Elizabeth Barrett Browning was a poet who lived in the first half of the 19th century. She wrote the words…“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach.”
Young Elizabeth Barrett lived with her parents for many years because of a childhood accident that left her unable to care for herself. Eventually she met and married another famous poet, Robert Browning, in 1846.
Their wedding was held in secret because of her father’s violent disapproval. After the ceremony they sailed for Italy, where they lived for the rest of their lives. Even though her parents had disowned her, Elizabeth didn’t give up on them. She wrote them weekly letters, year after year, but they never once wrote her back. After 10 years she received a large box in the mail. Inside, Elizabeth found all of her letters. Not one of them had been opened.
Today those letters are treasured as some of the most beautiful writings in English literature. Had her parents opened and read just one of them, their relationship with Elizabeth might have been restored. In their unwillingness to forgive, they threw away any chance of reconciliation with her.
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” were Jesus’ first words from the cross. These are powerful words. They are wondrous in their simplicity. They are some of the most important words that we will ever hear. As he was being nailed to the cross, Jesus began to pray that those who were taking his life might be forgiven. When we hear these words we can perhaps begin to understand the power of God’s forgiveness at work in our lives. Rather than crying out for his father to damn and punish those who were crucifying him, Jesus’ heart was full of compassion for them
Asking for forgiveness for people who harm us may be beyond our ability to understand. It takes us to the very edge of what seems possible. It is not easy for any of us to love our enemies. But forgiving our enemies, even those who hate us so much that they may seek to destroy us, is exactly what Jesus did at the cross.
Jesus loved even those who beat him and mocked him and dragged him to his place of execution. Jesus’ love extended to those who called for his death before Pilate. His love extended to those disciples who were nowhere to be found just when he needed them most. And today his love extends all the way from the cross to us.
The only way we can ever become free to be the people God intends us to be is to bask in the forgiveness that is shared with us so that we can let go of the brokenness that scars our lives. In order to live out the gospel in our community, we need to forgive others for what they have done to us. We need to forgive ourselves for the things we have done and left undone. And we can do it, because from the cross God has already let go of our sins. God has already let them go. What wondrous love is that?
I can’t imagine what it was like for Elizabeth Browning to open that box and realize that her parents’ bitterness had kept them from finding forgiveness for her. What she discovered in that box is the opposite of what we find when we kneel at the foot of the cross.
Our letters to God, those moments when we ask for forgiveness for ourselves and for others, are never returned unopened. God answers our prayers for forgiveness at the cross, and we live each day as people who are forgiven.
To paraphrase Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “How do we find forgiveness in God’s loving embrace? Let us count the ways. God loves us to the depth and breadth and height our soul can reach.”
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