Exploiting Forgiveness

Exploiting Forgiveness

To use the words “I forgive you” in a theme of forgiving someone to avoid further attraction from anger that may or may not hurt you is an abuse of the very words so often spoken in haste.  When Jesus was dying on the Cross and speaking; “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”  (Lk 23: 34).  Was it due to an irony he was promoting to appear delirious, or some mental collapse before his followers?  Or could there have been a much deeper scenario that would become a premise of realism in a world of suspicion where no one believes in compassion any more.

In a world of so much anger that emits revenge for the smallest attrition to people, we find that getting even with adversaries seems to be the perfect manner of living among others.  How easy it has become to exist with people that we denote as friends but deep down hate and wish nothing good for them.  

Our current parameters of accepting people around us has slipped into an impervious system of completely fighting back at someone who used to be a bosom friend but now appears as an enemy.  This can exemplify an exploiting decision to love without fault in spite of anything they’ve done. 

There are, to be sure, a lot of disbelievers as to the words of Jesus; “Forgive them” as he was breathing his last breath.  Some may say; “well he was God and no human could withstand that punishment.”  Rethink your understanding of the Incarnation!  The Son of God, and God himself, was already present in the womb of Mary when he took humanity upon himself.  When on the Cross, we saw Jesus Christ, true God and True Man.  Both natures suffered equally and both natures shed the blood of the God-man together.  We must remember that when Jesus took humanity human nature was assumed, not absorbed. (CCC 470).  

Jesus Christ possesses two natures, one divine and the other human, not confused, but united in the one person of God’s Son.  (CCC 481).  Therefore, as Jesus was dying on the Cross and asking His Father to forgive them he was quoting the mission of Christ:  “The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God, who loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins”:  “the Father has sent his Son as the savior of the world.” , and he was revealed to take away sins.”  (CCC 457).

Therefore, benevolence has become the true understanding of the forgiveness heard from the mouth of the Son of God, Jesus Christ on the Cross.

Ralph B. Hathaway