Beloved, never avenge yourselves
but leave room for the wrath of God
for it is written
“vengeance is mine, I will repay
says the Lord.”
Romans 12:19
Over the last year or so there
have been a number of disturbing posts on social media sites about what to do
with those who commit sex offenses, especially offenses against children. Occasionally there is a picture that seems to
come right out of Dante’s Inferno. While I understand that these posts are meant
to express the depth of the disgust that people have with those who commit some
of the most heinous crimes, they still disturb me because they seem to leave
the Christian concept of repentance,
forgiveness, and rehabilitation entirely behind.
A similar sort of outrage was
often expressed after the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 and the more recent
Boston Marathon bombing. Many people
gave voice to what they would do to the perpetrators if they ever got their
hands on them. In the immediate
aftermath of a horrific crime these calls for revenge and punishment are
entirely understandable and at the same time not very helpful. The very heart of our faith is the love of
God for the sinner, even the most vile of sinners. Those who follow Christ are called to follow
him in resisting the temptation to vengeance.
The most recent WELCA Bible study
on women of the Old Testament was on the story of Abigail. The story revolves around David’s desire to
avenge the deep insult that Abigail’s husband, Nabal, had foolishly given to
David when he visited this southern land where they lived. Abigail is called a calm strategist because
she was able to calm the anger of David, make amends for her husband’s
misdeeds, and save the day. David was a
man who often acted on impulse, later regretted it, and for his repentance was
always forgiven. In the end David
praised Abigail to heaven for deftly preventing him from giving in to his
desire for revenge. He said to her,
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be
you, who have kept me this day from blood guilt and from avenging myself with
my own hand!” (1st Samuel
25:32-33)
The story of Abigail is a fairly
obscure incident in the Old Testament but it reflects a key theme that runs
through both Testaments, Old and New. It
is stated boldly in the citation from Romans 12:19 above and illustrated in the
life of Jesus who forgave the thief on the cross for the terrible deeds that he
did that merited crucifixion by his own admission (Luke 23:39-43) and by the
life of St. Paul who said “for I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be
called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” (1st
Corinthians 15:9) It is commonly though
that Paul, once called Saul, was an accomplice in the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58 ), the first Christian martyr. What punishment is due someone involved in
the death of a man who was not only a saint but the first and foremost of the
seven deacons who were described as full of the Spirit and wisdom? (Acts 6:3)
The answer is “none.” St. Stephen forgave those who committed this
crime against him (Acts 7:60) echoing the words of his Lord at his crucifixion
(Luke 23:34 ). God is not in the business of punishing but
in the business of forgiving and rehabilitating those who sin against him and
commit crimes against his children.
Psalm 103: 10 says, “he does not deal with us according to our sins, nor
requite us according to our iniquities.”
And thank God for that!
And so in this 21st
century when the news media instantly bring us the news of horrific crimes
anywhere in the world and social media allow us to vent our outrage and anger
unfiltered, let us all remember that the Lord cares both for the victim and the
perpetrator. Let us get in tune with him
who said, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked
turn from their evil ways and live.”
(Ezekiel 33:11)