Septem Verba: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

A meditation & prayer on forgiveness and ignorance at the foot of the Cross.

And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. — Luke 23:32-34a (KJV)

Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

     Forgiveness.

          Ignorance.

               They come together here,
               and what sense
               should we make of it?

Some say that one can only forgive another when the other asks for forgiveness, in other words, that forgiveness has a prerequisite, that prerequisite being the request for forgiveness, a request usually accompanied by an admission of wrong. Some go further and say that forgiveness also requires that the offender give evidence of contrition or remorse. Even without such a stringent standard, we must admit that the offender who is ignorant of the fact that he or she has committed an offense is unlikely to come to the offended and ask forgiveness. Those who think along these lines would say that, where there is no repentance, there can be no forgiveness. For such as these, Jesus’ plea to his Father makes no sense because Jesus can’t forgive unrepentant sinners.

Others say that forgiveness is only necessary where there is culpability, that is, where the offender not only knowingly did what was wrong but also knew that it was wrong when he or she did it. If the offender did not know that what he or she was doing was wrong, then the offender is not really guilty of anything. According to this line of thought, the offender isn’t a sinner. For those who think this way, Jesus’ pleas to his Father makes no sense because Jesus can’t forgive those who aren’t sinners.

Still others say that ignorance is the very basis for forgiveness, in other words, that it is a mitigating circumstance. A wrong can be horribly wrong, but the ignorance of the offender puts the offender in a position where forgiveness is possible because, had the offender not been ignorant of what he or she was doing when he or she did it, forgiveness might be out of the question.

None of this helps me.

Sinner that I am,

     I sin.

     I sin in thought.

     I sin in word.

     I sin in deed.

     I sin by what I’ve done, and
     I sin by what I’ve left undone.

     I knowingly sin, and
     I unknowingly sin.

     I know I sin.

     I know what I do is sin.

     I know, when I am sinning, it is sin.

     I know that I am sin.

When I consider my wretched condition, what good are sophisticated arguments about the interrelationship of forgiveness in ignorance?

     Repentant or unrepentant…

          Jesus, forgive me.

     Knowing or ignorant…

          Jesus, forgive me.

     Bold or timid…

          Jesus, forgive me.

     Doubting your forgiveness…

          Jesus, forgive me.