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Christmas is a Time For Forgiveness: 5 Easy Steps To Help You Let Go of Anger and Forgive

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The theme of the novella is clear from the title - A Christmas Carol - which refers to the traditional carols that are sung at Christmas time. As I have pondered this question for the last several weeks, having in mind that Christmas is the season to give, three actions—actually three gifts we can each give—came to mind. We, of course, give these gifts throughout the year, but at the wonderful season of Christmas, we remember the Father’s gift of His Son and consider how we might follow Their example as we increase in our individual ability and desire to give.

What’s the difference between Santa Clause and a knight? One slays a dragon, the other drags a sleigh! Until Good Friday, forgiveness had been a promise — real, but unseen. As the nails went in and the beams rose high, however, forgiveness broke into sight, painted in red for all to see. They seized him without warrant, tried him without justice, and beat him without mercy. And yet, even as they showered him with hostility, he prayed for them. And what did he pray? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Mother Teresa understood that the woman’s agony would be relieved only by forgiveness. It is often easier to forgive those we do not know than those we love, because those we love can hurt us more. The only thing this poor woman could think about, the only thing she could feel, in her last hours on earth, was the pain of her son’s rejection.

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And that’s exactly what the church did. When wind and fire came down from heaven at Pentecost, what did the apostle Peter say? “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:38). Remember, Peter had tasted the riches of God’s mercy firsthand — “I do not know him. . . . I do not know him. . . . I do not know him.” And when, later, God sent him to the centurion to finally and fully welcome the nations into the church, what did he say then? “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43). And when Paul boldly stood in the synagogue in Antioch, telling Jews to repent and turn to Christ, what did he say? “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you” (Acts 13:38). The whole city gathered the next week to hear more. Could this forgiveness be true? I never used to go with him to the midnight mass. That started from when the children were small and I'd stay home with them and it just became the thing. But I'd wait up for him. When I heard the door I thought he must have forgotten his wallet or something. Even when I saw the police officers there and they told me Alan had had an accident and hurt his head, I just thought 'Oh he'll be wanting to get home as soon as he can'. Our daughter had just arrived from Mozambique and we hadn't seen her for two years. I drove to the hospital thinking I could bring him home." Every year, as part of our Christmas celebration, my dad would read out of the scriptures the beautiful account of Luke: Notice, Jesus prayed a lot, but he never had to pray that part of the prayer. No, he simply knew what everyone else needed most every day. Like him, they needed food for the day and protection from temptation; unlike him, they needed forgiveness for when they fell short. And fall we would, again and again (1 John 1:8). We were, each one of us, brought forth in iniquity and conceived in sin (Psalm 51:5). And while that old man died when we believed, we still have to face him every day.

After a while they played at forfeits; for it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself.

Kindliness, Mercy, Forgiveness

That year, as I gave one of my favorite toys, I understood a little better our Heavenly Father’s gift to us—His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who lovingly and selflessly gave His life for us. John 1:9 leads to a question: Is our forgiveness contingent on our confession? John has just said that believers can’t say they have no sin. We all sin every day. We confess those sins that we are aware of. But what about the sins we’re not aware of? Can I be lost – not reconciled to God – because I never confess the sins I’ve failed to recognize? Why did Jeremy Corbyn ask people not to eat sprouts on Christmas Day? He wants to give peas a chance! Then my thoughts turned to the person who had in effect killed Alan and I thought gosh, it's Christmas Day, a holy night, and I thought what would Alan have done. He was better at forgiveness than me. This prayer helps me remember that God is the source of all mercy, and when we struggle to forgive, He is waiting to help us. All we need to do is ask.

I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time. (Luke 1:19–20) And then, from the weakness and humiliation of the cross, with barely enough oxygen to breathe, he spoke that forgiveness into another longing soul. One of the criminals beside him said, “We are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong. . . . Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:41–42). Forgive me my sins. And with one of his very last breaths, Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Has the possibility of forgiveness ever been clearer? Has the wonder of forgiveness ever been more blinding? From the just nails of torture to the just reward of paradise in just one sentence — forgiveness. Unforgiveness, bitterness, and resentment have a way of blinding us with their darkness, and the only way to see past them is by the light of forgiveness. When Mother Teresa helped the woman to say the words, “I forgive my son,” she not only eased her pain on earth but also prepared her to find peace in eternity. The Most Challenging Words

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Christmas is a time of year when we make our list of friends and family to whom we want to give gifts. We usually start with our children and spouse and work our way out to our family, friends and co-workers. As we do this, the list becomes larger and larger. It's no wonder that we can be overwhelmed at the COST of Christmas. In the midst of such doubt, the wisdom of Scripture and of the saints will ease our minds. In his book Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales explains that there is a difference between feeling temptation and consenting to it. Temptation to a certain sin…might last throughout our whole life,” he writes, “yet it can never make us displeasing to God’s Majesty provided we do not…give consent to it.”

God paid a very dear cost for us to receive the Gift of eternal life through Jesus. He gave His one and only Son so that we could have life. Most of us understand eternal life as being something that we will receive after we die. But that isn't the full meaning. You see ETERNAL means endless, never-ending, everlasting, and timeless. The moment we accept the offer of Jesus' sacrifice of LIFE, we begin our eternal, never ending walk with God. What that means is that God's life, His love, His peace, His joy, His compassion, is NOW part of who we are and as we submit ourselves to Him, the Holy Spirit empowers us to be more and more like Jesus. That's the part of LIVING that I didn't understand for many years of my Christian walk; that I didn't have to survive on my own anymore because the Holy Spirit was IN ME to HELP ME live the Christian life. Are you willing this Christmas to give the gift of forgiveness? If not, are you willing to ask God to help you truly receive His forgiveness so that you are able to forgive others? Scrooge feels ashamed when the Ghost uses his own words against him. We see him beginning to wish he could change. The full and essential nature of love we may not understand, but there are tests by which it may be recognized.

As we explore these gifts that Christ gave us when He came to earth to express the love of God toward His people, may we never gloss over the radical demonstration of that unconditional, passionate love that God has for us. I must admit that although I’ve been on planet earth for some time, I still feel relatively young at heart. Perhaps that is because I hang around Contemporary Christian Music and a younger generation. Young and old alike must make sense of life issues in these challenging times. This forgiveness wasn’t held out to a few especially defiant sinners. This was the deep and daily need of every human soul. When his disciples asked him how to pray, Jesus’s response was strikingly brief, simple, and to the point. “When you pray,” Jesus told them, say this: Further, love does not offend or hurt or injure the loved one. … Cruelty is as absent from love … as truth is from untruth. … If a man has been silent for nearly a year, when he finally does speak, everyone leans in to listen. So, when his prodigal tongue returned, what did Zechariah say? This is where the tears must have flowed.

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