The need for forgiveness

I returned briefly to my previous life last Sunday when I preached the sermon at the Academic Service held in St Giles Cathedral. This is one of about a dozen civic services held each year in St Giles. In this case it was to celebrate the world of academia.
I spoke about the need for forgiveness as being a central part of the Christian life. It was, in some ways, quite odd to be asked to preach as Council Leader, to be speaking as a minister and as a Christian rather than as a politician. There was, and is, a tension between these two aspects of my life and it was at times hard to make sure I kept some clarity between them.
Th central message was that, no matter how awful someone is, we must never give up on the idea that they are forgivable, even if we can’t see just how we could forgive them. That’s the only way peace and reconciliation can begin. Otherwise we become consumed by hate and a desire for revenge, neither of which are good emotions upon which to build either a life or a society.