Scatology: Relational Bullshit Under the Microscope 5/5

“Because I love you, I forgive you…kinda.” Forgiveness is the corollary to the confession we talked about on Ash Wednesday. We are not only sinners; we are also sinned against, guaranteed for anybody who stays in a relationship long enough. The people you love will hurt you. How expensive is your forgiveness? How tightly do you hold a grudge, clutch the offense? Like the older brother in the story Jesus tells: do those brothers ever love each other again? Or are they bickering about what happened that year for decades to come? Does the older brother hold on to the ulteriority of power gained in the younger brother’s serious transgressions? What would it look like if we practiced prodigal (reckless, lavish, bounteous, ridiculous) forgiveness?