Father, Forgive Them... They Don't Know What They Are Doing
3Jesus
said, “Father, forgive them, for they
don’t know what they are doing.”[f]
And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice... Luke 23:34
****************************************************************************
This sermon is part of the Seven Last Words series.
Word 1
One of the greatest examples that we have of praying for one another is Jesus’s Prayer for us at the hour of his death. He’s gone through hours of torture- beaten, flogged, humiliated- and his captors have nailed his hands and feet to a wooden cross, have raised it upright, and as the cross settles to its base gravity begins to push Jesus’s body toward the ground… the agony continues…
But if his physical pain was not enough, berating continues from the crowd at his feet…
Terrible, right? To continue to kick a man when he’s down? If only they had known it was Jesus… if only they had known it was God’s SON up there suffering, bleeding… they would have surely acted more reverently… had more respect... sorrow.. even regret for what they had done.
But this man- THIS Jesus was being executed for being an enemy of the state and the church- so why not poke him a bit more? He went against what society had accepted as “the norms.” He spoke up against government oppression!
You know what I mean right? The government that reeked of corruption and political favors… the government that stole the rights of the common people one by one and called it ‘laws for their own protection.’ The government that kept the right people powerful and the wrong people powerless… you know- those people- the ones who don’t know what’s good for them any way… if they had any kind of work ethic or responsibility… well…if they didn’t act like animals we wouldn’t need so many armed guards all over the city! THOSE people… and Jesus saying we should care for them? That we should give money and rights and help… to them? No way! ENEMY OF THE STATE!… if only they had known it was Jesus…
But Jesus was also an enemy of the church! He also challenged the religious systems that oppressed… condemned those who discriminated and excluded… THOSE SINNERS! You know what I mean right? Those people who we don’t want sitting next to us on Sunday… people we can name chapter and verse why they shouldn’t be allowed in unless they repent- the ones we can deny service to, should we so choose… based on religious freedom of course… and with a teeny bit of help from the government… unclean things…lepers… and Jesus is saying we should love them? No WAY! ENEMY OF THE CHURCH! ... if only they had known it was Jesus…
And so the berating continues from the foot of the cross… HA! King! What a joke! Idiot! Socialist! Extremist! Liberal! Conservative! (Or any other group name that you find offensive…)
And amidst the peals of laughter and the mocking and the jeering, as he writhes in pain, Jesus… enemy of church and state… lifts his eyes to the heavens and offers a up a prayer…
“Father, forgive them- they don’t know what they’re doing.”
Seriously? From where does a thought like that even emanate?
I mean, I get the deafening silence during the trial; when Jesus is being asked over and over, “Are you the son of God?"
"Are you the King of the Jews?” And we, as the readers want more than anything for Jesus to stick up for himself.. “Say something Jesus! Tell them who you are! Show them your power! Do a miracle- at least tell a parable!”
I 'get' that Jesus voluntarily went to the cross rather than compromise what he stood for… I 'get' that it had to happen… I 'get' that the prophecies were fulfilled, and Jesus needed to show us just how far he would go to show his love for us, I 'get' that we learn by his example, that if we are truly followers of Christ we should be willing to go that far ourselves, and all that… and I’m good with it…
But now that he is on the cross, and things can’t get worse for him, couldn’t he show a hint of anger toward his attackers? I would take mild irritation at this point! Because those are responses I can relate to… I could understand if Jesus wanted to lash out at the people who were standing below him… playing games and gambling away his clothes in order to pass the time as they wait for him to die. I would feel ok if he called them a name or two… or even managed to spit on them… he could still be my Jesus and get away with that.
It would certainly make me feel better about the way I act when people have hurt me. Even when I’m fighting for what I believe is right… even when I expect people to be angry with me for standing up for my beliefs… even when I am intentional in my actions to challenge those in power, and I know that their only recourse is to lash out at me.
But in the end- I seldom find it in me to pray for them… They were WRONG after all. And while I may not be able to fight back… I may even be silent in my suffering… praying for my attackers is not the first thing that comes to mind… at least not to ask God to forgive them. I may send up a quick “God make them stop! God smite them quick! God make them pay!” But to ask God, in the midst of my pain, to forgive them?
They say that to forgive is the most freeing thing you can do for yourself. That when you forgive someone, they no longer have power over you.. that you can be free to move on, live your life without having your attacker control your life any longer. I believe that. I’ve been able to move on from many of my life’s hurts and pains through forgiveness. But it’s a process- and it usually happens well after the fact. Because in the midst of pain, my wounds are too fresh to offer anything toward anyone… even myself.
And so its important to note that Jesus isn’t saying “I forgive all of you down there who are making fools of yourselves.” He is asking God to forgive them… ahhhh- a subtle difference and an important one; because although forgiveness may be the way to freedom, true forgiveness only comes through and from God. - our wounds may be too fresh to offer forgivenss to others, especially the ones who are continuing to watch us shrivel up and are waiting for our death! The ones who have the audacity to have not just put us in that situation, but who laugh at us, and go about their lives, play games as we suffer as if we don’t exist… I’m dying here… look at me… I’m in pain!
In our darkest hour- we may be far away from knowing forgiveness is the key to healing… our pains may be so unbearable all we can focus on is stopping the bleeding… yet before we can ask- God is already there- even before Jesus asked- God was there… offering healing- offering restoration- offering new life and freedom for all.
Somehow that makes it a little easier… knowing that Jesus was asking God to forgive… knowing that it opens a little crack in my heart to allow the Spirit to work… even though I may not be ready to forgive, asking God to forgive those who have hurt me assures me that I will also be able to forgive… someday.
But what about those of us still on the ground with dice in our hands and poison coming out of our mouths? Those of us who have not figured out how much damage we are doing with our judgments and interpretations and power and exclusion? What about those of us who feel totally justified in our behavior- oppressing and imprisoning and excluding those who would challenge the church and state?
If only we knew it was Jesus. In Matthew Jesus tells us that he will come to us in the form of the stranger, the beggar, the sick, the prisoner…. The people we see as “others” and “burdens” and “different.” And make no mistake, I am singling no one out here… I am as guilty of intolerance as anyone… and I pray for understanding and patience and discernment… and forgiveness.
“Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing… they haven’t recognized me… they haven’t recognized your spirit in me…. They haven’t recognized your spirit in one another….
Forgive them, when they have not allowed that first crack in their heart to be opened to allow understanding, and healing, and reconciliation to begin because they are so sure they are “right.” Forgive them when they can’t see, or when they don’t want to see the beauty in all humanity, and in all creation. Forgive them when they miss YOU! Because truly, if they saw you, and understood you, and recognized you, and knew you… they would be capable of Godly love… not tolerance… LOVE. And they would be so enraptured and caught up in your love that there would be no other… there would be no right…. There would only be You. Forgive them Father… for not getting it... yet…
****************************************************************************
This sermon is part of the Seven Last Words series.
Word 1
One of the greatest examples that we have of praying for one another is Jesus’s Prayer for us at the hour of his death. He’s gone through hours of torture- beaten, flogged, humiliated- and his captors have nailed his hands and feet to a wooden cross, have raised it upright, and as the cross settles to its base gravity begins to push Jesus’s body toward the ground… the agony continues…
But if his physical pain was not enough, berating continues from the crowd at his feet…
Terrible, right? To continue to kick a man when he’s down? If only they had known it was Jesus… if only they had known it was God’s SON up there suffering, bleeding… they would have surely acted more reverently… had more respect... sorrow.. even regret for what they had done.
But this man- THIS Jesus was being executed for being an enemy of the state and the church- so why not poke him a bit more? He went against what society had accepted as “the norms.” He spoke up against government oppression!
You know what I mean right? The government that reeked of corruption and political favors… the government that stole the rights of the common people one by one and called it ‘laws for their own protection.’ The government that kept the right people powerful and the wrong people powerless… you know- those people- the ones who don’t know what’s good for them any way… if they had any kind of work ethic or responsibility… well…if they didn’t act like animals we wouldn’t need so many armed guards all over the city! THOSE people… and Jesus saying we should care for them? That we should give money and rights and help… to them? No way! ENEMY OF THE STATE!… if only they had known it was Jesus…
But Jesus was also an enemy of the church! He also challenged the religious systems that oppressed… condemned those who discriminated and excluded… THOSE SINNERS! You know what I mean right? Those people who we don’t want sitting next to us on Sunday… people we can name chapter and verse why they shouldn’t be allowed in unless they repent- the ones we can deny service to, should we so choose… based on religious freedom of course… and with a teeny bit of help from the government… unclean things…lepers… and Jesus is saying we should love them? No WAY! ENEMY OF THE CHURCH! ... if only they had known it was Jesus…
And so the berating continues from the foot of the cross… HA! King! What a joke! Idiot! Socialist! Extremist! Liberal! Conservative! (Or any other group name that you find offensive…)
And amidst the peals of laughter and the mocking and the jeering, as he writhes in pain, Jesus… enemy of church and state… lifts his eyes to the heavens and offers a up a prayer…
“Father, forgive them- they don’t know what they’re doing.”
Seriously? From where does a thought like that even emanate?
I mean, I get the deafening silence during the trial; when Jesus is being asked over and over, “Are you the son of God?"
"Are you the King of the Jews?” And we, as the readers want more than anything for Jesus to stick up for himself.. “Say something Jesus! Tell them who you are! Show them your power! Do a miracle- at least tell a parable!”
I 'get' that Jesus voluntarily went to the cross rather than compromise what he stood for… I 'get' that it had to happen… I 'get' that the prophecies were fulfilled, and Jesus needed to show us just how far he would go to show his love for us, I 'get' that we learn by his example, that if we are truly followers of Christ we should be willing to go that far ourselves, and all that… and I’m good with it…
But now that he is on the cross, and things can’t get worse for him, couldn’t he show a hint of anger toward his attackers? I would take mild irritation at this point! Because those are responses I can relate to… I could understand if Jesus wanted to lash out at the people who were standing below him… playing games and gambling away his clothes in order to pass the time as they wait for him to die. I would feel ok if he called them a name or two… or even managed to spit on them… he could still be my Jesus and get away with that.
It would certainly make me feel better about the way I act when people have hurt me. Even when I’m fighting for what I believe is right… even when I expect people to be angry with me for standing up for my beliefs… even when I am intentional in my actions to challenge those in power, and I know that their only recourse is to lash out at me.
But in the end- I seldom find it in me to pray for them… They were WRONG after all. And while I may not be able to fight back… I may even be silent in my suffering… praying for my attackers is not the first thing that comes to mind… at least not to ask God to forgive them. I may send up a quick “God make them stop! God smite them quick! God make them pay!” But to ask God, in the midst of my pain, to forgive them?
They say that to forgive is the most freeing thing you can do for yourself. That when you forgive someone, they no longer have power over you.. that you can be free to move on, live your life without having your attacker control your life any longer. I believe that. I’ve been able to move on from many of my life’s hurts and pains through forgiveness. But it’s a process- and it usually happens well after the fact. Because in the midst of pain, my wounds are too fresh to offer anything toward anyone… even myself.
And so its important to note that Jesus isn’t saying “I forgive all of you down there who are making fools of yourselves.” He is asking God to forgive them… ahhhh- a subtle difference and an important one; because although forgiveness may be the way to freedom, true forgiveness only comes through and from God. - our wounds may be too fresh to offer forgivenss to others, especially the ones who are continuing to watch us shrivel up and are waiting for our death! The ones who have the audacity to have not just put us in that situation, but who laugh at us, and go about their lives, play games as we suffer as if we don’t exist… I’m dying here… look at me… I’m in pain!
In our darkest hour- we may be far away from knowing forgiveness is the key to healing… our pains may be so unbearable all we can focus on is stopping the bleeding… yet before we can ask- God is already there- even before Jesus asked- God was there… offering healing- offering restoration- offering new life and freedom for all.
Somehow that makes it a little easier… knowing that Jesus was asking God to forgive… knowing that it opens a little crack in my heart to allow the Spirit to work… even though I may not be ready to forgive, asking God to forgive those who have hurt me assures me that I will also be able to forgive… someday.
But what about those of us still on the ground with dice in our hands and poison coming out of our mouths? Those of us who have not figured out how much damage we are doing with our judgments and interpretations and power and exclusion? What about those of us who feel totally justified in our behavior- oppressing and imprisoning and excluding those who would challenge the church and state?
If only we knew it was Jesus. In Matthew Jesus tells us that he will come to us in the form of the stranger, the beggar, the sick, the prisoner…. The people we see as “others” and “burdens” and “different.” And make no mistake, I am singling no one out here… I am as guilty of intolerance as anyone… and I pray for understanding and patience and discernment… and forgiveness.
“Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing… they haven’t recognized me… they haven’t recognized your spirit in me…. They haven’t recognized your spirit in one another….
Forgive them, when they have not allowed that first crack in their heart to be opened to allow understanding, and healing, and reconciliation to begin because they are so sure they are “right.” Forgive them when they can’t see, or when they don’t want to see the beauty in all humanity, and in all creation. Forgive them when they miss YOU! Because truly, if they saw you, and understood you, and recognized you, and knew you… they would be capable of Godly love… not tolerance… LOVE. And they would be so enraptured and caught up in your love that there would be no other… there would be no right…. There would only be You. Forgive them Father… for not getting it... yet…
Photo from Damian Gadal
