Luke 23:32-38                                   

                                    “Father forgive them…”

“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do..”.  This is one of the most amazing statements attributed to Jesus in all of Holy Scripture.   

He should have been spitting at his executioners as an act of defiance, or weeping over his own suffering, or screaming in his agony.  But it was none of these things.  He simply forgave them.  And I don’t think he was forgiving just the Roman soldiers or Pilate or even the Jewish priests and elders, although he certainly was doing that.  No, I think he was forgiving all of us, the entire human race, for our foolishness and selfishness and violence.

This simple act of forgiveness was actually the culmination of his mission and ministry.  This was why he came to us, it is the secret of the Incarnation.  Jesus’ act of sacrifice would have been meaningless unless, through it, we were somehow vindicated and redeemed of our sins.  And the only way that could happen would be for us first to be convicted of our own sins which were so vividly demonstrated in the obscene events leading up to the Crucifixion.  We were asleep in the garden when he prayed so fervently and sweated blood.  We denied him three times before the cock crowed.  We betrayed him with a kiss.  We stood in the crowd and shouted “crucify him” when Pilate offered us the chance to set him free.  We are guilty as charged.  We did it just as if we were standing there on that day.  We condemned and killed him along with all the others.  We cannot get out of that.  We are guilty by association.  We are guilty by being human.  We are guilty.

And yet, we are also forgiven along with the Romans and the Jews and everybody else who was there that awful day.  Jesus could have condemned us and exacted retribution.  God did this many times in the Old Testament.  But not this time.  This time was different.  Jesus did not come to assign guilt or demand an accounting.  He came not to punish but to save.  God loved his people, flawed and weak as they were.  The only way they could be saved was through the sacrifice of another.  That was what this was all about. 

So Jesus did just that.  He came, lived among us, suffered punishment for our sins, and died for us.  And in the most magnificent act of generosity and grace in all of the Gospels,  he forgave us.  We were not supposed to suffer yet more guilt for his act of sacrifice.  If we did, it would not have had the meaning it was intended to convey.   This was not holy martyrdom compounding guilt upon guilt.  It was a salvific act, greater than that of all the saints and martyrs of history.  It was not intended to gain merit for Jesus.  It was intended to gain salvation for us.  And that is what it did. 

Forgiveness is a most difficult act.  It is difficult for the person forgiving and difficult for the one being forgiven.  It is unnatural.  We have in our natures a built-in capacity for vengeance, retribution, and hatred.  We call it a sense of “justice” but that is often just a euphemism for vengeance.  It means tit for tat, eye for eye, and settling a score, as if that were ever possible.  The flaw in that thinking is that every act of retribution demands a response, so we end up with an endless cycle of action and reaction, to the point that the original offense is forgotten in the emotion of immediate payback.  We go to war.  People fight back.  We punish them for fighting back.  They attack us for punishing them.  Everybody feels they must respond and continue to respond forever.  That is why we have hundred year’s wars.  That is why the Arab-Israeli conflict seems never-ending.  Each act of terror justifies a terroristic response, “so they won’t think they can get away with this”.  Somehow the strategy seems to have failed on both sides.  And as you well know, this is not restricted to “those people” in the Middle East.  We have our own history in this respect, both in the past and in the present.  You and I know full well that further punishment and assault does not force acquiescence, it only fosters more violent resistance.  Justice is not really served.  It doesn’t matter whose fault it is, if that was ever even an issue.

No, there is only one way to stop a cycle of violence and recrimination, whether it is national or personal.  That is unilateral forgiveness.  There is no way to even a score.  It doesn’t work.  There is no satisfaction in vengeance, only guilt and resentment.  Forgiveness is something we can control.  It requires no action on the part of another, only ourselves.  Another party or nation, for that matter, may accept or reject an offer of forgiveness.  That doesn’t matter.  True forgiveness is unconditional.  It is freely offered and, at least for our part, an end to any matter.  It is over and done.  There need be no further “what ifs” and “buts” about it.  A cycle is broken.  No guilt or blame is assigned.  It is truly over and life can go on.

Accepting forgiveness can be even more difficult that offering it.  By the act of forgiving, a person is relieved of a huge burden of commitment to acts of retribution.  But accepting forgiveness is scary.  “What is the catch?  Do I have to do something in return?  Could this be real?”  This is bound to arouse suspicion and skepticism.  If it is real, could it be a blow to our pride?   Does it deprive us of the satisfaction of a response?  Does it take the wind out of our sails of self-righteous indignation?  Are we deprived of anger?  Is it “unmanly” to accept forgiveness?  I think all of the above are true.  Real men keep fighting until the last one is standing.  But that is the basis for the destruction of whole nations.  It could mean the end of our race.   It takes real courage to accept forgiveness graciously and with humility.  It requires setting aside stiff-necked pride and trusting our judges and adversaries.  It seems unnatural and is hard to get used to.  It is something that is learned through experience.

Isn’t forgiveness dangerous?  It could come back to bite us.   We could be betrayed and taken advantage of.   That is true.  But forgiveness is not a pragmatic peacemaking or reconciliation strategy, although it could have that effect.  It is an act of love, just like God’s unmerited grace. 

Jesus didn’t forgive in order to end conflict in Palestine.  He forgave us so that we might be relieved of guilt and have eternal life.  It was unilateral and unconditional.  We didn’t have to respond to it, just accept it.  And whether we have accepted it or not, we are still forgiven. 

This magnificent gesture of unconditional love from a broken man dying on a cross is one of the great miracles of the Incarnation.  By this act, Jesus proved his divinity.  Only God could forgive such unspeakable cruelty and hardness of heart.  No human would ever be able to do that.  He has taught us by example, through his own acts of love and generosity to us.  The only reasonable response to love of this magnitude is love in return.  It is love of God and of our fellow man and woman.  Love is more powerful than guilt, anger, and recrimination.  It has a strength that is unconquerable. 

Jesus on the cross was not defeated.  He had been betrayed, mocked, tortured, and executed shamefully.  But he was not defeated.  In his words of forgiveness, he triumphed over evil and death.  This was not his shame, it was his finest hour. 

And every hour and every day of our lives, we carry with us that forgiveness.  It is not a burden, but a gift.  It is a gift we are obligated to share with others, just as Jesus shared it with us.  Forgive as you have been forgiven.  It is as simple as that.  Amen.