Father, Forgive Them

Sep 17, 2021

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

- Jesus, Luke 23:34

"I'm just a soul whose intentions are good...

Oh Lord!

Please don't let me be Misunderstood."

- "The Animals", Released January 1, 1965 onn the Ed Sullivan Show

In the fall of 1980, Gene Donovan and Maura Clarke, two Catholic Maryknoll sisters, were traveling back to El Salvador from their native Ireland to carry on their ministry to children who were caught in the middle of a brutal civil war. Sister Donovan stopped off at the seminary I was attending in Anderson, Indiana to speak to all of the Religion students about what was happening in El Salvador and how we could help. The guerrilla forces, who lived in the small mountain villages, were fighting to oust an oppressive military government. As a result, the government had shut off all resources and supplies to these mountainous regions, creating a massive humanitarian crisis.

The children in these villages were the innocent victims who suffered the most. So these two Catholic nuns, and several other lay ministers, had set up small medical clinics and food distribution sites in these villages. The problem was that they were perceived by the military government as aiding and supporting the guerrillas. And then, after the military death squads came in and terrorized several villages, the guerrillas believed that Sister Gene and Sister Maura had betrayed them. As much as they pleaded with both sides that they were totally neutral… that they were only there to care for the children… that their only loyalty was to the children and their health.. .they remained misunderstood. The situation became dangerous.

Sister Gene told us that they had spent so much time and energy and resources trying to defend and explain themselves to both sides that it was compromising their work for the children. So, she said, "As we travel back to El Salvador, we have decided that being misunderstood is better than hungry children. We will no longer spend time and energy defending our actions. We will risk being misunderstood to focus our care on these children." In December of 1980 their bodies were discovered in a shallow unmarked grave.

Misunderstanding is always the risk of getting involved, isn't it?

And sometimes the incredible amount of time and energy it takes to explain yourself or to defend yourself compromises the good work you're there to do. Ever had your actions or words misunderstood by an Employer?... or a Friend?... or a Husband or a Wife?... or a Brother or a Sister?... or a Son or a Daughter?... or a Mom or a Dad? Not only is it a frustrating feeling of helplessness, but most of the time it is also one of the most hurtful things we can experience. It makes you feel very alone. Soren Kierkegaard, a philosopher, said,

People understand me so poorly that they don't even understand my complaint about them not understanding me.

Can you relate? Nothing costs as much heartache as the price of being misunderstood by those whose opinions matter to you. Misunderstanding hurts… it hurts bad. So, what can we do? Because from time to time you and I will be misunderstood by those we love. It's going to happen! Mother Teresa remains one of my heroes, not just because she chose to take the tangible love of Jesus to some of the most diseased and forgotten people in the world, but also because she ministered to them under a vicious assault from people who did not understand her. She wrote this:

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered:

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives:

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies:

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, People may cheat you:

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spent years building, someone could destroy overnight:

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, People may be jealous:

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, They will often forget tomorrow:

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough for Them:

Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between You and God:

It was never between you and them anyway!

If, today, you're feeling the loneliness of being misunderstood by someone whose opinion matters to you, consider this: You are in wonderful company!

Socrates was misunderstood. So was Copernicus... and Galileo… and Martin Luther… and Isaac Newton… and Abraham Lincoln… and Martin Luther King Jr… and of course… Lloyd Christmas! Every wise and good spirit who ever took flesh has been misunderstood. Jesus was misunderstood...

Nailed to a cross He did not deserve...

Accused of crimes He did not commit...

Abandoned by those He came to save…

Misunderstood by those He loved, Jesus spoke the most profound words of grace and love the world has ever heard, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."Jesus did not allow the pain of being misunderstood to distract Him from His singular purpose -- to save you and to save me. And neither should we!

Listen… To be enthusiastically involved in loving and caring for people means that at some point, you will be misunderstood by those who love you and by those who don't. So stay strong! Remember… when no one understands you, Jesus does! He understands your every thought, your every feeling, your every fear, your every worry, your every hope, your every disappointment, your every hurt. If you feel assaulted by a crushing wave of misunderstanding by someone whose opinion matters to you… you are NOT alone. Jesus is with you to help you rise above the sadness… and to do for them what He did for you.