Dr. Kevin Godfrey to speak on reconciliation and Newman
Alvernia University Associate Professor of Theology Kevin Godfrey, Ph.D. will present the Cardinal Newman Lecture at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 in the Performance Hall of the De Mattias Fine Arts Center. Godfrey will speak on reconciliation in the life and thought of Blessed John Henry Newman.
The event is sponsored by The Gerber Institute for Catholic Studies at Newman University in celebration of Cardinal Newman Week, and is free and open to the public.
Dr. Godfrey has published articles and delivered scholarly papers at national and international conferences on a variety of topics in Historical Theology and Christian Spirituality. His most sustained areas of interest for research are the Franciscan Tradition and the theology of John Henry Cardinal Newman. He has served as convener and moderator of the Thought of John Henry Newman Group of the Catholic Theological Society of America for the last seven years. He is a member of the Editorial Board and also Book Review Editor for the Journal of the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities.
God Cooks The Books, Reconciliation
Ever had a disagreement? Most of us have, at one time or another, clashed with friends, co-workers, bosses, or family members. Often couples argue over the checkbook–who is in control, what is spent and how much is spent. It sometimes takes another to step in and help us come together and reconcile our differences.
When a checkbook doesn’t balance, it is because the number of checks spent don’t add up to the amount of deposits we make into our accounts. When this occurs we have to figure out where we went wrong and correct the situation. That’s called reconciling, or balancing your checkbook. When we cannot find the error, often we write off a few cents or dollars to make it balance. That is what we need to do with relationships. Sometimes when we cannot see eye-to-eye, or we have grievances that another cannot understand, we need to “write off” the wrong to reconcile the relationship. We need to forgive the offense.
As humans, we make mistakes. Sometimes they are unintentional, sometimes intentional. “We all sin and come short of the glory of God.” {Romans 3:23) This sin separates us from God. And there is no way to balance our account with God without a reconciliation. We have that through Jesus. Jesus attoned for our indebtedness to God. His death paid our sin-debt.
“But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” Colossians 1:22 (emphasis mine).
You may have committed some sin you think is irreconcilable. The truth is, you are right. You cannot reconcile your sin. You cannot make up for your mistake. You cannot fix it by helping others, by giving out more than you owe, or even by shaking hands and forgiving another person who has wronged you. Your reconciliation to God comes through Jesus. He has reconciled you. He presents you as holy, without blemish, free from accusation. It is Jesus who does it all. God has the checkbook of your life. Jesus is the pen in God’s hand to correct and change the figures to balance your life. Jesus.
What joy there is in knowing this. What freedom we have in Christ. We no longer have to struggle to be righteous; Jesus made us righteous. We need only hand Him the pen and let Him handle the offenses against us. He erases it. He casts it into the deepest sea. And unlike us, who tend to remember the errors, Jesus eradicates the offense. It’s gone. Cannot be brought back up to weigh us down and destroy the peace of God. We can trust the LORD to do right…to make things right that are wrong.
PRAYER: O, LORD, help those who do not know You…know You. Help those who do not rest in Your reconciliation–Your power, Your ability–help them to surrender, relax and rest in You and the fact that Jesus has paid the price for all our sin.
© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011
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