Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy seven times." Matthew 18: 21-22
This week's episode of Rev (season 3, episode 4) tackles a question which nobody wants to have to deal with.
What would we do if someone came to our church, moved into our neighbourhood or worked in our workplace, who had done something which we find utterly repulsive and awful, and asked to be part of our lives?
(If you haven't watched the episode yet and don't want to know what happens, don't read on - I basically summarise the plot)
In the episode a man, George, starts coming to Adam Smallbone's (the vicar) church. Adam asks for his help with the accounts and only later finds out from him that he had served time in prison for having images of child abuse on his computer. George is obviously broken, honest about what he has done, repentant and trying to start again. He explains how it all started with porn and got worse and worse until he found himself looking at pictures he swore he never would. He explains that getting arrested was the best thing that could have happened as it stopped him feeding his addiction and gave him a fresh start.
Adam decides that George should not be excluded from the church because of past crimes, however awful, and invites him to continue being part of the church as long as he signs a statement saying he will stay away from young people in the church. George says he is no risk to children but understands and agrees. Later at the church committee, one member has found out (not from Adam) who George really is and tells everyone. The committee vote that George should not be allowed to be church treasurer and are very angry at Adam for concealing George's past from them and for inviting such an awful person into their community. One member of the church, Colin, attacks George and George decides to leave the church, even though Adam says that he will always be welcome. He doesn't feel safe there any more, understandably. The episode ends soon after George walks away into the unknown.
This episode is very clear that what George did was awful, and that children should be protected from him. However, it is not afraid to address the radical nature of what forgiveness really means. The suggestion is that there should be nothing that we are unwilling to try to forgive. Adam is dealing with his own guilt over something he has done and realises that he cannot refuse this man his forgiveness and care. At one point in the episode someone claims that it is God's job to forgive, not Adam's. I do not think that that was Jesus' message, and neither does Adam.
I am impressed, moved and challenged by this story and the way in which it was handled. Whilst care of the abused should always come first, in a society which views child abuse and everything connected with it as the most heinous of crimes, we need to know how we will handle the abusers as well as the abused.
In the light of the coming days in the church calendar when we especially remember the death and resurrection of Jesus, questions around sin and forgiveness are especially apt - Jesus died for all people, to take away all sin, and rose to defeat all death. No one excluded.
How do we approach someone who seems to have fallen as far as one can go?
How would Jesus approach them?
What does the radical command to love our neighbour mean in this scenario?
I, personally, am grateful to the makers of Rev. for daring to touch on this theme, and to ask questions which are far from easy. I also have no idea how I would actually react if placed in this situation. I can only pray that God would give me grace.
If you haven't yet watched the episode, I really recommend that you do.
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