Dear congregation, dear friends.
In a little booklet of quotations from Martin Luther, entitled: “Comforted Despair – a collection of Luther’s words”, I found a quote that spoke directly to my heart and brought me to think deeply about this matter. It said:
“We must all be found among those, for whom Christ said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing!”
The Words of Jesus mentioned here are of course from the Passion narrative of Luke (23,34) and there they are being said about the men, that are crucifying Jesus, the Roman soldiers who are nailing him to the cross. Why should I identify with them? Because crucifying Jesus is not something we can just push aside and lay to the blame of those men, as if we were neutral bystanders. The crucifixion of Jesus happened because the system could not tolerate what this man from Nazareth was proclaiming. He proclaimed, for instance, God’s forgiveness to sinners, without expecting them to first try to get their life into some kind of order or attempt to live without sin. He vehemently criticised the Temple system that was exploiting the people through its religiously hyped up pressure on their consciences. He called on his followers to accept all people graciously, and care especially for the poor and for those who were excluded from the society as “unacceptable elements”.
So we need to ask ourselves: At which point would we come to the conclusion that this man from Nazareth is dangerous and needs to be eliminated? When will we become too irritated about Jesus insisting on loving everybody?
The quote from Luther puts us together with those who crucify Jesus and yes, that is where we belong. But it also reminds us, that even these are included in the unbelievably huge forgiveness Jesus brought to the world. This brings me to the “comforted despair” of which the title of the booklet speaks. I too am included in God’s unconditional grace and forgiving love – even though I often find myself being really angry about God’s inclusivity. May God give this comfort to us all.
With greetings in Christ,
Pastor Felix Meylahn
