Good Friday?

Jesus was arrested and led away sometime after midnight. His hands were bound, the same hands that had healed the sick. Luke 22:63 tells us Jesus was blindfolded and beaten, scourged and condemned to death by crucifixion. Luke 23:33 gives a very brief statement about the Crucifixion: "When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him."

Construction-grade spikes were driven into his wrists, another driven through his legs. To breathe, Jesus had to push up on the nails securing his feet, and in this position, he uttered his final words. According to historians, people who were crucified commonly uttered words of wrath toward those who were involved in the execution.

But, from 1 Peter 2:23: "Then they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when He suffered, he made no threats." Hear the words of grace as Jesus gasped for air: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing . . ." (Luke 23:34) Jesus prayed repeatedly for their forgiveness. What we know as Good Friday was not a good day for Jesus, but a bad one-a very bad one, a day of betrayal, beatings, violence, rejection, pain and loneliness.

In his pain and suffering, Jesus prayed for those who were putting him to death. The prayers' basis is that they do not know what they are doing-that is, they do not realize the wrong that they are perpetrating.

A lesson for us is that we also need to forgive those who try to ruin our lives. In Rabbi Kushner's book, he explained "why bad things happen to good people"-- that God always wills good to be achieved, but does not cause good to occur. God makes it possible for good to result in any situation, but it is up to human choice as to the outcome. Through free will, people make their own decision whether they will follow God or go against him.

People are going to commit sin and often hurt others along the way. Oftentimes we just happen to be in their path. Jesus points us to a starting place in dealing with the hurt that people inflict on us, and that starting place is the realization that people often don't know what they're doing.

That probably isn't the way many of us feel about hurtful situations. We tend to see things from the viewpoint of our own personal negative experiences so we conclude that when bad things happen to us, it appears whoever wronged us knew exactly what they were doing. They didn't really seem to care what they were doing to us, so we become bitter. Why do we need to learn to forgive? We need to learn forgiveness because true forgiveness springs from an attitude of gratitude to God for his forgiving us.

Ephesians 4:32 tells us: "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

We all want to be forgiven and to experience the emotional and spiritual release that results from having the burden for past wrongs lifted from us. Forgiving those who hurt us is the key to not being victimized by them. When we learn to forgive and forget we find peace of mind amid life's difficul

ties. The Rev. Jon Wilson lives in Calabasas and is senior pastor of Canoga Park Presbyterian Church, 22103 Vanowen St., Canoga Park. You may hear him on Sundays at the 9:30 a.m. worship service, or contact him at Jonwclergy@aol.com.