“A WORD ABOUT FORGIVENESS”

LUKE 23:26-38

26  As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.

27  A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him.

28  But Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

29  For the days are surely coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.'

30  Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us'; and to the hills, 'Cover us.'

31  For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

32  Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.

33  When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

34  Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing.

35  And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!"

36  The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,

37  and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!"

38  There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."

It’s the first thing he said from the Cross. “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”  It’s a beautiful thing to say but it’s strange. I don’t remember anybody asking Jesus to forgive them that day?  Do you? You can look again if you want, but you’re not going to find any regret or remorse among the officials and the soldiers who were there that day. That’s because they didn’t think they were doing anything wrong. As far as they were concerned Jesus was guilty of blasphemy. He was guilty of blasphemy because he said he was God’s Son and the punishment for blasphemy was death.

So, nobody asked Jesus to forgive them that day and nothing changed after Jesus uttered those words of forgiveness. His enemies continued to taunt and torment him. The soldiers cast lots for his robe. While they were doing that the religious leaders scoffed at him and said, “he saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah…”

What happened that day at the foot of the Cross happens all the time. People exhibit all kinds of questionable behavior and then don’t feel the least bit guilty. Take the man who was late for an important business meeting. The man was really stressed out because he was having a hard time finding a parking space.  Finally, in desperation the man looked up through the windshield of his car and prayed, “Lord,” he said, “I can’t afford to loose this client.  So, please help me find a parking space and I promise that I’ll go to church every Sunday for the next six months.”  Just then the man saw a car pull out of a parking space.  Immediately he let loose with a huge sigh and shouted “Never mind Lord. I just found one.”

People exhibit all kinds of questionable behavior and then don’t feel the least bit guilty.  It happens all the time.  A really sad example can be seen in the poor judgment that a Pennsylvania teacher showed a little over a month ago. It happened right before the playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos.  When student Joshua Vannoy came to class wearing a Denver Broncos jersey his teacher John Kelley made him take his mid-term exam while sitting on the floor in the middle of the room.  He also encouraged the other students to throw wads of paper at him. By the way you know what the class was where all of this questionable behavior took place?  Believe it or not it was an ethics class.  What makes it even worse is the fact that the Beaver Falls School District recently announced that because the teacher has already been subjected to adverse public opinion it doesn’t believe further punishment is warranted. (AP February 14)

He did it in part because that’s why he came into the world.  It was his reason for being.  Jesus came to bring us forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace. On that Cross Jesus came face to face with the worse that we have to offer and in spite of all that hate and fear, greed and self-righteous pride he refused to stop loving us.

That may not be the whole story though. There may be another reason why Jesus uttered those words of forgiveness. Maybe he also did it for himself. Maybe it was something he had to do so he could die in peace.  You see Jesus knew that when you refuse to forgive, you start building a wall of resentment around you.  As time goes by that wall gets higher and higher.  Eventually, you become a prisoner inside your own resentment and you slowly loose the ability to love.  Sometimes that resentment becomes a poison that even makes it impossible to love yourself.

Jesus didn’t want to die that way. He didn’t want to die full of bitterness. So, instead of lashing out at his enemies he looked down from the Cross and said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”  Jesus said that for his benefit as well as theirs.

It’s hard to do what Jesus did that day.  How do you forgive when the person who hurt you doesn’t think that he or she did anything wrong? How do you forgive when the person who hurt you doesn’t want your forgiveness?  How do you forgive when there’s no guarantee that the person who hurt you won’t do it again?

It doesn’t matter if it the hurt is big or small, the temptation is always there to react the way a woman did one day when she went to the post office.  Now this was a week or so before Christmas so the post office was really busy and the clerk behind the counter wasn’t in a very jolly mood.  The woman found that out when she asked for a book of stamps the clerk shoved them across the counter.  He shoved them so hard that they ended up on the floor in front of the woman. The clerk’s rude behavior didn’t faze the woman at all though.  She calmly picked the book of stamps up and thanked the clerk.  She then put the money for the stamps on the floor and left.

Sometimes it isn’t easy to forgive. That’s why it helps to remember that when you forgive you’re not just doing it for the person you hurt you.  You’re also doing it for yourself. When Jesus uttered those words of forgiveness he wasn’t just reaching out to the people who were standing there at the foot of the Cross.  He was also doing it so he could die in peace.

Father forgive them for they know not what they do.  When you say those words of forgiveness from the bottom of your heart they open the door to a future where you can live without bitterness and resentment and self-pity.  So forgiveness isn’t just about the past.  It’s also about the future.  Let me say that again because it is so important. Forgiveness isn’t just about the past.  It’s about the future. When you forgive you’re not looking back saying that what the person did was right.  You’re not looking back and saying that what happened doesn’t matter.  All you’re saying is that you want to let go of the bitterness and the resentment and the self-pity so you can go on with your life.

Most of you have probably heard the story about the man who earned the nickname “Wrong Way Riegels.”  Roy Riegels got the nickname while playing for UCLA in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day back in 1929.  His unfortunate claim to fame came when he recovered a Georgia Tech fumble and started running the wrong way on the field.  He ended up running 65 yards before one of his own teammates tackled him. That legendary play came just before half-time.  When the UCLA team went into the locker room Roy Reigels sat down in a corner away from everyone and put his face in his hands.  Everyone was silent including the coach.  Nobody knew what to say.  Finally the timekeeper came into the locker room and announced that they had three minutes before the start of the second half.  That’s when the coach looked at the players and said, “Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second.”  With that the players all got up and walked out of the locker room; everyone except Riegels.  He just sat there.  “Roy,” the coach said, “didn’t you hear me?  The same team that played the first half will start the second.”  Riegels looked up with tears in his eyes and said, “I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you.  I’ve ruined the university’s reputation.  I’ve ruined myself. I can’t face that crowd out there.”  The coach listened and then put his hand on Riegel’s shoulder.  “Roy,” he said, “get up and go on back.  The game is only half over.”

My friends the game also isn’t over yet for you. Because the game isn’t over it’s better to forgive so you can enjoy the time that you have left.  Because the game isn’t over it’s also better to forgive because you can be sure that someday the shoe is going to be on the other foot.  Someday you’re going to be the one who’s in the wrong and in need of a little forgiveness.  Because the game isn’t over it’s also better to forgive because you never know.  That person who did you wrong might someday see the light and want to be reconciled with you.  If you don’t believe that really happens go back and look at what happened that day at the foot of the Cross.  Matthew says in his gospel that after Jesus died one of the soldiers looked up and humbly said, “Surely this man was the Son of God.”

Father forgive them for they know not what they do.  Those words may or may not change the person who did you wrong, but they will change you and that’s important because the game is only half over.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

March 5, 2006