Father, forgive them.
I’m taking a quick break from my weekly paper writing. I was recently asked by my pastor, who didn’t know better :), to give a short meditation to speak in church on Jesus’ first statement while on the cross. I thought I’d post it, because in seeing Jesus’ reaction, I was immediately reminded of my failure to be anything like him when I was going though very painful times in my life, specifically my ugly church experiences where I made many enemies. It has been an inspiration for me to read and think about this moment in Jesus’ life, and is a story about a person’s heart that we should all strive for, whether Christian or not.
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.†And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. – Luke 23:33-34