed our direction. Or as the apostle Paul wrote so eloquently  'we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God.'  We need forgiveness as much as the next guy. This is an especially good week to remember this.

If Holy Week is anything, it is a time of truth telling.  Pilate chooses the expedient path without regard for justice and discounting the human suffering he was about to impose.  The crowds have little idea who Jesus is or even who Jesus claimed to be, but a good crucifixion would bring a little excitement to the week in Jerusalem.  The leadership of the nation of Israel scapegoated this one person to protect themselves.  The disciples loved Jesus except those who were ambivalent, but all were scared to death.

It is a good week for telling the truth about ourselves - to name the places where we choose the expedient over justice, where we protect our own territory without regard to the displaced and powerless ones, where we are willing to stand by and watch as an innocent one is executed, where we enjoy a little drama without regard to the victims at the center, where our fear has controlled our actions.

I mention this not so you might be filled with guilt, or even worse, shame.  No I simply want you to be ready to receive the incomprehensible gift that is coming your way and to do it without defensiveness.  I want you to be able to say  'I am a sinner' so that when you hear Jesus say, "Father, forgive them' you are able to take into your life the power of forgiveness - and experience in its fullest the gift of new life, new beginnings and transformation.

Take a little time for confession.  No, take a lot of time for confession.  Spend time considering all that this world could be, and all the ways in which you are complicit in its failures.  Talk with God, the Divine Creator, the Divine Lover, the Source of Life.  Re-boot your connection.

Prepare yourself.  Grace is about to happen.