Jesus taught Christians to forgive, but it is not easy to do.
On the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” He also told us many parables about forgiveness, especially the one about the servant who was forgiven a debt and then refused to forgive his debtor. In the Lord’s Prayer, he also has us pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Forgiveness is an essential part of Christ’s message. I wish it were easy, but it is not. Since I have some Irish blood, I can repeat the joke about Irish Alzheimer’s, where the person forgets everything but his or her grudges, but any ethic group can be inserted in this joke.
Forgiveness can happen on both an individual and societal level. As individuals it is probably easiest to forgive those who hurt us unintentionally or by mistake. Mistakes made through negligence are also different from premeditated acts. And most importantly, if someone expresses sorrow, it is easier to forgive.
Forgiveness can bring peace to a person by reducing anger. Children, for example, don’t become adults until they are able to forgive their parents for the mistakes they made in raising them.
But being Christ like is not easy. It means offering forgiveness to anyone whether they express sorrow or not. Only the saints are that good. It can be a liberating experience for both the injured and the forgiven. Some sinners have been converted by such forgiveness.
On a societal level, forgiveness is not necessarily a “get out of jail free” card. As Christians, we must love the sinner, but we must also protect society from the sinner. In some countries after a civil war in which both sides have committed atrocities, there is often a call for amnesty as a means of political reconciliation. However, cheap forgiveness rarely heals the wounds of such conflicts.
In the sacrament of reconciliation, the church has traditionally required four things before absolution: 1) true sorrow for sin; 2) confession of sin; 3) penance; and 4) firm purpose of amendment (not to sin again).
Amnesty without confession of crimes is cheap grace. Truth and reconciliation commissions are a necessary part of any amnesty program for both perpetrators and victims. Such commissions shine a healing light on deep wounds.
Some penance is also a communal necessity, but it need not be jail. After rioting that killed Muslims and Hindus in India, Gandhi told Hindus to adopt Muslim orphans and raise them as Muslins. True penance should heal the wounds caused by sin. Restitution is a requirement of justice, but jails are only good for protecting society from criminals who will not stop committing crimes.
Jesus did not just forgive sinners, he said, “Go and sin no more.” The commitment to peace must be part of any amnesty program that leads to true reconciliation.
On the international level, the treatment of Japan and Germany after the Second World War is one of the most extraordinary examples of international reconciliation. It was one of America’s proudest moments—perhaps a greater achievement than winning the war. There were those who wanted to follow Marcus Cato’s advice to the Romans: “Carthage Delenda Est” (Carthage must be destroyed).
There is no doubt that the fear of communism had a lot to do with our policy toward Japan and Germany after the war, but it was still a historically unique example of reconciliation. It was not only the right thing to do; it was the smart thing to do.
Forgiveness and reconciliation is not easy, it takes strength. It takes maturity and patience. It takes political courage. And it takes a lot of faith.
For information of the “Forgiveness Project” of the Woodstock Theological Center, click here.
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