Forgive us as we forgive

It's no longer remarkable to read of a mass shooting in the USA. Sadly, it seems it is becoming a trend. The most recent episode in this tragic saga is the shooting murder of 9 people in a church in Charleston, South Carolina. Speaking of this event, President Obama said

As much as we grieve this particular tragedy, it’s important to step back and recognise that these tragedies have become far too commonplace.

He went on to reject the notion that Americans should accept that this state of affairs is "the new normal". One can only pray that Americans take steps to mitigate the factors that lead to these events, such as the widespread availability of firearms, and the interracial tensions which seem to have fuelled Dylann Roof's killing spree.

What is remarkable about this incident is the response of the survivors and the victims' families. When the alleged gunman appeared in court via video link, the friends and family of the victims confronted him – not with blame and hatred – but with prayers and offers of forgiveness.

It's truly a remarkable response. And even non-Christians recognise it.

I am a non-Christian, and I must say: This is a remarkable advertisement for Christianity. https://t.co/rmMgD5S013

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) June 19, 2015

But for Christians, this response is not so much a surprise but an affirmation of what we know we should do. Forgiveness is at the heart of Christian thinking. It's never easy to forgive, but Christians know it is part of their calling.

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray he taught them to ask that God would

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

When a Christian asks for forgiveness, we ask knowing that our forgiveness is conditional on our being people who forgive. So for Christians it is no light matter to hold a grudge. It's deadly.

It's deadly because it might reveal that we haven't got a hold on the matter that lies at the heart of our own faith.

When asked about forgiveness, Jesus tells this parable.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’

Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

‘Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

‘At this the servant fell on his knees before him. “Be patient with me,” he begged, “and I will pay back everything.” The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.

‘But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. “Pay back what you owe me!” he demanded.

‘His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.”

‘But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

‘Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” In anger his master handed him over to the gaolers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

‘This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’

Christians understand that all their sins are forgiven. And that if we have had our massive debt cancelled (ten thousand bags of gold in Jesus' story) then we should in turn cancel the debts owed to us.

At the heart of the Christian message is the logic of forgiveness ...

God has forgiven our sins
So we forgive others in kind
So we pray God will forgive our sins

Christians are confident that God has forgiven them because they understand from Jesus' teaching that God's objective is reconciliation and rebuilding our broken relationship with him. That process is complete in the sense that Jesus has already reconciled us to God, but is incomplete in that Christians still sin.

In the same way, reconciliation and repairing relationships is the goal of our forgiving each other. The response of the Charleston shooting victims is a clear picture of this.

Forgiveness is always costly, since it means putting aside one's desire for revenge or redress from the perpetrator. While there's no talk of letting the shooter avoid the legal process, the Charleston victims seem to be genuinely concerned for Dylann Roof – a concern he didn't show those he shot.

Ironically, it appears that Roof and his family are themselves churchgoers. One of the comments on the Daily Mail site states

Real Christianity in action! The bible is full of violence, in fact the world would turn to a living hell if Christians start following the Bible just as this lad did.

Is that a fair critique of Christianity?

This is not the place to discuss violence in the Bible, or more broadly the sins of Christians, but what should be plain is that the starting point for any Christian is they have a need for forgiveness. Anyone who denies they are a sinner could not recite the Lord's Prayer with any honesty.

But if you want to score a body blow against a Christian, perhaps you might point out that he is being unforgiving. Now that strikes at the heart of the Christian message. Because a Christian who holds a grudge, or seeks revenge, is at a deep level denying the basic message of Jesus. A message that speaks of reconciliation between God and mankind, and ultimately between all men.

But be careful when you make this accusation against a Christian!

She might forgive you.