Day 17 of the Luke Advent Challenge = Luke, Chapter 17
NOTE: This post is part of Pastor Jim’s Luke Advent Challenge on Facebook. You can find the entirety of the series on our Facebook page.
Day 17 of the Luke Advent Challenge = Luke, Chapter 17
Content Warning - Swearing & Spoilers if you haven't watched the Ted Lasso...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8k-bSEhEDo
I have never been accused of being "cool". Erica and I are just getting around to watching “Ted Lasso” and it has been an absolute gift this holiday season. Thanks, Jill Engel-Hellman! I have been consistently amazed at what the writers & actors (and musicians) of "Ted Lasso" can accomplish in 30ish minutes.
I share this scene because of the focus on forgiveness in the 17th chapter of Luke. Jesus is adamant about repentance and forgiveness, and many folks (myself included) can get tied up in knots about this. "Do I have to forgive in order to be forgiven?"
It may not be an either/or as much as a both/and.
What if forgiveness and forgiven-ness are like breathing. Can we breathe by only inhaling or only exhaling? If you have one without the other the whole thing just doesn't work.
As a yoga instructor, Erica Engel constantly reminds me (and many others ) to breathe. As a teacher, she cues both the inhale and the exhale for her students in practice, meditation, and relaxation. Perhaps this is what Jesus is trying to impart to his disciples and us? When we do one, the other must follow, or we are unable to breathe, be, and live? Again, I wonder if Jesus is being descriptive rather than prescriptive? Asking for forgiveness and giving forgiveness are what give us life here, now, and in the kingdom to come.
And forgiveness/forgiven-ness ain't easy. It takes practice. It requires making mistakes. It requires vulnerability. Circling back to pop culture, this is what I love about this scene between Rebecca & Ted. She names what she did and is ready to accept the public and relational consequences of her actions. More powerful to me, Ted seems to offer forgiveness because he is able to access his own brokenness and need for grace.
And they both end up able to breathe again.
Peace be with you,
Pastor Jim