FORGIVENESS IS AT THE HEART OF OUR FAITH

"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34.

"It's so hard to forgive."  It makes no difference whether the offense is serious or trivial; forgiveness is difficult. Our heart is always more quickly moved to revenge than forgiveness.

Jesus had been betrayed, arrested, beaten, judged and found guilty by a kangaroo court, condemned by a gutless judge who thought him innocent, brutally beaten again, mocked, ridiculed by his jailers and executioners, forced to carry his cross and then nailed to it to die --naked and humiliated. Yet under such circumstances he says, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

It is just because we find forgiveness so difficult, that we are astonished at the first words of Jesus from the cross. But astonishment is not enough. These words are important to us only when we realize that they are also directed to us.

We must never forget Jesus is both the messenger and the message from God. Every word he spoke and everything he did has meaning for each new generation of the church. The forgiveness that Christ extended to his tormentors reaches across the ages and touches our lives. The first word from the cross does not stop at Calvary-it says plainly that our Lord forgives all of us, even today.

The word from the cross is the dramatic event, which underscores the meaning of the whole life of Christ. From the beginning he made it plain that he had come to offer men forgiveness. He declared that he had come to seek and to save sinners. He offered forgiveness to a woman caught in the act of adultery, to tax collectors, to open sinners, to all who came seeking his aid. In his greatest parable Jesus told the story of a wayward son who came back home, full of sin and bitter memories, and was received in forgiveness by his waiting father. Everywhere in the gospels Jesus is pictured as witnessing to the same truth-our Lord forgives all mankind.

The point is that if Jesus could pray for those who mistreated him, if he could forgive even his executioners, then there is real hope for you for me -- for all of us.

If Jesus prayed for his enemies at the cross, then he has prayed for us as well.

Strangely enough, we need that reassurance, for we never seem to believe in the forgiveness of sins; we never seem to accept God's grace. Think what happens each Sunday morning in the service of worship. In a Lutheran Church the pastor announces: "Almighty God, our heavenly Father, hath had mercy upon us, and hath given his only Son to die for us, and for his sake forgives all our sins." In other denominations a similar absolution is used. And yet when the service is over, most people pick up their sins and regrets and worries and walk out with them again, still burdened in heart and conscience.

Martin Luther declared in his catechism: "The Holy Spirit day after day forgives my sins and the sins of all believers." And yet, we Christians often let their guilt pile up so high that we finally have to go to a psychiatrist or write to Ann Landers or find another secular outlet for a troubled conscience like Dr. Phil or Ophra. We are like a prisoner

who after hearing the words of a pardon read to him shuffled back into the prison line and back into his cell.

Perhaps we hold onto our guilt because we find it so hard to forgive others.

We need to listen to these words from the cross: "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." Here we are assured that we have a forgiving Lord -- His forgiveness didn’t stop at the cross. It reaches down and touches our life too.

And don't choke over those words: "for they don’t know what they are doing." Some have insisted that the Jewish leaders and the soldiers could be forgiven because they acted in ignorance, but that we cannot be forgiven because we sin willfully. Don't be misled. There is willfulness in all sin, but there is always ignorance as well. No man ever knows the terrible nature of sin until he is involved in it. The murderer cannot calculate the effect of his act. The liar cannot foresee the result of his lie. Sin is always ignorance, always rebellion.

Thank God our Savior understands! He never lets his hurt and disappointment at our stupidity keep him from reaching out to forgive us. The same Christ who cried from the cross for his tormentors now stands at the throne of grace, interceding for us.  “Father, forgive them; for they don’t know not what they are doing."

Now let us place a second picture beside that of our text. It is also the picture of a man facing death. His name is Stephen, and his story is in the early part of the Book of Acts. Stephen died testifying of his faith in Jesus who his executioners helped crucified. Listen to his words: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them."

Here is the same astonishing cry. Where did Stephen get this spirit? From the one who uttered the first word from the cross.  You see, Jesus has let loose his forgiving Holy Spirit in the world. His forgiveness never stops because it is planted in the heart of each believer.

Jesus himself made it plain that this spirit of forgiveness should characterize all his followers. He imbedded his desire for men in his model prayer. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."  Jesus also gave the church the parable of the unforgiving debtor to impress upon us that there can be no forgiveness of sin unless we are willing to forgive one another. He informed Simon Peter that he was to forgive his brother seventy times seven. --- meaning forgiveness was to have no limits.

Wherever men have taken their Christian faith seriously, Christ's spirit of forgiveness has been found. Perhaps it has even been the most consistent mark of a Christian. Yet it is also the place where too many have fallen short. It is ironic that we can easily pray the Lord's Prayer and still harbor resentment in our hearts toward others. How easy it is for us to magnify small insults and conduct ourselves just like our pagans. Fortunately it isn't always that way. Many Christians have learned the way of Christ -- have kept alive his spirit of forgiveness by wiping the slate clean of their resentment.

The basic ingredient in our faith is forgiveness, the forgiveness which God gives to man. But we must keep that forgiveness alive. It must never end.

We are entering the Lenten season. These weeks are a time of preparation for the glorious news of Easter. I can think of no better way to prepare for that season than by purging our hearts of all bitterness. Look deep within and see if you are harboring an unforgiving spirit against any man. See if there is resentment against any person, any fellow Christian, any member of your household. If there is, then ask Jesus Christ to teach you to forgive. Get rid of the petty hatreds of life. Replace them by the spirit of forgiveness.

The biographer of Joseph Stalin said that the Russian leader never forgot or forgave an injury. He always bided his time and, in the end, struck back. Contrast that with the first word of Jesus from the cross: "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."  Whom do you follow?