"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."- Luke 23:34
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| From the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Santa Fe, NM |
My Lenten discipline has been to write a prayer for each of the 40 days of Lent. The last seven prayers center on the seven last sayings of Jesus uttered from the cross. Today's prayer is based on the first saying of Jesus from the cross.
"Father, Forgive Them..."
From the foot of the cross I can see you, Lord.
You're high and lifted up,
but not like anybody ever imagined.
Your physical pain is unimaginable;
your spiritual agony is beyond comprehension.
The crowd that has gathered is worked into a frenzy;
your execution has become a sold-out, standing-room only
entertainment event.
You have been beaten, scourged, mocked, spat upon;
you have been stripped of your clothing
and your dignity.
There you hang, nailed to the cross,
every fiber of your being screaming in agony.
Then you speak:
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."
I can't believe my ears, Lord.
" Father, forgive them"? Is that really what you said?
How can you say such a thing?
Why would you say such a thing?
Then I remember what you said last week,
after you entered Jerusalem:
"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason that I came to this hour."
And I remember that it was said of you
hundreds of years prior:
"He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed... The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
"Father, forgive them."
Now I realize, my Lord, that it's not just "them"
to whom you're referring.
"Them" includes me.
Now I realize, my Lord, that it's not just a few cruel people
who nailed you to the cross,
for I am one of "them".
My heart bows down within me
to know that my sins have taken you to the cross.
Father, forgive them.
Father, forgive me.
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