It has been interesting seeing the emphasis that the new media has put on whether the victims of the Christchurch mosque terrorist forgave him or not. Forgiveness is not something to be taken lightly. When Jesus forgives the sins of the paralytic the Pharisees ask: " 'Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?' " (Lk 5: 21) Yet, it is precisely for the forgiveness of sins that Jesus Christ came and for which he brought about a new covenant. At the Last Supper Jesus hands his disciples a cup saying: "Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Mtt 26: 27-28) As if this is not hard enough to take, Jesus also tells his disciples that they must forgive as he forgives: "So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart." (Mtt 18: 35) This forgiveness knows no limit: "Not seven times, but I tell you, seventy-seven times." (Mtt 18: 21) Furthermore, our reception of mercy is made conditional on the extent to which we forgive: "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." (Mtt 6: 12) The marvel of God's forgiveness, manifested in Christ Jesus, is shown on the Cross: "Then Jesus said: 'Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing'." (Lk 23: 54) Thus, it clear that to be a true disciple of the Lord each of us needs to strive for ever greater forgiveness even of those who persecute us or hate us. It is only something we can accomplish because we are mindful of how much we have been forgiven already by God in Christ Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment