Forgiving Family (revisited)

Week of November 27, 2023

11 Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; 

we are clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

12 Do not be exceedingly angry, O LORD,

and do not remember iniquity forever.

Now consider, we are all your people. 

-Isaiah 64:8-9 (NRSV)

What Isaiah does here is remarkable! Instead of reminding God that He is our Father (as if God forgot), Isaiah reminds God that we know, even though our behavior indicates otherwise, that we are His children. While we often imagine the Old Testament prophets as superheroes fighting the good fight, trying to get Israel back on track, this passage of Isaiah is quite different. Here, God helps Isaiah to show us strategies to cope with parenting difficulties. 

We all know that God is our Father, but Isaiah does more than remind us of the obvious. Isaiah teaches us about the tenderness and patience every unruly child needs from a loving parent. First, Isaiah helps us understand children's vulnerability by describing children (us, generally, but our children as well) as unmolded clay, full of potential but still incredibly fragile. Applying this passage to our lives and treating it as an example for our human families, God's love should direct us to be careful, not to the point of paralysis, but to the end of increased compassion. 

Isaiah should remind us that through our compassion or cold-heartedness, we form our children, our families, and, on some level, our partners. In other words, our collective frailties make our families and communities what they are. Just like we can recognize how God’s love forms us, we should just as easily recognize that our love, or lack thereof, creates our families. To be clear, this doesn’t mean that we should ignore violence or abuse, but by cultivating patience and compassion, we will have or develop, the courage to leave dangerous family situations when needed.  

Isaiah also teaches us about anger, how long it lasts, and how to process the guilt that springs from it. Knowing that God is angry at His people reminds us of times when our parents, kids, or partners were justifiably angry with us, and we knew it. Yet, instead of lying or dodging responsibility, Isaiah sets an excellent example for us as parents and children; he recognizes he’s wrong and asks God, in the course of His anger and punishment, to remember that we are His people, His misbehaving, want-to-do-right, but incredibly vulnerable people. After all, that’s all we have sometimes: the reminder that our family is our family! Which is still an incredible blessing from God! 

Patient God and compassionate Father, we are grateful that You have brought us together as a family. Just as we ask You to be gentle with us even though we don’t deserve Your compassion, we ask that You help us care for each other so that our love is a testament to Your greatness! Amen!

Questions for reflection: What is your earliest memory of seeking someone’s forgiveness? Even if you weren’t “forgiven,” were you received with patience, compassion, and love? How has that experience influenced how you treat people seeking your forgiveness?