Taken in Vatican Museum, 2012, by Martha Wiggins
“And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
Forgiveness is something that many of us have problems with. There are times and circumstances where forgiveness seems absolutely impossible. ( Yesterday I shared a quote of mine in a post entitled “In The Light Of Forgiveness.” If it is something you struggle with, you might go back and read it in conjunction with today’s post.)
Today, I would like to come at forgiveness from another angle. When Jesus hung on the Cross, He asked God to forgive those who had crucified Him. They had committed the most horrific acts of violence against Him, even unto His death, and still Jesus asked His Father in Heaven to forgive them. And as He did, he added, “for they know not what they do.”
When we find forgiveness difficult because someone has wronged us, someone has sinned against us, we must look to Jesus’ example. If we cannot let go of our own pain and sorrow over our real or perceived hurts, we can still seek forgiveness for those who hurt us by realizing that they too know not what they do. We might believe that the hurt dealt us was fully intended and not deserving of forgiveness. We may be right. If that is truly the case, as was with Christ’s Crucifixion, then they are losing much more than we are. We are hurting, yet they are loosing their life! They are choosing to turn their back on mercy, forgiveness, and love. They are choosing to forego Eternal Life with Jesus.
When we choose to see the perpetrators in this light we begin to see them for what they truly are, which is wretched sinners who know not what they do. If they truly fully understood that in purposefully hurting you they were hurting themselves even more so, they may choose differently.
While it is probably not a good idea to throw this in their face in the heat of the moment, it is definitely another way of approaching forgiveness. And, if we are humble enough to look closely at ourselves, we may see many instances where we too need forgiveness… for we know not what we do.
Changing the lens through which we look at our hurts and our purpetrators may give us the needed catalyst to forgive both them and ourselves. May God bless all of you in your attempts at forgiveness. It may take more than one try for many of us, but it is worth the effort. Being unforgiving takes such a large toll on one’s soul.
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Martha, Tears are in my eyes now. How I wish my Catholic grandmother had had your
wisdom. When I lived with her, she egged me on in my unforgiving attitude
towards people who hurt me deeply. It was many years after she died before
I was able, through God’s help, to come to grips with my own attitudes. I thank
Him for His goodness in empowering me to forgive. That is a lesson that I am
still learning. Thank you for what you have said here.
Walter, My heart goes out to you and all others who have experienced the unforgiveness of others or find no room in their own hearts for forgiveness. Yes, I might have the right attitude about it, but that doesn’t mean I am always successful. I wish I was half the person I write about in my posts. God grants me the gift of putting His words down for others and more often than not I need the lesson most! We are all a work in progress. Our journey is to bring us closer to God, Our Creator and Father, and eventually to let Him bring us home to live in Eternity with Him. Please accept my apology that as a Catholic your Grandmother was unable to help you forgive those who hurt you so deeply. I imagine that she somehow thought by helping you to be angry at or hate them, she was proving to you that she was on your side, that she loved you. I am sure over your lifetime that you have been able to separate your Grandmother’s actions from the Catholic faith. I pray that you have peace in your heart knowing that God made you exactly as you are and loves you with a love powerful enough to pull you through anything this world can deal out. As a Catholic my attitude can be nothing less than loving mercy and forgiveness. Jesus forgave us much, we too, at times have much to forgive. God Bless you, Walter. Yours In Christ, Martha (And, Walter, thank you so much for reading my posts and leaving comments here on the website!)