“Seventy times Seven………”

John Searl reflects on society’s attitude to crime and punishment…

Whenever a notorious crime comes to judgement, somebody will come to the television cameras and say that the perpetrators should be locked up and the keys thrown away. And we can have sympathy for the distressed relative, for the outraged friend or neighbour. Crime and its punishment is a constant cause for concern and worry.

And so the issue of forgiveness confronts us time and again in our everyday life as individuals, as communities and as a society. Forgiveness does not come cheaply. It is costly. It demands sacrifices, it means giving up the notion of justice that calls for punishment, for retribution or revenge; giving up that notion of justice that calls for an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

In a parable Jesus told how a vineyard owner came to an unfruitful fig tree and wants it cut down but is prevailed upon to give it a second chance. And Jesus told us that the Kingdom of God is like that: there is always a second chance with God. When Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother, suggesting seven times, he is disconcerted by the reply ‘No! Seventy times seven’. There is no limit to God’s forgiveness of our failings, our foolishnesses, our self-centredness. And that is an awe-inspiring aspect of God’s love. It is so immense it can intimidate us, even terrify us. Like Isaiah that vision of God makes us aware of our inadequacies, our incompleteness.

There is a line in Psalm 130, which goes: ‘If you were to note what is done amiss, O Lord, who could stand? For there is forgiveness with you, therefore you shall be feared!’ God’s forgiveness is unconditional, it does not depend on repentance; repentance is not a pre-condition for forgiveness. Rather God’s forgiveness makes repentance possible, makes a new beginning possible. God’s forgiveness turns on its head human forgiveness, which often demands repentance first. ‘What god can compare with you’ wrote the prophet Micah ‘taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger forever but delighting in showing mercy?’

God’s capacity for forgiveness is awe-inspiring but while it provides an opportunity for a new beginning it does not take away the hurt caused by past failures nor does it guarantee repentance. The scars on Jesus did not magically disappear at the resurrection but the resurrection was a sign of God’s forgiveness. It gave the opportunity for a new beginning. The consequences of sin do not magically disappear. The scars remain and sometimes give pain. But forgiveness makes possible a new beginning. It is that capacity to forgive that humans, who are made in the image of God, possess that makes possible new beginnings in places scarred by the sins of history, sins which if left unforgiven fester into hate and destructiveness. It is that capacity for forgiveness which is God’s gift to men and women which makes possible the hope of the prophet Isaiah that instead of the thorn bush the pine tree will grow, instead of the brier, the myrtle.

In the procedures that society adopts to cope with crime and punishment, forgiveness has a crucial role to play.

John Searl