When they came to a place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."    

"I wake up every evening with a big smile on my face, and it never feels out of place. When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, when you walk my way, hope it gives you hell. Where'd it all go wrong: the list goes on and on. And truth be told, I miss you, and truth be told, I’m lying. If you find a man that’s worth a damn and treats you well, then he’s a fool, hope it gives you hell. You'll never see what you've done to me. Now you can take your memories: they're no good to me, and here's all your lies. Hope it gives you hell." 

The song "Gives You Hell" from the All American Rejects is a song of pain and a desire to hurt another in some way. There has been a bitter breakup in the past, and now the person in the song is showing revenge to his once-upon-a-time girlfriend. The person who has been hurt wants to remind the other about past harmful behavior, and hopes that such a reminder will destroy any sense of happiness. The person in the song is wishing mental harm upon the other.

If human reason would have been the principal thought of the man Jesus when he was crucified, there would have been every cause for him to wish harm on those who crucified him.  After all, he had done nothing except preach a doctrine of love. His only crime was one of preaching that doctrine in a way that did not agree with the religious leaders. They wanted him out of the way, and they achieved their purpose. But Jesus did not act in a human way toward his enemies and executioners. He had preached a doctrine of love of others during his life; he lived it out at his death. His only reaction was to forgive.

The song contains the very human reaction to a situation in which a person has been hurt. Our human natures do not like to be hurt, and we will react accordingly. Sometimes such a reaction is physical, and something is done against the person who has caused the harm. Most of the time, however, we will not cause physical harm; we will only think about doing something to the person who has hurt us or talk about such a person in a harmful way. In many ways, perhaps, such a mental desire to harm another is just as bad as doing physical harm because the mental state will usually last longer, and further infect our minds in a negative way.

Whatever the desire to harm others, whether physically or existing only in our thoughts and words, it is not consistent with being a follower of Jesus. By his reaction at his crucifixion, Jesus makes it very clear that forgiveness must be the guide we accept when we have been hurt. It is not easy because our human natures want to retaliate, and we even feel that we are justified in seeking revenge, as the song implies. But difficult or not, if we accept the challenge to be Christian, we will learn to forgive. We will learn to forgive everyone, even those who have no desire to refrain from doing the things that are harming us, indeed, even those who want to bring about our death.

Jesus' doctrine of forgiveness will change the way we live. If we allow it to cover every aspect of our lives, our eternal lives with God will be a certainty.

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we carefully study the reaction of your Son as he endured his human death. It is a tremendous lesson of how we should behave when we are harmed by another. Help us to learn well your desire that we must be forgiving people. Be with us, we pray. 

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America