Rev. Julie Nicholson was vicar of St. Aidan's Church in Bristol, U.K. when her daughter Jenny died in the July 7 terrorist attacks in London. She has now resigned her pastorate, stating that she is unable to forgive her daughter's murderers.
Patrick Beldon praises her honesty:
The former vicar of St Aidan's, by leaving her priestly duties, to my mind accomplished a strong quiet evangelism, by challenging our day's glib, therapeutic notions of forgiveness as a sort of closure. Thank you, Rev Nicholson, for teaching us that one's word is one's bond, that these words matter.
Forgiveness is a conscious, deliberate decision. What makes it especially difficult is that it is ongoing. After a moment of one forgiveness one can find oneself bearing the grudge the next. It is a long process, and if the wound is deep enough, it lasts a lifetime.
In these situations, I normally advise people to preach and pray forgiveness until they have it, but Nicholson deserves praise for such open honesty in her struggle against hatred.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
John,
I agree, I appreciate her honesty. I sincerely hope that with time, prayer, and reflection, Rev. Nicholson is able to find forgiveness in her heart. I have never suffered such a loss and I can't imagine how I would react if I did. I also agree with Mr. Beldon, this notion of "forgive and forget" as closure is not the kind of "vanilla ice cream Christianity" I think the Lord had in mind.
Here is great paradox that I have recently been struggling with. Hopefully, I will get some comments here to help me with it.
The Lord's prayer says,
"....forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us..." Now, if I pray that prayer sincerely, and I am unable or unwilling to extend forgiveness to those who have done me wrong, then, if God does what I have asked, Have I just prayed myself into Hell? Obviously, I don't take my Faith that literally, and I think I know the answer, but as Christians we are to always study and contemplate on the scriptures. We ask God to forgive us our sins, but if we refuse to come to that resolution, what does that say or imply about our faith? Are we to extend forgiveness on faith and trust that the resolution will come later? I am asking these questions about myself, not the good Reverend.
This is an interesting topic, and John, I love your blog. It's very well thought out, and the art pieces you've chosen are beautiful.
Keith, this is something I've pondered as well. I don't know if it helps much, but I've come to the conclusion that so long as we fight and continue on fighting to forgive and carry out the rest of God's tenets, he will wash these shortcomings away in the end. After all, God knows how difficult it is for one who has indulged in sin (most all of us) to come around, compared to one who has been forced to live saintly all his life and knows no other way. I think the important thing is always to keep plugging on and do your best! :)
I feel that forgiveness is the most powerful message that a person can send. It is even stronger than hate and might.
By the way, if you're a UMC pastor, could I ask you a couple questions some time? (We're having a bit of an issue with our Conformation programme at the moment).
Over ten years ago, I suffered from a herniated disc and a group of men prayed that my back would be healed. God didn't repair my back that day, but he healed something far more important--a deep grievance that I had been nursing against my father, who had physically and verbally abused me in my childhood. These men's prayers broke something loose in my soul and, with God's unmistakable prompting, I called my father that day, forgave him and made amends. He unexpectedly died three hours later from a heart attack.
The vicar's situation is different, of course. But I pray that she would be able to release her hatred and bitterness someday. I had preached and taught on forgiveness for a long time, but didn't really experience its freeing power until I actually did it.
I admire greatly the honesty of Rev Nicholson. Too often we talk the talk of forgiveness but fail to really walk it. I respect that this minister has shared with us the difficulties which she is currently facing.
I hope that there comes the time when she is able to lead the Eucharistic Prayer with integrity. Sadly, she has to travel a painful journey first but I think she is a fine witness in the way that she has shared her vulnerabilty and integrity. May God help her at this time of pain.
It's impossible to imagine the turmoil in her soul!
Post a Comment