The fiery forge of forgiveness

One can get a bit of an idea about the importance of a subject in a book by how many times the idea (in all its forms) is used.

For example, Jesus never utters a word about abortion or homosexuality. Nada. There are some extenuating circumstances and certainly the culture and such played a role in that finding. But still, the New Testament isn't exactly rampant with those ideas. Paul is the one who brings us deeply into the discussion about homosexuality. No one talks about abortion. Maybe they were all too busy killing the kids after they were born.

But if you're looking for a dominant theological, moral or ethical subject in both testaments, try "forgive or forgiven or forgiveness." It is second only to the word love. Imagine that. They seem to me to be relatives at worst.

The word forgive appears 56 times.
The word forgiven appears 42 times.
The word forgiveness appears 7 times.

Love appears 310 times. God is love, by the way.

Clearly our ability to forgive was high on Jesus' list of key attributes. Being forgiven, and in return, forgiving others was taught, preached, simply talked about more than anything but two other subjects -- besides love.

I know what you're thinking. I know you're reasoning that Jesus must have considered sermons about Heaven and/or Hell the key to his journey, the motive for his being a prophet, the gel to his Gospel.

Uh, no. The subject he talked about the most was the Kingdom of God (or Heaven, or any variation thereof). That was far and away the thing that motivated him most.

Second? You'll be surprised a bit, I imagine.

Jesus talked about money more than He did Heaven and Hell combined.
Jesus talked about money more than anything else except the Kingdom of God. Eleven of 39 parables talk about money. One of of every seven verses in the Gospel of Luke talk about money. He was enamored with caustic clashes over cash. He was motivated by messages about money.

Money, money, money.

Throw in some talk about the Kingdom's usage of money and the forgiveness fought for by financial finks, well, Jesus spent a lot of time on the subject, more than even my dreams about the stuff.

But let's get back to forgiveness and leave the finances to the politicians.

Jesus taught this and he lived this subject. Hanging bloody and bruised from a terribly painful piece of old wood, he said, though the very effort to talk was a great one because he was losing the ability to breathe while nailed there, "Father, forgiven them, for they know not what they are doing."

Jesus' parables about money, giving of the tithe (10 percent), taking care of money given as a blessing by God, being a good steward of our money were all wonderfully lessons.

But the notion of forgiving that which has been done to us? Forgetting about the insult? Letting go of the perceived penalty? Letting God be in charge of the judging? Well, who wouldathunkit?

There's power there for the taking, by the way. True power, and a resulting peace. It was the very act of forgiving sins on Earth that showed who Jesus. In Luke's Gospel, "the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, 'Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!' ”

Those watching, and paying attention, were convinced not by the miracles but by the forgiveness. Walking on water paled in comparison to loving an enemy. They were not changed nor were they saved nor were they made new by even watching the raising of the dead, but someone calling for forgiveness when harmed and hurt instead of crying out for vengeance and retribution? That was truly transformative. Still is.

Try it for yourself. Take the hurt and transform it to healing and watch carefully the person who has hurt you.You can change the world by allowing God to change you into someone who forgives the injury.

See, for Jesus, forgiving sins was a continuation of or the completion of healing. It was this that made the broken pieces of this vast puzzle we call life from time to time become whole again. Forgiveness is the glue that cements those pieces together. Love is but the glaze that makes the puzzle last, the final step in the wonderfully imaginative process.

In the time of the sword, Jesus changed the fiery forge to the sweetness of someone offering forgiveness. Grace and mercy are compadres to forgiveness.

Over 2,000 years or so later, we've never again reached a moment such as the one that brought tears to his mother's eyes from the cross. I imagine she never truly forgave those who killed her son. Could, would, you?

It would take a God to do that, or the fabulously fortunate human who has been transformed, saved, put back together again by someone named Jesus.