Senate chaplain preaches forgiveness in Tampa sermon

On the day between Good Friday and Easter, Barry Black, chaplain of the U.S. Senate, came to Tampa to preach about forgiveness.

Black was a guest today at Mount Calvary Seventh-day Adventist Church in east Tampa. As he has for 10 years now, Black came at the invitation of Mount Calvary leader Patrick Vincent, his friend for 30 years. Black's wife, Brenda, grew up in St. Petersburg.

Black, 61, reminded the congregation to follow the example of Jesus, who begged God to forgive his tormentors even after they had nailed him to a cross.

"As we approach Resurrection Sunday, we need to deal with forgiveness," he said.

"Spite is a terrible thing."

For seven years, Black has worked in the eye of Washington's political maelstrom - a place that sometimes appears driven by the kind of anger, spite and petty revenge Black preaches against.

The yearlong health care reform debate inspired name calling, voice raising and even brick throwing but little apparent forgiveness.

Black said before his sermon that people shouldn't mistake the antagonistic nature of law making for genuine animosity among the players.

"I think the adversarial nature of the legislative process requires a resilient spirit of forgiveness," he said.

Black said there's a difference between televised political theater and the shared beliefs that many of his high-powered parishioners share.

"I see a part that does not show up on C-SPAN," he said. "That is senators from both sides of the aisle studying the Bible together."

He sees many similarities between his current job and his previous one as a rear admiral charged with the Navy's chaplain corps. Among other things, both jobs require him to advise leaders on the ethical parameters of their decisions.

His current job also requires him to perform the usual pastoral duties, from weddings to counseling and burials, for senators, their families and their staff members. He also consults occasionally with President Obama; the two met when Obama was a senator.

Obama is not as publicly pious as George W. Bush, but that doesn't mean he isn't a spiritual man, Black said.

"He has a wonderful spirituality, as does the First Lady," he said.

With many people spending a lot of time shouting at each other, Black urges a patient, more forgiving approach.

"Too often we are in the 'transmit' mode and not the 'receive' mode," he said. "We need to listen more. We can learn from one another."