One of life’s scariest moments comes when, two or three days after you have taken an exam at school, the teacher shows up ready to pass out the results. Maybe you sit poised on the edge of your chair, if you think you’ve done well; or you slump down in the seat, trying to look as though you’re not there if you suspect you did badly. And in a few moments, the verdict – pass or fail, Grade A or Grade Z, the day of judgment.
One of my old English professors used to introduce that moment, just before he handed out the test results, by asking the class a rhetorical question. Mr. Walker would always ask us, “Which counts off more in my class, ignorant errors or careless mistakes?” And without waiting for our reply, he would shake a bony finger at us and answer his own question, “Which counts off more, ignorant errors or careless mistakes? They count off the same!” If it’s wrong, it’s wrong, and it doesn’t matter how you got it wrong. If it’s wrong, it’s wrong, whether it be an ignorant error – because you didn’t know what you were doing – or a careless mistake – because you did know what you were supposed to do, but messed up. Either way, you are just as wrong, just as guilty, just as marked down.
I used to drive 16th St. every day to work in a position I once held. You may have noticed that at some of the intersections along 16th St., the traffic lights are obscured by overgrown branches. If you don’t know where the lights are, it’s easy to miss them and to run a red light. The first few times I drove that street, I ran a few red lights. That was an ignorant error. But after I got used to the street, I noticed that there was almost never any traffic at some of those intersections. That made it easy for me to – well, roll forward – instead of stopping. I guess you could call that a careless mistake. Either way, however, it was illegal! Either way, it was wrong.
The night before they had gathered around a table in an upper room somewhere in the city, and Jesus had spoken of betrayal. Someone, He had said, would betray Him into the hands of those who would put Him to death. All of them, one by one, had wondered, “Is it I, Lord? Is it I?” As if to say that they did know, didn’t they, that down deep inside each one of them had the capacity to go so far astray? Would it be an ignorant error, or would it be a careless mistake? Or would it be something else that might drive them to betray?
And then all of them had gone to the Garden, in the place for which this very church is named, Gethsemane. Some had followed at a distance, but a few had come up close. A few had been invited into their Master’s heart, to witness His struggle in prayer. But – what happened? Were they tired? Were they bored? Was it an ignorant error? Or was it a careless mistake? They went to sleep. They failed the test. Simple friendship ought to have kept them alert, but it did not. Ignorant error? Careless mistake? Or something else?
And then a whirlwind of activity. A torrent of passions run wild. A trial before the priests, a scourging and a mocking at the Roman governor’s palace. A long, hard pull through the streets of city, carrying the instrument of execution. And now this. This! This terrible moment, this awesome time, the Cross. He is hung there, flung high and wild against an Eastern sky, left to the elements, consigned to the jackals. To die. To die.
And from His lips the first of His words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
They know not? Or maybe they do? Was it an ignorant error that they put Jesus on that cross? Or was it a careless mistake? Both count the same. He is just as dead, either way? Or was it something else?
Look with me at those who participated in this thing. Those whom Jesus forgave. Did they make ignorant errors, or blunder into careless mistakes, or was it something else?
I
First, there is the anonymous “they”. They crucified him. They. No names, no ranks, no serial numbers. Just they. Oh, friends, let’s not get caught up in the issues brought up by the film, “The Passion of the Christ.” Let’s not fall into the trap of finger pointing, saying “The Jews” killed him, or the Romans did it, or Pilate, or Judas. It was “they”. It was the crowd. It was the system. It was the way things were. The world has not changed much. So many things happen, and for them we try to assign blame. Lead in the pipes? They should have known better. Terrorism threats? They should have prepared for it. Unemployment? They should provide jobs. Racism? “The man” is to blame. They, they, they. Got to blame someone. But the truth is that all of us get caught up evil systems. All of us get trapped in a world that has lost its way. All of us are part of the anonymous “they”, and “they” – no, we – are responsible for the death of Christ. A human race that has a bent toward sinning has done this. A system that values power over truth has done this. A society that cherishes the status quo over change has done this. We all have done this. “They”. Ignorant errors? Yes, maybe. Careless mistakes? To some degree. But something more. Something more.
II
Not only is Jesus forgiving the anonymous “they”, but look. He is also forgiving those who cast lots over His clothing. He is offering His word to those who gladly profit from others’ misfortunes. He is pointing to those of us who are secretly pleased that others are in jeopardy, because that is our chance! That is our opportunity! I’ve had occasion lately to deal with the prison system here in the District. Some call it the Corrections system, but I wonder about that. That is another topic, however. I’ve become quite concerned about commercial corrections, about prisons operated for profit. If you make a profit off of every prisoner you incarcerate, what is the incentive to remake his life so that he won’t come back? None, that’s what! If the dollars you get are based on the number of people you lock up, what are you going to hope for? That as many as possible will be locked up in your shop! There are those who profit from the misery of others. And Jesus prays for forgiveness for those who do not know what they are doing – whether it be ignorant error, or careless mistake, or – maybe, just maybe, something else.
Oh, and before we get too smug about others, before we shake our heads at the prison system, let’s check it out. Doesn’t the physician have a vested interest in people being sick? Else he makes no living! And doesn’t the lawyer have a vested interest in people being in legal trouble? Else he goes to the poorhouse? Oh, and I suppose, with my brothers and sisters here on the platform with me, I’d better not mention that even pastors, even preachers, have a vested interest in people being sinners! If there is no sin, we have no job! Jesus prays for the likes of us, casting lots to divide His clothes, profiting from the misery of others. What is that now, an ignorant error? Or a careless mistake? Or something else?
III
“Father, forgive, for they know not what they do?” Are there others here? The anonymous “they”, the gamblers hoping to pick up some free clothes, but more. There are the leaders scoffing. The pundits and the know-it-alls, who have an opinion about everything. Creating sound bites at the foot of the cross: “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one.” About these, Jesus may have said, “They know not what they do”. But in their own minds, they have it all together. They are the folks in the know. They will appear on your television screen and tell you how ignorant you are, that you have voted for the wrong person, the wrong policy, the wrong everything. They will swarm all over the landscape from now until the first Tuesday in November and will assassinate one another’s characters, will propose solutions for everything from a faltering economy to the homeland security, and everything in between. I don’t know, they may tell us that if we elect them they will cure the common cold and give every child a 1600 SAT score!
Do you see them, around this cross, the political vultures who love to accuse their opponents? Do you hear them, at Calvary, the powerful and platitudinous, who put down all those with different ideas, all those who would challenge their pretensions? Oh, brothers and sisters, we resist change. We are not open to growth. Every new idea knocks the breath out of us. And when someone like Jesus comes along, with new truth, a new approach, a new way, and it seems to fail and falter, how quick we are to laugh and to scoff! How ready we are to slam-dunk their reputations! What is that all about? Is it just because we don’t know? Is it an ignorant error? Or is it because we don’t care? Is it a careless mistake? Or, again, is it something else altogether?
IV
Stay with me now. I’m not quite finished. There are others around this cross. There are others Jesus forgave, who “knew not what they were doing”. The anonymous “they”, the gamblers looking for a freebie, the powerful protecting their power, and finally, the soldiers, just doing their job. The soldiers, just following orders. The soldiers, who would have said, “I don’t enjoy crucifixions. But it’s a dirty job, and somebody has to do it.” The soldiers, who also mocked him and offered him wine and taunted Him. Just doing their jobs.
As do we. As do we. Just going on about our daily business. Just glad that we are able to live normal lives with normal people in a normal house in a normal community. Just glad that what happens out there on the street doesn’t happen to us. Just vaguely sorry that there is injustice out there, but it hasn’t touched us. That there is violence out there, but we keep clear of it. That there is racism over there on the other side of the park or in Adams-Morgan or in the suburbs, but hey, it doesn’t touch me, so why I should I worry? I am just doing my job, soldiering on.
And Jesus weeps, I think, more at that than for all the others put together. For we who are so normal, we who are so ordinary, we who are so commonplace, there couldn’t be anything wrong with us, could there? Or could there? Or is there? What is it, then? Have we grown used to ignorant errors? Have we fallen into careless mistakes? Or is it something else?
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, let us name at last the something else. Let us discard the notion of ignorant errors. Let us set aside fooling ourselves about careless mistakes. It is neither. It is neither. Our issue is something else. Our issue is sin. Plain old, ordinary, garden-variety sin. For we have gone astray like lost sheep, every one to his own way. And the Lord has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all.
The anonymous “they” They sin. We sin. We sin by blaming others. But we are responsible. We are responsible for our own sin. And that is what put Jesus on the cross.
The gamblers seeking for profit. The profiteers sin. We sin. We sin by cackling with joy when others fail so that we might feel good about ourselves. That is sin, and that is what put Jesus on the cross.
The scoffers, too. The leaders, so-called, pointing fingers and assassinating character. They sin. We sin. We sin by holding on to place and power, no matter what it costs others. That is sin, and that is what put Jesus on the cross.
And the soldiers, the foot-soldiers, the everyday folks like you and me who do what we do, day after day after day, trying not to worry about it, just being normal. That too is sin. Our sin. The sin of everydayness. The sin of being casual and comfortable when all around there is so much need. That is the sin that put Jesus on the cross.
Father, forgive, for we know not what we do. Sometimes it looks like an ignorant error. Sometimes we call it a careless mistake. But both count off. Both are sin, plain old sin. Our disease, our infection. Sin. Father, forgive.
