As we head into the Lenten season, I wanted to do something different with the blog. I am not one for giving something up for Lent, but I always try to turn my focus to God during this season. With that in mind, I wanted to spend the next 6 weeks of Lent and Holy Week writing blog posts that will help in this effort. Each week I will write about one of the Seven Last Words from the Cross. I will try to explain how we can apply those words to the political discourse of today.
The first recorded words that Christ Jesus muttered on the cross were, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” This phrase comes from the 24th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. At his lowest point, Jesus appealed to his Father, our God in heaven, for the forgiveness of those who were crucifying him. Jesus was not thinking of himself when he was suffering and dying on the cross. He was giving forgiveness to those who did not deserve it. That is what our Savor did, and that is what we are called to do.
In our politics, it is so easy to vilify those who do not hold the same beliefs as us. There are so many sides that are waring in our political world today. You have Republicans vs. Democrats, right vs. left, pro-life vs. pro-choice. We sit behind a screen and virtually shout at the people we don’t agree with. Where there is a protest there is always a counter-protest. These people may have not done anything to each other personally, but they reject each other for the fact that they don’t believe the same thing. Politics today is about having enemies everywhere.
This is also a world where ‘Cancel Culture’ is prevalent. This is not one-sided. Everyone tries to cancel everyone on the other side. In politics, people are more likely to ruin someone’s career and take away their livelihood than they are to forgive them.
I will admit that I am of this world. It is hard for me to get along with those that have views different than mine. I would rather speak than listen. I would rather vilify than commend. I would rather look for the bad in people instead of the good. I would rather reject those that hurt me than forgive them. I fall short of the example my Savior set for me on the cross some 2,000 years ago. I refuse to forgive or even begin to accept those that I consider enemies.
If we want to grow as a people and as a nation we need to heed the example that our Lord set on the cross. If he was willing to forgive those who were crucifying him then we should be able to forgive those who we believe have hurt us. There are going to be people that use words to crucify us for what we believe in. We should be able to forgive those people. There are going to people people that believe things that we feel are immoral. We should be able to understand them and learn from them. We should be able to forgive people instead of canceling them. We should be able to forgive those that try to cancel us. Even if we fall short, which we will, we can simply tolerate and understand those on the other side. It is all about putting your best foot forward. It is about being the person Jesus was while he was suffering on the cross.
We have the greatest example of forgiveness. In a sense, on the cross, Jesus was forgiving us. He was there taking on our sins. He was dying for us and in his death, came our forgiveness. As we move through this season of Lent, I will try to change the way I interact with those that don’t agree with me. I will try to forgive those who would hate me. I hope everyone can also learn forgiveness from the example that Christ Jesus set for us on the cross. If we just do this, we would have a much healthier political discourse.
Politics with Kegan Prentice 