The Absence of Forgiveness

The thought that a criminal would seek forgiveness from someone who would suffer the same punishment of death via crucifixion sounds perplexing. One apparently deserved death; the other did not. One was falsely accused; the other, his crimes were confirmed. Amidst the moral calamity of this horrific event, Jesus the Son of God, the Word made flesh, calls out to God the Father, asking to forgive his executioners: “Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:33). Christ’s plea to God the Father to forgive his executioners appears to have awakened one of the criminals who would suffer the same fate, albeit for different reasons. The thief rebukes his fellow criminal who is about to suffer the same fate for mocking Jesus’ claim that he is the Christ and commands him to save himself and them. The repentant thief then asks his fellow brother a beautiful question: “Do you not fear God since you are under the same condemnation?” (Lk 23:40).

The repentant thief then proceeds to make his examination of conscience, confess his sins, and beg for Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness: “And we indeed justly; for we are receiving due reward for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong. And he said, Jesus, remember us when you come into your kingly power” (Lk 23:41-42). And with that Jesus forgives, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk 23:43). What did the repentant thief do to deserve a salvific act of forgiveness from the Messiah Himself, Jesus Christ? Some might say nothing; Jesus is God and forgives all. Others may claim that the repentant thief begged for mercy and Jesus, being God, was obligated to forgive him. The answer lies in the repentant thief acknowledging the fear of the Lord, proclaiming Jesus as Lord, confessing his sins, and humbly begging for forgiveness.  

With an act of mercy, Jesus both fulfils and proclaims his mission to offer himself as a ransom for many; thus, through his death and resurrection, He resuscitates man’s relationship with God. Though what St. Luke records in his Gospel demonstrates a path towards conversion, healing, and redemption, our human nature may still argue against forgiving the repentant thief. One may argue and say, “Jesus could forgive; He is God, I’m not; I’d rather hold on to my anger towards those who hurt me.” The desire for retribution, revenge, or wishing ill will on someone may, on a wounded human level, sound somewhat reasonable, but in reality, it serves as a seed of enslavement for the unwillingness to show mercy and forgiveness. The repentant thief chose not to be enslaved by the weight of his sins; Jesus shows us the path to forgive our neighbor, brother, sister, friend, religious, and clergy as he was about to die. One might ask, “What compels a person to forgive someone?” “Where does the journey to forgive begin and end?” The Catechism tells us that during his public life, Jesus not only forgave sins, but also made the effects of this forgiveness: he reintegrated forgiven sinners into the community of the People of God from which sin had alienated them. Jesus receives sinners at his table, which expresses God’s forgiveness and the return to the bosom of the People of God (CCC 1443).

The absence of forgiveness, the inability to forgive someone, or worse, the deliberate desire to withhold mercy demonstrates a love for hatred, malice, hostility, and worse, revenge. Harboring emotions and thoughts of vengeance to right a wrong rejects Jesus’ command to love one another as He has loved us. Love, like the Body of Christ, is indivisible; we cannot love the God we cannot see if we do not love the brother or sister we do see. In refusing to forgive our brothers and sisters, our hearts are closed, and their hardness makes them impervious to the Father's merciful love; but in confessing our sins, our hearts are opened to his grace (CCC 2840). In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul places great emphasis on the importance of forgiving your brother,

Brothers and sisters: Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy ones, no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person, that is, an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient. So do not be associated with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (Eph 4:32-5:8).

St. Paul’s plea to forgive and become imitators of God echoes Jesus’ warning to those who fail to forgive, God will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart" (Mt 18:23-35). The ability to forgive your enemies demonstrates that the virtue of love is stronger than any sin. Forgiveness is the fundamental condition of the reconciliation of the children of God with their Father and of men with one another (CCC 2844). The absence of forgiveness demonstrates the opposite and places us firmly on a demonic path of jealousy, vengeance, and hatred. The path to forgiveness, as demonstrated by Christ on the Cross, the repentant thief requires us to exercise mercy to our enemies and, in offering mercy, forgive them. Our final end requires us to love one another as He has loved us (Mk 12:30-31).

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

Mt 5:7