“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do” Luke 23:34.  This is considered a powerful expression of Jesus’ compassion and forgiveness, even in the midst of his suffering, asking for mercy for those who were in involved in his crucifixion. 

All that Jesus was put through, the betrayal by his followers, the trial, the physical suffering, and he asks the Father to forgive his transgressors. Besides being a powerful example of what we should do, what else can we learn from this? Why is it so important to forgive?

I’m reminded of the story of the two monks who were walking back to the monastery. They came to a woman standing on the bank of a river and she was sobbing. When asked what was wrong, she said she was to be married, but the river was too high for her to cross in her wedding dress. One of the monks picked her up and carried her across the river and set her down on the other side.

They continued on their walk back to the monastery, but the one monk was sulking and upset. After several miles of strained silence, the monk who had carried the woman, turned to the other monk and said “brother what is wrong, you seemed very upset about something”.

The other monk responded angrily – “You know that we are not to have anything to do with women and you picked that woman up and carried her across the river, it is against our rules.”  The monk who had carried the woman responded – “I picked that woman up and carried her across the river and put her down. It is you who have carried her all of these miles.

When we hold a grudge and don’t forgive, it is a burden which we carry, it weighs on us, brings us down, makes us angry and gets in the way of healthy relationships. It can raise our blood pressure, interrupt our sleep and creates undue stress.

Simply stated when we forgive others, it is good for our physical and mental well-being, and improves our relationships with others. It is what Christ wants us to do.