There are other things we could be doing. If we have some time in the afternoon, we could check an item off the to do list. Or, work on that project we never seem to have time to do. Or, we could do something to be entertained. But, we are here, on a Friday afternoon, at church, remembering an execution that took place a long time ago.
It’s not that we are morbid. It’s that we believe we are called to follow the one who died that day. We can talk about crucifixion as if it is a religious word and talk about a cross as if it is religious furniture, but that does not remove the horror of Good Friday. This was an execution. An emotional, painful, bloody execution. What do you say during an execution? What is there to say?
Jesus has something to say. “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” We can be certain there were screams of pain. There was weeping. We are told there was mocking and jeering. Those things are to be expected. I am just saying, “Father forgive them” is not what I expect to hear at an execution. Especially not what I expect to hear from the one being crucified.
But this is what the Gospel of Luke tells us. We can be glad for Luke. Luke is writing for people removed from the ministry of Jesus, removed by geography and time. He writes for people who live outside the region where these things occurred. He writes for people who live years after these things took place. He writes for people like us.
We have all been part of the forgiveness process. Sometimes we are the one offering forgiveness. Other times, we are receiving forgiveness. Sometimes we desire forgiveness from someone unwilling to give it. And at other times, we are the ones reluctant to forgive. Forgiveness gets complicated.
“Father forgive them.” With these words, Jesus is speaking a new language. This is the language of another kingdom. The truth is, we have become well versed in the language of the present kingdom. We throw around words like tolerance and we use phrases like get over it. We preach coexistence and we learn to avoid people who have wronged us. We might use the word forgiveness but we use it for small matters. We might forgive someone for spilling a drink. We might forgive someone for arriving late to a meeting. But to forgive someone who mocks and insults and commits violence? That is different. Those people deserve something but they don’t deserve forgiveness.
Forgiveness is complicated. I suspect we sometimes wish there was a limit on things we are expected to forgive. We may convince ourselves that transgressions of a certain severity are optional as to whether we forgive them or not. Surely that would make navigating this difficult territory much easier.
Jesus does not draw a line that tells us what to forgive and what not to forgive. He does not give permission to not forgive anything. If anything is beyond forgiveness, killing the Son of God might qualify. Still, from the cross, during his own execution, Luke tells us that Jesus says “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” In fact, Luke suggests this is the first thing he said. Perhaps he wants us to know that this is more than an account about a Friday afternoon execution. Here we witness the way God works. We become witnesses of grace. The whole drama of Good Friday is changed because of these words. These words reach into a corrupted world and change everything.
Perhaps we could interpret his statement something like this, “Before I am executed I want you to know I will not hold a grudge, I will not seek revenge, instead I forgive the organizers of this execution, I forgive those who will carry out the killing, I forgive all who mock and jeer and spit and flog and those who gamble for my clothes, I forgive you all.” This is the way Jesus is. Jesus does not keep score. Forgiveness may not be our natural move but it is always his next move.
Crowds called for his execution. Rulers and priests mocked him. Soldiers hit him. Still, Jesus prays that they will be forgiven. This is revolutionary. Yet this is what Jesus does. This is his move.
This is just the radical sort of thing we have come to expect from Jesus. After all, in Luke chapter 6 he did teach “love your enemies.” In chapter 15, he did tell that story about how a father showed forgiveness to an undeserving son. And, in chapter 17, he says this, “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” Matthew’s Gospel gets crazy and tells us to forgive someone seventy times seven times.
We are stating to catch on to something. God really wants to forgive. This word from the cross reminds us of that in a convincing way. This forgiveness will just not stop. Jesus refuses to play the games of the world. Even from the cross, his next move is forgiveness. Wherever Jesus goes, whoever he is with – forgiveness is his default strategy. Jesus is throwing forgiveness around like he found it at a wholesale club on discount.
When hearing this “word” from Jesus we can be sure God is serious about forgiveness and desires to forgive us. The cross makes it clear that there is a huge difference between the way the world works and the ways of God. The gospel is not a buffet where we pick and choose what appeals to us. We do not get to say yes to things like daily bread and being forgiven and then skip over forgiving others.
We follow a God whose next move is always forgiveness. This changes everything. We cannot live life the same any longer. When God forgives us, we are to become representatives of forgiveness. It is like we are agents for the kingdom. We could have done something else today. We could’ve checked an item off our to do list. We could’ve worked on that project we never seem to get around to. We could’ve found something more entertaining. But we are her, at church, because we need to be reminded of the words of Jesus on the cross that begin with “Father forgive them.”
hermeneuts 