“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
(Luke 23:34)
Forgiveness, forgiveness
hoisted aloft
in agony
near death
and from his lips
come words of forgiveness
Of all the things he could have said
the litany of woes and sorrows he could have recited
the folk he might have railed at
the folk he might have cursed
But instead, he implores forgiveness
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”
Those words are for you – and for me
Do you know it?
Dare you believe it?
Forgiven.
We are forgiven
By the one who hung on a cross and died
so that we might be forgiven.
THAT is forgiveness.
“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing”
“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
(Luke 23:43)
After forgiveness comes redemption
the one who proclaims forgiveness
also proclaims redemption
the one who know us
knows all that we are
forgives us
and embraces us
all the way to paradise
promising that we are not only forgiven
but loved and carried
all the way to eternal life
“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
“Woman, here is your son.”
(John 19:26)
Carried in love
in the womb of his mother
cradled in arms that were gentle
nurtured and loved
then released to life
set free to teach and to heal
And now, in the throes of death
filled with compassion
feeling the pain
of the woman who gave him life
the woman who trusted enough
to say Yes! to God’s plan
to say Yes! to a life
of worry and turmoil
the woman who bore
the son of God
and who now shared
the awful pain
of his death
Forgetting his own agony
and reaching out
to ease the pain
of the one
who carried him in love.
“Woman, here is your son”
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
(Mark 15:34)
Darkness, despair, desolation
a loneliness that could not be pierced.
Can we even begin to imagine the depths
that Jesus plumbed in death?
The man surrounded by others all through life
so hopelessly abandoned in death.
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
‘I am thirsty.’ (John 19:28)
Human in birth
human in death
needing love and nurture
companionship
and sustenance
Fully human
Fully divine.
“I am thirsty”
“It is finished.” (John 19:30)
A task completed
a battle won
a love confounded
all said and done
a promise fulfilled
new hope for the world
God’s plan – the gift of God’s own son
“It is finished”
‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ (Luke 23:46)
For God so loved the world
a love not human but divine
a depth not fathomed
love that reaches beyond
the restraints of nature
to grasp the outstretched arms
that embrace the world
Arms outstretched even in death
showing a love
beyond our grasp
and a hope we cannot measure
love stronger than life
stronger than death
“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit
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