Word 1: Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.

I’m sure many of you suspected I might be writing a post about Ash Wednesday.  Even though I am not writing weekly posts, I will be posting something each week for the season of Lent.  We are doing a Bible study at our house each week for the season of Lent looking at the seven last words of Christ from the cross.  I haven’t forgotten my project of doing some bigger theology topics, but with the study each week, it takes more of my time.
 

So, with that in mind, let me first mention the post I wrote last week concerning the season of Lent and especially Ash Wednesday found here: (http://alecellis.blogspot.com/2012/02/lent-and-ash-wednesday.html).  Check out last year’s post if you’re interested, but let’s move on to the topic at hand.

Jesus spoke seven sayings from the cross which must be of some importance since Jesus said them in his last moments and the Gospel writers deemed them important enough to include them in their accounts. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayings_of_Jesus_on_the_cross) Each week, we will take a saying of Jesus from the cross and discuss it through the lens of another aspect of Jesus’ life in the Gospels.  The first saying comes from Luke 23:34.

Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Theme: Forgiveness

Jesus had plenty to say about forgiveness.  In Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus tells the parable of the unmerciful servant.

²¹ Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” ²² Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
²³ “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴ When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. ²⁵ But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. ²⁶ So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ ²⁷ And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred  denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ ³⁰ But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. ³¹ So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. ³² Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. ³⁵ My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

Jesus is obviously using hyperbole in this parable.  The first servant owed somewhere between 2 and 3 billion dollars using the current minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.  An amount so large that it is impossible to imagine a servant, or anybody, having a debt this large or ever being able to pay it back.  The second servant, on the other hand, only owed the much more reasonable amount of $5,800, an amount the servant could probably eventually pay back.

What are your immediate thoughts in reading this parable?

What do you make of verse 35?  Specifically, what do you think Jesus meant by the word unless?

It seems like Jesus is saying that unless we forgive those who have hurt us, then the Father in turn also will not forgive us.

Are there conditions to salvation?

In other words, are there things we either must do to earn our salvation or are required to do once we are saved?  I think the answer is yes and no.  Before you accuse me of heresy, let us take a closer look at some of the teachings of Jesus.  First, not only do we have the teaching about forgiveness from Matt. 18, but in the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that we would be forgiven, as we also forgive others; the only clause that includes instructions for us.  Not only that, but Jesus immediately follows the Prayer with instructions about forgiveness, which repeat the sentiments of the parable of the unmerciful servant. (Matt 6:9-15)  Look closely at Matt. 25:31-46; there Jesus seems to say that unless we care for the “least of these” then the Lord will say, “Depart from me I never knew you.” (See also Matt 7:21-23) So, are there conditions to salvation? No, we are only and always saved by the gracious blood of Christ through faith and not works. (Eph 2:8-9)  Yet, at the same time, faith without works is dead. (James 4:20)  Are there, then, requirements once we are saved? This time the answer is yes.  Unless we are cultivating the fruits of the Spirit, caring for the poor, and forgiving others, then it is like we have no faith at all.  Faith and works can never be separated and salvation does indeed require something from us.  It is helpful to think of salvation in terms of discipleship.  We are not only saved from sin, we are saved to follow Christ.  Discipleship means a daily journey of following Christ through the acts of putting others first.

Now that we understand that forgiveness is not optional, we must ask the question of whether or not there is unforgiveness in our own lives?

We have been hurt in the little things of lives.  In relationships, it is only natural that we hurt each other accidentally.  Yet, these things are often dealt with and resolution, even restitution, can occur quickly.  These are not the hard things and the things we struggle with.  Where this lesson gets hard is when the hurts are profoundly deep and long-lasting, or when there is no resolution because the other party refuses to admit any wrong doing.  In these cases, forgiveness is so hard because the pain is still so raw or maybe because we don’t see the other party as repentant and willing to change.  These are the times when we are truly only able to forgive with the help of the Holy Spirit.

What about those who haven’t been hurt deeply enough yet to struggle with this?

Sometimes individuals haven’t lived long enough or are just yet to experience the deep and prolonged hurt that makes forgiveness hard.  That is ok, but there are ways to prepare for this struggle to forgive even when it’s hard and this actually is the advice for anyone struggling with forgiveness.  It goes back to what we discussed early about the requirements after we are saved; the “fruits” of our salvation.  A good place to start might be the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23.  By cultivating the fruits of the Spirit, we cultivate our relationship with Christ.  We become more and more connected with the vine of Christ and thus it will be easier to forgive, or any other hard thing, when the time comes.  We can’t expect to live our lives however we please and pursue our own desires and then one day decide we will forgive because we are commanded.  We are to grow in grace and Christ-likeness so that we are ready when challenges arise.

Concluding thoughts:

Forgiveness can be hard, yet it is something we are commanded to do.  In the parable of the unmerciful servant, we are the first servant.  We owed a debt so large there was no way for us to ever pay it back.  Yet, through God’s grace it has been forgiven, wiped clean as if it was never there.  Such grace and forgiveness have been extended to us that we should consider it a pure joy to also forgive others.  When it gets hard, may we always hold on to the memory that while we were still sinners and God’s enemies, Christ died for us to forgive us our sins and reconcile us to Himself.

Deeper thinking:

Do we need to forgive God?  We certainly fall into the temptation of blaming God for hardship, terminal illnesses, or the untimely death of a child or parent.  We think that if someone hurts us, we need to forgive them and make that relationship right.  There might be people in our group who blame God for something bad that happened in their life.  Although this issue is complex and many answers have been proposed, as Wesleyans we believe that God does not cause bad things to happen in our lives.  God has given humanity freewill and has allowed us to live our lives in sin if we choose.  Sometimes, that means a drunk driver kills an innocent bystander, not because of the sin of the bystander or because God caused it, but because we live in a world where people are free to make their own choices.  We also live in a world where Original Sin is a present and pervasive reality.  Cancer and other terminal illnesses are just one sign of this reality.  Our bodies are not perfect and we get sick and experience decay.  All of this is a sign of the fallenness of creation.  Yet despite this, we confess that we have a hope of a new heaven and a new earth when all will be redeemed and made new. (Rev. 21:1)