Forgiveness in the Presence of the Enemy


Last week I finished a 5 month long book lecture series on "love and forgiveness in the presence of the enemy" at the Parsippany public library, sponsored by the Fetzer Institute. About 25 of us met each month, listened to my lecture, and then discussed the theme as portrayed in that month's book.

For our closing event, we had lunch with a man who runs an Innocence Project in Princeton, NJ (organizations that help the MANY THOUSANDS of wrongfully convicted people). He brought Michael Allen, who spent 27 years (from age 24 to 51) in prison for a crime he did not commit. Michael spoke about his struggle to forgive the witness who lied to serve his own self-interest, the police who did not take the time to do even minimal investigation, the prosecutor who was more interested in his conviction rates than in finding the truth, the prison officials who degraded and humiliated him, his mother and siblings who abandoned him there without contact for over 20 years . . . . the list goes on and on. It was a humbling story of courage, strength, and grace.

One day, I'll write about the insights I carried away from the 5 month long experience. For now, I just want to name them:
1. Unconditional forgiveness--a concept I was raised on--is totally foreign to many other people.
2. Forgiveness (and MERCY, and APOLOGY) is life-changing, not just to individuals, but to families, communities, and nations.
3. Because we have nothing to offer that is commensurate, we have little ability to repair the injuries we cause. Thus, there is nothing other than forgiveness.
4. Forgiveness is a way of being in the world. We do not give forgiveness; it is given to us.

P.S. I didn't choose the books, but if you'd like to read them: The Iliad, by Homer; Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte; The Embers, by Sandor Marai; The Guardians, by Ana Castillo; Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett.

Comments

  1. Kjrsten OlerAugust 31, 2009 at 1:50 PM

    I finished reading SOBIG and am ready to start another book. Which out of the titles mentioned should I start with?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Trinyan MarianoSeptember 3, 2009 at 6:05 AM

    I'd pick the Iliad. It was the best of the 5. I sent EMBERS to Mom. She really liked it. I got bored with all of the philosophizing. It's set in former Austrio-Hungary and is very much eastern european. Get it from her if you want. The Guardians deals with illegal immigration in the American SouthWest. It's a very serious topic treated with a lot of humor. I liked it. Jane Eyre you probably already know--the classic Victorian romance. Bel Canto is about a group of rich and powerful people kidnapped by terrorists. For a book in such a action packed setting, it has very little action. Its about how the terrorists and kidnappers come to love and understand each other. Pick any of them!

    My two favorite books: White Noise, by Don DiLillo & In the Skin of a Lion, by Michael Ondaatje. Try one of those on for size.

    ReplyDelete
  3. my rebel took overSeptember 4, 2009 at 12:39 PM

    Every time you speak, you facinate me. Seriously.

    ReplyDelete

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