Pastor’s Corner – March 24, 2022

I follow the way of Jesus because I want to live well and I want to die well. I pray my life and death will be marked by faith, hope, love, and peace. Maybe you share this same desire?

Between now and Easter I want to remind you of the words Jesus spoke while dying. These words can serve as a guide for living and dying well.

Having studied the last words of Jesus in Mark, Matthew, and John, in this article I turn to the first of three words recorded by Luke. In Luke 23:34, with his body just nailed to the cross, Jesus proclaims, Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing. These words can be understood in a specific way and a more general way. In the throes of suffering this unjust execution, Jesus may well have in mind those who sought, pronounced, and are carrying out his death sentence. Jesus holds no ill will nor plots revenge on those who are killing him. Jesus lives his teaching on loving enemies by extending forgiveness to those who persecute him.

More generally, the statement of forgiveness is an interpretation of the meaning of Jesus’s death. Jesus refuses to give-in to the way of dominance and violence that characterizes human society. Jesus trusts a Divine power greater than evil and death. Jesus knows love will prevail. Only forgiveness can overcome sin. Only love can overcome hate. Only good can overcome evil. Jesus reveals these gifts of God on the cross and in his words of forgiveness.

Let us not allow any day to end with the bitterness of vengeance, condemnation, or anger. We never know which day will be our last. May the loving forgiveness of Christ prevail so that we might live well and die well.

Yours in Christ,

Marc