Do you have questions about the meaning of some of the terms and teachings of The United Methodist Church? In this series, we ask clergy to share their understanding of topics. No preaching, just conversation. In this episode we discuss the concept of forgiveness with the Rev. Don Underwood, pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas: "The task, the challenge, of forgiving others can be one of the most life-transforming and liberating things that a human being can do."
Transcript:
The Rev. Don Underwood, Christ United Methodist Church: "Oftentimes people will ask me about forgiveness. And I think that really, as United Methodists our most powerful understanding of forgiveness comes in the short phrases of the Lord's Prayer. Jesus said, 'Pray in this way.' He said, 'Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.' I think it's extremely powerful and important that we first confront our own sinfulness, the fact that we haven't lived the way in which we would want to, and recognizing that God has forgiven us. We stop and think about the fact that God has forgiven us of those sins and we think about those who have hurt us, a lot of times the sin is similar. And Jesus doesn't really give us a lot of options there. He said we should forgive those who have hurt us. And I think it's an extremely powerful thing to do. The task, the challenge, of forgiving others can be one of the most life-transforming and liberating things that a human being can do."
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Want to learn more about United Methodist beliefs? Visit umc.org/beliefs. To find a pastor to talk with and a church to visit, try Find-A-Church.
View entire series Reflections on our Faith.
This video was produced by United Methodist Communications in Nashville, TN.
Media contact is Joe Iovino.
This video was first posted on January 16, 2019.
