Not Guilty by Cheri Holdridge (with an assist by Patti Lusher)

In June of 2015, members of Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston SC were gunned down while attending Bible Study. A few days later their family members appeared in court and made statements. One came from Nadine Collier, daughter of victim Ethel Lance. She said: “I forgive you. You took something very precious away from me. I will never get to talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her again, but I forgive you, and have mercy on your soul. … You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people. If God forgives you, I forgive you.” (Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/06/19/hate-wont-win-the-powerful-words-delivered-to-dylann-roof-by-victims-relatives/?tid=a_inl). To forgive the killer of your own mother takes a deep faith. One by one the members of Emmanuel AME church made similar statements, saying they would not give room for hate in their lives. These folks have learned the teachings of Jesus and they are living them out through the most tragic of circumstances.

In today’s reading, we see how Jesus forgave, and calls us to be a forgiving people. Let’s start by remembering Jesus’ trial. He was first brought to Pontius Pilate the Prefect, or Governor of Judea. He was accused by the Jewish leaders of not paying taxes to Rome, of perverting their nation, and saying he was the Messiah, or King of the Jews. Of course it was a crime to presume to be a King because the Emperor of Rome was the supreme ruler of the land. Pontius Pilate did not want to get caught up in the petty religious quarrels of the locals. He questioned Jesus and told the High Priests that he saw no reason to make an accusation againstJesus.

They persisted. They said he was stirring up the people in Judea and in his home region of Galilee. When Pontius Pilate heard he was from Galilee that gave him an out. Herod was in town and Herod was the regional ruler over Galilee. So Pilate sent Jesus to Herod to have him deal with this business. 

Herod was eager to meet Jesus because he had heard so much about him. He questioned Jesus at length but Jesus remained silent. The chief priests were livid. In the end Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. Pilate told the chief priests that neither he nor Herod found any fault with Jesus. He was not guilty. So Pilate was going to give him a flogging and set him free. 

There was a tradition that at this time of year that one prisoner could be released to the Jews. The crowd began to shout that they wanted Barabbas to be released rather than Jesus. Barabbas had been part of the insurrection. Of Jesus, the crowd shouted: ‘’Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked why because he found no guilt in this man. Pilate said he did not deserve to die. The crowd would not be swayed. 

In the end, Pilate sent an innocent man to his death. Jesus was handed over to be crucified. 

Jesus carried his own cross up the long path to the place called The Skull and there he was crucified with two criminals, one on his left and one on his right. These are the first words he said on the cross: “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Can you imagine? He asked for forgiveness for his enemies.

The Rev. Dr. Joseph Pagano points out that it’s not unusual for a person to pray in times of distress. Think about it. When you get punched in the gut, when you get devastating news, when your heart is broken, when your world stops because of something awful, your first response may be to pray. (Source: http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2013/03/04/palm-sunday-c-2013/).  

        But if you’re like most people yours will be a prayer for yourself. “Lord, help me, I’m in big trouble here and I need you.” “God save me from this adversity.” “Lord, heal me.” 

But Jesus does not pray to God and ask for a way out. He does not even pray for his friends and family and those who will be left behind (ibid). He does not pray for his mother Mary and ask God to protect her. He does not pray for his disciples and ask God to give them strength to carry on the mission. 

The first people Jesus prays for on the cross are his enemies, those who are killing him. And he asks God to forgive them (ibid). Because you see, Jesus knows what it means to have a forgiving heart. He does not know how to hate. He can’t conceive of it. He is so full of love that there is no room in his heart for hatred, only love and compassion. This is what it means to be one with God: to be full of love. 

Pagano writes: “With these words, with this prayer, everything changes. These may be the most revolutionary and transformative words ever spoken in human history. “Forgive my enemies, for they know not what they do.” With this prayer, Christ takes all of the hatred and all of the violence and all of the vengeance of the world and says, ‘Enough’” (ibid).

We’ve had enough of the violence and counter-violence that spiral out of control. It has to end. Enough. “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they do.” With these words Jesus takes away violence and hatred and replaces them with reconciliation and peace. 

With his words he calls us to reconciliation and peace. If Jesus can forgive those who crucified him, who might we forgive? They don’t ask for forgiveness and yet he forgives them anyway. Think of all the people who have wronged you in your life. I’m sure the list is long. Perhaps just start with those who have wronged you in the past week. Still, I imagine you can think of a few. If Jesus could forgive the people who put him to death, can you forgive these people on your list for whatever they have done? Because you see, when you carry around hatred and resentment for another person, you are the one who suffers. 

And what about forgiving yourself? I think this is a big one for most of us. We spend so much time and energy beating up on ourselves for things we have done and things we have failed to do. We think we are a failure. But Jesus forgives us even before we ask. Why would we not forgive ourselves? Why carry around a burden when Jesus gives us the opportunity to let it go, just like that? Forgiveness is a powerful force in our world. 

But there is even more to this story. Across the ages people have asked the question: why did Jesus have to die anyway? What was the purpose of his death? There are various answers, called theologies of atonement. One describes “Christ’s death as a substitution for our own,” another describes “Christ paying the penalty for [our] sin.” Yet another says the death is “the victory Christ wins over death and the devil.” (David Lose, source:  http://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?post=2490). 

I like what David Lose has to say about this. The important question is not why Jesus died but for whom. At the last supper, as Jesus took the bread and blessed it and said, “This is my body which is given for you.”  (ibid). 

Those last two words, for you, make all the difference. He died for those disciples, even Judas who would betray him, and Peter who would deny him. He died for them because he loved them. He died for us because he loves us too. He suffers an excruciating death, so that we might see the power of new life in his resurrection. He dies so that we might have hope in life. 

Jesus died for you and for me. Jesus was a gentle soul. He loved with every fiber of his being. He even loved those who would kill him. He forgave them. He loved his disciples, even when they failed him. He loves you and me. He knows we are imperfect and we make mistakes and yet he loved us enough to go to the cross and die. He could have saved himself but he did not. 

And so he calls us to live as his people. This means we forgive one another. Even when it’s really hard to do. We forgive because Jesus forgave. And he calls us to live as a people who, though we are imperfect, are still full of his love. Jesus gave his life so we might know the fullness of God’s love for us. So as we go through this Holy Week and move toward a glorious Easter Sunday, remember that Jesus gave his life for you, because he loves you. Amen.