"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do"

As I was wrestling with my two children through the longer-than-usual Palm Sunday Mass, I gotta admit I didn’t catch all of the readings.[1]  But one phrase from the second Gospel proclamation was heard loud and clear: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”(Lk 23:34).  I have often considered these words of Jesus to be the most incredible, the most scandalous and yet the most fundamental to our faith as Christians.  Jesus Christ - the pure and blameless One, sent as the Lamb of God and the Savior of the world, after being wrongly accused and brutally beaten, hanging in inscrutable agony on the Cross - what issues forth from his heart in his darkest hour and at the end of his human sensibilities? 

Forgiveness.  Jesus pleads to the Father to forgive his perpetrators. 

What if we took Jesus seriously enough to follow his example?  What if we took seriously the words Jesus instructed us to pray in the Our Father, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”?[2]  What if we yielded to Jesus when he told us plainly, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”[3]

Would it change the way Young Life staff and volunteers treat Catholics?  Would it alter the way Catholics thought of Young Life leaders?  This week as we enter more fully into the Paschal Mystery, I implore us to take up our own crosses and have the courage to echo the words of our Savior and pray:

Father, forgive Young Life staff when their influence, either advertently or inadvertently, pulls kids away from the Catholic Church. . .

and Father, forgive the Catholic Church for failing to provide the dynamic presence and real relationships for so many of its young people who are desperately searching for meaning, belonging and love.

Father, forgive Young Life staff when, in their ignorance, they fail to represent the fullness, richness and beauty of Catholicism, especially for those kids who were raised in that tradition. . .

and Father, forgive Catholics when, in their ignorance, they fail to appreciate the critical and necessary contributions of lay movements like Young Life in meeting the spiritual, social and interpersonal needs of adolescents.

Father, forgive Young Life for not realizing the impact, although sometimes unseen, made by the Catholic Church in the lives of young people (through Catholic education, retreats, youth groups, catechesis, sacramental prep, liturgy, service and relationship). . .

and Father, forgive the Catholic Church when often, under the weight of its own expansive tradition, it loses its grasp on its fundamental mission to present the truth of Jesus Christ in ways that young people find compelling, inspiring and directly applicable to the joys and struggles of adolescent life.

Father, forgive every Christian of every creed when we fail to honor your prayer "that they all may be one."

Father, forgive us, for we know not what we do.  Help us to see that without each other we are mutually impoverished.  Help us to understand that reciprocal rejection leads us only to alienation and ruin.  Help us recognize that we are one body of Christ, sent as Jesus was sent, to serve together as Jesus served, and yes, to forgive one another as Jesus forgave us.

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            [1]  The Palm Sunday celebration of Mass includes five readings from Scripture – the standard Old Testament reading, Responsorial Psalm, New Testament reading and two unabridged readings from the Gospel (this year from the Gospel According to Luke).  The Gospel readings alone cover the Triumphant Entry, the Last Supper, the Agony in the Garden, Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denial, Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin, Jesus appearance before Pilate, the Crucifixion, and Jesus’ burial. 

            [2]  Mt 6:12.

            [3]  Mt. 6:14-15.