The Gospel of the Kingdom

Observations

Writing to the christians in Rome St Paul addressed the idea of revenge. Revenge is a response to a sense of wrong and hurt. It is an outburst of emotion, an animal response. Paul looked at it from two quite different angles:

· Leave a place for divine retribution; vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay

· If your enemy is hungry, feed him …

The first of Paul’s Old Testament texts concedes to God his right to vengeance, and his only. It leaves the repayment in his hands. That frees the injured party from having to do anything. The second text, to heap coals of fire, Jesus himself taught from. Thus Paul moved the matter forward onto a higher level. There is a better way, he wrote. Do not let evil conquer you. Instead use good to conquer evil. This way points the injured party in another direction, which turns the hurt and the injustice into victory and rejoicing.

After all, revenge is a negative line to take. It does not undo what has been done. It does not reform the wrong doer. It adds another wrong to the one already committed. But leaving it to God opens a sure way forward.

The passage from Leviticus adds harbouring a grudge. We know that a grudge harboured eats into the person, embitters them. The passage puts the matter on the level of love, godly love. Jesus himself quoted this text and elevated the principle of love throughout his teaching. Facing crucifixion he asked his Father to forgive those who were mocking him, with a crown of sharp thorns, beating him and spitting on him and taking his clothes. It was a supreme piece of understanding, they did not know what they were doing. That is often the case.

The passage ends by pointing out that God is boss.

The passage from Proverbs is the one which Paul quoted. It adds another consideration: that God can also make amends to the injured party. Thus if God’s way is taken, everyone comes out on top. That is how the kingdom is built.

Love and mercy lead to forgiveness, forgiveness heals

But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who treat you spitefully ... If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners ...

Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned; give, and gifts will be given you. Good measure, pressed and shaken down and running over, will be poured into your lap; for whatever measure you deal out to others will be dealt to you in turn.

(Luke 6:27–38)

Observations

‘I can never forgive’ is a commonly heard pronouncement in modern western society. Jesus taught that we have to forgive, that judgement is for God. Ours is to trust him. Show ourselves to be better people. His grace is sufficient. In forgiving we release God’s power into the situation. Love is a high calling.

· To love is to forgive – then life begins anew, generating more love as things work out.

· Forgiveness emerges as mercy – a chance for all to get themselves right, overcome smarting, guilt and rejection, survive God’s judgement.

These are the pointers Jesus gave:

· love everyone, not just nice people or friendly ones

· don’t judge

· don’t condemn

· pardon

· give

· good measure, pressed down and overflowing.

Jesus said, love (even) your enemies, help them. Someone is unpleasant to us, for some or no reason. That person has a problem, not us. Their problem is keeping them from the kingdom. Help them out of it with a blessing.

In the gravest cases the wrong that was done is irreversible, final. Despite that, those concerned have to go on living. Punishing the offender does not remove the memory of the thing. It does not really ease anyone’s feelings. Harbouring grief intensifies the grief. Harbouring the guilt intensifies the guilt.

In recent years civil authorities in several parts of the world have experimented with the way of forgiveness. Convicted murderers were given an opportunity to come face to face with close relatives of the person they had killed, then to ask for forgiveness and receive it. Among the places where it was tried were

· Spain, with ETA

· Colombia, with the FARC

· the Middle East, with Islamic State.

In each case deliberate killing was a key weapon in fighting for the perceived cause. In Spain the wife of a man who had been murdered spoke afterwards about it in a television documentary. She said, ‘I had to find a way to explain to my teenage daughters, so that they did not become embittered’. She said, 'Hate breeds hate; we don’t want that, we have to find a way to carry on with our lives and live it down’.

Some of the murderers did not take up the offer. Where it was accepted the release of tensions was dramatic, as was the general determination to move on and rebuild the shattered lives. It is interesting that in diverse places, and even with diverse religions, God’s principle was seen to heal.

However hardened the offender may be, they have to live with the knowledge of what they have done until they die. They may not have thought enough to understand the harm they were doing. They may have been indoctrinated and made subject to pressures. Only God knows. A prison is a symbol of the community’s failure to accommodate its inmates outside the prison walls. To bring them back into society is undoubtedly better than any punishment. It benefits everyone, and saves the taxpayer money. It brings joy in heaven.

If the person does not repent, God’s judgement remains, whether the offender believes in it or not.