Start:Stop-Father, forgive

Craigie Aitchison - Pink Crucifixion 2004 - Methodist Modern Art Collection

Thank you for joining us for Start:Stop. This reflection will last around ten minutes and you are welcome to come and go as your schedule dictates. We begin with two verses from scripture, which can be found on page 95 of the New Testament section of the pew bibles.

Bible Reading - Luke 23.33-34

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

Reflection

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

I hope it is impossible for us to understand the excruciating pain which Jesus was experiencing when he spoke these words. He had already been betrayed by those closest to him, dragged through a show-trial where he become a victim of the self-serving interests of the religious and political elite. His body had been scourged and a crown of thorns thrust into his scalp before being made to carry the instrument of his own death. Taunted as nails were driven through his wrists, his first words as his innocent flesh hung on the cross were not a plea to end his own suffering, but the suffering of others.

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

To whom is Jesus talking? To the soldiers who nailed him to the cross before casting lots for his clothing? To Pilate and the political authorities who, having washed their hands of a difficult situation, sent them there? Or the religious leadership, under Caiaphas, who, fearful of the threat to the establishment, made Jesus a scape goat? To the disciples like Peter, who denied and deserted him or like Judas who betrayed him? Or perhaps Jesus is talking to the crowds of people who cheered with him as he rode into Jerusalem, only to turn away and shout “Crucify him” a few days later?

In each of the characters in the narrative of Christ’s Passion, we can see glimpses of ourselves. As we take up our own, flawed, supporting role following Jesus to the cross; we realise that he is speaking to us.

He died that we might be forgiven,

He died to make us good,

as the famous hymn by Mrs Cecil Alexander puts it.

During Lent we have been encouraged to start each day standing with Jesus at his baptism in the river Jordan, remembering that we are God’s children and are beloved. During Holy Week we are confronted at the cross by the failings of humanity – our failings. We are reminded that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God – but we also remember that we are beloved. Even those who have committed the most heinous crimes are not denied God’s love. On the cross we also see what humanity can be. Jesus’s first words from the cross are universal, his love and forgiveness are unconditional. He does not ask God to forgive some people, because some people don’t know what they are doing. Nobody is beyond redemption. Nobody can be defined wholly by their actions. People are not just murderers, racists or child-abusers. Sinners – even the worst sinners – have the capacity to become saints.

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

Each day we say the words that Jesus taught us, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” But do we put these words into action? How many of us, in the midst of unimaginable pain and suffering, have been able to forgive as Jesus did on the cross, rather than seeking revenge or retribution - or falling into the false comfort of Father Time, trying in vain to forget rather than forgive; but allowing unreconciled, painful memories to shackle our consciousness. As the words of the Lord’s prayer remind us – we need forgiveness not for God’s sake or for the sake of others, but for ourselves : “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Martin Luther King said of Jesus’s first words from the cross; “never in history was there a more sublime example of the consistency of word and deed.”

“One of the great tragedies of life [he said] is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying. A persistent schizophrenia leaves so many of us tragically divided against ourselves….How often are our lives characterized by a high blood pressure of creeds and an anaemia of deeds! We talk eloquently about our commitment to the principles of Christianity, and yet our lives are saturated with the practices of paganism….This strange dichotomy, this agonising gulf between the ought and the is, represents the tragic theme of man’s earthly pilgrimage.”

Jesus showed us that the old eye-for-an-eye philosophy leaves everyone blind and that forgiveness is not an occasional act; but a permanent attitude.

In the Book of Forgiveness, written with his daughter Mpho who is also an Anglican priest, Archbishop Desmond Tutu encourages us to develop this permanent attitude - a mindset of forgiveness rather than one of grievance – using a four-step approach. Through the book we hear stories of people from around the world who have been liberated through forgiveness – people who have forgiven a drunk driver who killed their mother, or the person who raped then murdered their children in the genocide in Rwanda. We also hear how those who have committed dreadful crimes have been liberated in the process, by forgiving themselves. 

Desmond Tutu urges us to cultivate forgiveness in our small, everyday encounters – forgiving the person who pushed in front of us on the train, forgiving the child who broke a cherished object while running through the house. By beginning in this way, we can prepare for a time when much larger acts of forgiveness will be asked of us. If we learn to act in a mindset of forgiveness as naturally as we say the words of the Lord’s Prayer, he says: “a life that seemed littered with obstacles and antagonism is suddenly filled with opportunity and love.”

Meditation

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

As we spend a few moments contemplating these words of Jesus on the cross, perhaps we might consider how we can bridge the gulf between our words and deeds, so that we may have the life of opportunity and love that comes from putting our faith in Him.

Prayers

Our prayers this morning follow The Coventry Litany of Reconciliation. The response in the litany is Father forgive. These words were inscribed in chalk on the smouldering rubble of Coventry Cathedral by the Provost, Richard Howard, after a firestorm caused by bombs destroyed the building in November 1940. He promised that after the war, the cathedral would work with the people who were previously their enemies “to build a kinder, more Christ-like world.”

We remember especially today the people of Paris after the devastating fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. We hold in our hearts all those who are in pain and suffering at the hands of others. We pray for all those working to bring about peace and reconciliation. We pray that we may match our words with deeds, forgiving ourselves and forgiving those who have wronged us.  

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class,

Father forgive

The covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own,

Father forgive

The greed which exploits the work of human hands and lays waste the earth,

Father forgive

Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others,

Father forgive

Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the homeless, the refugee,

Father forgive

The lust which dishonours the bodies of men, women and children,

Father forgive

The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in God,

Father forgive

Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Blessing

May the cross of our Lord

protect those who belong to Jesus,

and strengthen your hearts in faith to Christ,

in hardship and in ease,

in life and in death,

now and forever.

Amen.

(Simon, Bishop of Iran d339)

Thank you for joining us for Start Stop. Please join us for our services throughout Holy Week. Tomorrow the choir will sing Choral Evensong at 6pm. The Great Vigil and First Eucharist of Easter will take place on Saturday at 6.00pm. Start:Stop takes a break next week, returning on Tuesday 30^th April. This reflection will begin again in a few minutes.

Links
The Book of Forgiving - Desmond & Mpho Tutu
Image : Craigie Aitchison - Pink Crucifixion - Methodist Art Collection
A Gift of Love - Martin Luther King's Sermons from Strength to Love