GENERAL AUDIENCE POPE FRANCIS
Wednesday, 28 September 2016
31. Forgiveness on the Cross (cfr Lk 23:39-43)
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Dear Brother and Sisters, Good
morning!
The words that Jesus pronounces
during his Passion find their peak in forgiveness. Jesus forgives: “Father,
forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). These are not only
words, they become a concrete act of forgiveness offered to the “good thief”
who was beside Him. Saint Luke writes of the two criminals who
were crucified with Jesus, who turn to Him with contradictory attitudes.
The first criminal
insults Him as all the people had insulted Him, as the rulers of the people had
done, but this poor man, driven by despair says: “Are you not the Christ? Save
yourself and us!” (Lk 23:39). This cry testifies to the anguish of man before
the mystery of death and the tragic awareness that only God can be the
liberating answer: it is therefore unthinkable that the Messiah, the One sent
by God, can be on the cross and yet doing nothing to save himself. And they did
not understand this. They did not understand the mystery of Jesus’ sacrifice.
However, Jesus saved us by remaining on the Cross. We all know
that it is not easy “to remain on the cross”, on our little everyday crosses.
He remained this way, on this great cross, in this great suffering, and there
he saved us; there, he showed us his omnipotence and there he has forgiven us.
There, he carries out his gift of love, and gave rise to our salvation springs.
By dying on the Cross, innocent between two criminals, He certifies that the
salvation of God can reach any man in any condition, even in the most negative
and painful condition.
God’s salvation is for everyone,
without exception. It is offered to everyone. This is why the Jubilee is a time
of grace and of mercy for everyone, the good and the bad, those who are healthy
and those who suffer. Remember the parable in which Jesus speaks of the
marriage feast of the son of a powerful man of the land: when the guests did
not want to come, he said to his servants:
“Go therefore to the
thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find” (Mt 22:9).
We are all called: the good and the bad. The Church is not only for
those who are good or those who seem good or believe they are good; The Church
is for everyone, and even preferably for those who are bad, because the Church
is mercy. And this time of grace and mercy reminds us that nothing can separate
us from the love of Christ! (cf. Rom 8:39). To the one who is nailed to a
hospital bed, to one who lives locked in a prison, to those who are trapped by
war, I say: look at the Crucifix; God is with you all, he remains with you on
the cross and offers himself as Saviour to all of us. To those of you who are
in great suffering I say, Jesus is crucified for you, for us, for everyone.
Allow the power of the Gospel to penetrate your heart and console you, to give
you hope and the intimate certainty that no one is excluded
from his forgiveness. You might ask me: “Tell me, Father, does a man who has
done the worst things in his life, have the chance of being forgiven?” — “Yes! Yes: no one is excluded from the
forgiveness of God. One need only draw near to Jesus, penitently, with the
desire to be embraced by Him”.
This was the first criminal. The
other is the one known as the “good thief”. His words are a wonderful
example of repentance, a catechesis centred on learning to ask Jesus for
forgiveness. First, he turns to his companion: “Do you not fear God, since you
are under the same sentence of condemnation?” (Lk 23:40). In this way he highlights
the starting point of repentance: the fear of God. Not the dread of
God, no: the filial fear of God. It is not dread, but that respect
that is due to God because He is God. It is a filial respect because He is
Father. The good thief recalls the fundamental attitude that opens the way for
trusting in God: the awareness of his omnipotence and of his infinite goodness.
It is this trusting respect that helps to make room for God and for trust in
his mercy. Then the good thief declares Jesus’ innocence and openly confesses
his own guilt: “And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of
our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong” (Lk 23:41).
Therefore, Jesus is there on the
cross to be with those who are guilty: through this closeness, He offers them
salvation. That which was a scandal to the leaders and the first thief, to
those who were there and those who mocked Jesus, is, on the other hand, the
foundation of the good thief’s faith. Thus he becomes a witness of Grace; the
unthinkable happened: God loved me so much that he died on the Cross for me.
This man’s very faith is a fruit of Christ’s grace: his eyes contemplate, on
the Crucifix, the love God has for him, a poor sinner. It is true, he was a
thief, he was a crook, he had stolen things throughout his life. But in the
end, he regretted what he had done, and, seeing Jesus, so good and merciful, he
managed to steal Heaven: he is a great thief, this man!
The good thief finally addresses
Jesus directly, invoking his help: “Jesus, remember me when you come in your
kingly power” (Lk 23:42). He calls him by name, “Jesus”, with confidence, and
thus confesses what that name means: “the Lord saves”: this is what the name
“Jesus” means. That man asks Jesus to remember him. There is so much tenderness
in this expression, so much humanity! It is the need of the human being not to
be forsaken; that God may be always near. In this way a man condemned to death
becomes an example, a model for a man, for a Christian who trusts in Jesus; and
also a model of the Church who invokes the Lord so often in the liturgy,
saying: “Remember... Remember your love...”.
While the good thief speaks of
the future, saying: “when you come in your kingly power”,
Jesus’ answer does not leave him waiting; he speaks of the present: he says “today you
will be with me in Paradise” (v. 43). In the hour of the cross, the salvation
of Christ reaches its height; and his promise to the good thief
reveals the fulfillment of his mission: that is, to save sinners. At the
beginning of his ministry, in the synagogue of Nazareth, Jesus had proclaimed
“release to the captives” (Lk 4:18); in Jericho, in the house of Zacchaeus, a
public sinner, Jesus declared that “the Son of man”, that is, He Himself, has
come “to seek and to save the lost” (Lk 19:10).
On the Cross, his last act
confirms the fulfillment of this plan of salvation. From beginning to end, He
revealed Himself as Mercy, He revealed Himself as the definitive and
unrepeatable Incarnation of the Father’s love. Jesus is truly the face of the
Father’s mercy. And the good thief called him by name: “Jesus”. It is a short
invocation, and we can all make it several times during the day: “Jesus”.
Simply, “Jesus”. Let us do so throughout the day.
APPEAL FOR PEACE IN SYRIA
My thoughts turn once again to
the beloved and tormented Syria. Traumatic news regarding the fate of the
people of Aleppo continues to reach me. I join in their suffering through
prayer and spiritual closeness. I express my deep sorrow and deep concern for
what is happening in this already battered city, where so many defenseless
persons — among them children, young, elderly and sick people — are dying, so
many ... I renew my appeal to all for their commitment to the protection of
civilians as an imperative and urgent obligation. I appeal to the conscience of
those responsible for the bombing, you will be accountable before God!
Special greetings:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors
taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Scotland,
Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia,
South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, South Africa, Australia, Canada and the United
States of America. I extend a special greeting to the seminarians of the
Pontifical North American College and their families gathered in Rome for the
ordination to the Diaconate to be celebrated tomorrow. May God bless you all!
I extend a special greeting to young people,
to the sick, and to newlyweds. May the example
of charity of St Vincent de Paul, whom we remembered yesterday as the patron of
charitable associations, lead you, dear young people, to fulfil
your future plans with a cheerful and impartial service to your neighbour. May
it help you, dear sick people, to face suffering with your gaze
turned to Christ. And may it encourage you, dear newlyweds, to
build a family always open to the poor and to the gift of life.
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