My children’s message for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost (August 23, 2020).
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So it’s my tradition to bring a message to all of God’s children. And I want to start by talking about a fun game I like to play with babies involving these – my keys. Now my keyring – the little circle that holds all these keys – is pretty full. There’s keys here I use to unlock and lock doors at the church and keys to turn on my cars. I also have my house key that lets me get into the front door of my home. And in the back, there’s all these little plastic tabs for all kinds of different stores and libraries that I use to get discounts when I go shopping. You might have your own keys or noticed that other people in your house have keyrings like I do. And some might even have fun decorations on them. Keys let us unlock or lock doors, turn on cars, and do similar things. And keys are especially fun for little babies.
Babies love to grab keys and play with them. They like to touch them, twirl them, and even put them in their mouth. They’ll also stare at them if you raise them up and jingle them, so they make the noise. The sounds of the keys and the shiny light that reflects off of the metal – is really an exciting thing for babies to see. It’s also as if babies realize that keys are important – even though they’re not sure what it means to lock or unlock doors.
Today’s story about Jesus includes Jesus talking about keys. He’s going to tell Peter, his friend and his disciple, everyone Jesus claims as his own has access to the office of the keys. But – what exactly is that? What keys does Jesus give us? Well, for me, those keys aren’t used to unlock a door in some kind of building. The keys are really an invitation for something we can do. And that thing we can do – at any age – is to forgive.
Forgiveness isn’t an easy thing to define. When we do something wrong and hurt someone’s feelings – we might ask them to forgive us – hoping to get out of trouble. But that’s not what forgiveness is all about. When we seek or offer forgiveness, that doesn’ mean we’re forgetting what’s happened. If you hurt someone or they hurt you – there are consequences for that behavior and forgiveness does not give permission for ourselves or others to keep hurting people. But forgiveness is something that – if it’s safe to do and we’re ready to do it – is really a gift that we give ourselves. When someone hurts us and we – maybe not immediately but later forgive them – what we’re really saying is that we’re not letting that hurt or what other people did to us stop us from being the kind, loving, and awesome people God wants us to be. The keys Jesus gives us in our baptism and in our faith is the key to unlock the feelings of hurt, pain, and suffering that we carry inside us – and instead – open the door into seeing ourselves as the beloved children of God we always are.
So you – as a follower of Jesus – get to forgive others. You get to say I forgive you when someone hurts you. And you get to say “your sins are forgiven because of Jesus” to the people around you. You get to say that while also being safe, respected, honored, and valued. And we do it not because we’re perfect or because we won’t need forgiveness. We do it because God, in Christ, forgives us for all the ways we act as if God doesn’t matter; as if love isn’t enough; and as if grace is something only other people need. So I invite you to use your keys – to open the doors to forgiveness when it’s safe for you to do so – and embrace seeing yourself and others as loved as you truly are.