Reflection on the first word
Father, forgive them
As Jesus lay hanging on the cross, the first words he uttered are words of forgiveness instead of hatred and vengeance, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
There are two realities to this: first, Jesus' willingness to forgive not a few, but all of us. But the second one is worth reflecting: "for they know not what we do."
It pays to realize that we do not know what we are doing in this world. If we know what we are doing, we could not have acted the way we are doing today, considering the coldness of our actions and dedication to God while we pour out all efforts making things work in our companies where we are paid. We may not know it, but because we know not what we do, we consequently put Jesus on the cross.
We know not what we do when we think that life is simply eating and drinking, raising a family, doing a bit of good, and dying.
We know now what we are doing when we think religion is for kids.
We know not what we are doing when we think sin is only personal and not social and intergenerational. What results is one big mess: because of our lack of faith, the children of this generation are dying.
Though Jesus always extends his hands to forgive us, let us make an effort to authentic conversion. "If only we had known!" If we confess our ignorance and open our world to God, then Jesus will forgive us. It only takes an open heart, not a closed one, to realize that Jesus can indeed free us from the mess we are in.
If we let the words, "For we know not what we do" sink in us every time we do something, we shall always seek to do God's will and cause the salvation of other. Then we shall truly know the path to salvation!
As Jesus lay hanging on the cross, the first words he uttered are words of forgiveness instead of hatred and vengeance, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
There are two realities to this: first, Jesus' willingness to forgive not a few, but all of us. But the second one is worth reflecting: "for they know not what we do."
It pays to realize that we do not know what we are doing in this world. If we know what we are doing, we could not have acted the way we are doing today, considering the coldness of our actions and dedication to God while we pour out all efforts making things work in our companies where we are paid. We may not know it, but because we know not what we do, we consequently put Jesus on the cross.
We know not what we do when we think that life is simply eating and drinking, raising a family, doing a bit of good, and dying.
We know now what we are doing when we think religion is for kids.
We know not what we are doing when we think sin is only personal and not social and intergenerational. What results is one big mess: because of our lack of faith, the children of this generation are dying.
Though Jesus always extends his hands to forgive us, let us make an effort to authentic conversion. "If only we had known!" If we confess our ignorance and open our world to God, then Jesus will forgive us. It only takes an open heart, not a closed one, to realize that Jesus can indeed free us from the mess we are in.
If we let the words, "For we know not what we do" sink in us every time we do something, we shall always seek to do God's will and cause the salvation of other. Then we shall truly know the path to salvation!
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