"Father forgive them....!"

Dieser Post ist eine Hommage an Jesus´ Gebet am Kreuz.
Die Auszüge stammen aus ´ner Predigt von Martin Luther King.
Das Ganze "in english" !

"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do ."
- Luke 33,34

Few words in the New Testament more clearly and solemnly express the magnanimity of Jesus´spirit than that sublime utterance from the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." This is love at its best.

He could have said, "Father, get even with them," or "Father, let loose the mighty thunderbolts of righteous wrath and destroy them." But none of these was his response. Though subjected to inexpressible agony, suffering excruciating pain, and despised and rejected, nevertheless, he cried, "Father, forgive them."

First, it is a marvelous expression of Jesus´ ability to match words with actions. One of the great tragedys in life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between doing and saying.
But in the life of Jesus we find that the gulf is bridged. Never in history was there a more sublime example of consistency of word and deed:

- During his ministry in the sunny villages of Galilee, Jesus talked passionately about forgiveness.

- Jesus also admonished his followers to love their enemies and to pray for them that despitefully used them.

The moment of testing emerges. Christ, the innocent Son of God, is stretched in painful agony on an uplifted cross.

What place is there for love and forgiveness now ? How will Jesus react ? What will he say ?

The answer to this question bursts forth in majestic splendor,
Jesus lifts his thorn-crowned head and cries in words of cosmic proportions:

"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

This was Jesus´ finest hour; this was his heavenly response to his earthly rendezvous with destiny.

We sense the greatness of this prayer by contrasting it with society which is slow to forgive. Those who disobey the laws are often left in the dark abyss of condemnation and have no hope for a second chance:

- Ask an innocent young lady, who, after a moment of overriding passion , becomes the mother of an illegitimate child. She will tell you that society is slow to forgive.

- Make your way to death row and speak with the tragic victims of criminality. As they prepare to make their pathetic walk to the electric chair, their hopeless cry is that society will not forgive. Capital punishment is society´s final assertion that it will not forgive.

Such is the persistent story of mortal life. The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of revenge. Man has never risen above the injunction of the "lex talionis":

" Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."

Jesus eloquently affirmed from the cross a higher law !
He knew that the old eye-for-an-eye philosophy would leave everyone blind.

He didn´t seek to overcome evil with evil.

=> He overcame evil with good:
Although crucified by hate, he responded with aggressive love !

What a magnificent lesson !

Generations will rise and fall; men will continue to worship the god of revenge and bow before the altar of retaliation; but ever and again this noble lesson of Calvary will be a nagging reminder that only goodness can drive out evil and only love can conquer hate !

And Jesus was right about those men who crucified him. They knew not what they did. They were inflicted with a terrible blindness.

Every time I look at the cross I am reminded of the greatness of God and the redemptive power of Jesus Christ. I am reminded of the beauty of sacrificial love and the majesty of unswerving devotion to truth.

We must see the cross as the magnificent symbol of love conquering hate and of light overcoming darkness.

But in the midst of this glowing affirmation, let us never forget that our Lord and Master was nailed to that cross because of human blindness. Those who crucified him knew not what they did.