Session 5: “Forgive them for they know not what they do” - Capital Punishment
“You
have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’
but I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your
right cheek, turn the other to him also.”
(Matthew 5:38-39.)
Aim: Though
capital punishment has been around for centuries, it is clear that punishment
by murder is simply another murder and incompatible with the Gospel. Again,
we must get beyond the heated debate and realize the reality of the situation:
people have been hurt and are seeking revenge. But revenge is an empty solution
that cannot really end the pain. This session seeks to counsel teens to see
the need for forgiveness as part of the healing process. Hopefully teens will
encounter their own feelings of anger and come to forgive those that have
hurt them through introspective activities.
Christ
remains the image and model for us
with regards to forgiveness and punishment. How ironic it is that our very
Savior was condemned to capital punishment on the Cross. He forgave the
repentant thief who on that very day was with the Lord. Now, as Orthodox
Christians, we remember that thief and aspire to be like him when we say,
"Remember me O Lord in Thy kingdom." When we hear Christ say to
the Father, "Forgive them for they know not what they do," and we
take into account that Christ is God, sharing the will of the Father and the
Holy Spirit, then we are led to a stunning conclusion about God's love and
His ability to forgive: the very men who placed Christ upon the Cross were
forgiven the very day of the Crucifixion. Amazing! How can we be so unforgiving
as to condemn our brothers and sisters, if the Father Himself
forgave those who killed His only-begotten Son? This should show once
and for all that God does not desire the death of the sinner. How often we
forget, and acting on our desire for revenge, act to bring death to the sinner.
What fate do bring upon ourselves in doing so?
Objectives:
By the end of this session students should be able to . . .
1.
Identify the Gospel message of forgiveness and relate it to Capital Punishment.
2.
Discuss the role of vengeance and forgiveness in the way we handle conflicts.
3.
Identify how the Church emphasizes repentance in Her prayer and liturgical
life.
Useful
Texts:
|
Matt
6:9-13 Our Father |
|
Matt
5:1-12 The Beatitudes |
|
John
8:2-11 |
|
Luke
23:33-43 |
|
Fr.
Thomas Mueller. “Capital Punishment and the Gospel.” Resource Handbook.
Vol. II: Family Life. |
Materials:
|
Materials
for constructing 1'-2' Crosses, preferably wood and nails.
|
|
Paint
or other supplies for decorating crosses. |
|
Small
Rocks or Stones
|
Bags
or pouches to carry the stones home with
Procedure:
I.
Opening Prayer
II.
Check-In and Review
III.
Activity #1: The Compassionate Christ
IV.
Activity #2: The Gospel Message
V.
Activity #3: A Look at Forgiveness in Church Prayer
VI.
Activity #4: Take the Forgiveness Challenge!
VII.
Conclusions
VIII.
Closing Prayer
I.
Opening Prayer
II.
Check-In: Today we are talking about Capital Punishment. As we check in, share
an experience of “condemnation,” a time when you felt condemned yourself or
condemned another. How did that experience affect you?
Review:
1.
What are some of the reasons people are led to believe that abortion is their
best, if not only, option?
2. What can we do to help someone contemplating having an abortion?
III.
Activity #1: The Compassionate Christ
Time: 15-20 minutes.
God
Himself was a victim of capital punishment. Perhaps the most wicked
deed in human history was an act of legalized punishment. This in itself should
seem significant enough to end support of Capital Punishment in so-called
Christian countries. Yet often it has not. This activity is a chance for participants
to experience the questions regarding this subject through a direct encounter
with the life of Christ as told in the Gospel of Luke. If time permits, you
can also bring in more Gospel accounts of the Crucifixion. We will especially
look at Christ's forgiving nature and the person of the penitent thief.
Who
is the most famous person ever executed under the death penalty? [They
may or may not know any historical criminals who were executed, but the answer
actually is Jesus Christ!]
In
the early days of Christianity, St, Paul said (1 Cor. 1:23) the Crucifixion
of Christ was “to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks (Pagans) foolishness.”
Why do you think the Crucifixion was so scandalous? [God could not be
killed like a common criminal, this is was unthinkable. The Jews expected
a worldly leader and the Pagan philosophers did not believe God could be so
humble, loving, and physical.]
Orthodox
Christians are reminded at every liturgy of the Crucifixion. We are also reminded
of the martyrs who were put to death for their beliefs not only in the first
centuries of the Church, but in this time as well under the Communist persecutions.
Capital punishment has a special place in our history, and in a sense, our
salvation came through an act of capital punishment. This can make talking
about capital punishment a little confusing.
How
should we as Christians think and feel about capital punishment? Why?
Our
best guide in tackling tough social and moral decisions is always Christ.
How did he respond to those who supported capital punishment? Let us read
an account of the Crucifixion from the Gospel according to St. Luke. (Luke
23:33-43)
How
does Christ respond to His executors? [He forgives them.]
How
does Christ respond to the criminals who are dying next to him? [He gives
to the one that asks from Him. He rewards repentance.]
What
does the repentant criminal say about his own death? [He says he deserves
it.]
What
do you think this Gospel teaches us about capital punishment? [It might
be taken either for or against. Since Christ forgives them, what they are
doing is wrong to begin with.]
This
was not the first time Christ dealt with the issue of capital punishment.
Look now at the Gospel of John (John 8:2-11).
How
does Christ respond to those who stone the woman to death? [He calls them
to pay attention to their own conscience.]
How
does Christ respond to the woman who had been condemned? [He does not
condemn but exhorts her not to sin at the same time.]
What
do you think this Gospel teaches about capital punishment? [We do not
have the moral position as fallen human beings to make this kind of decision.
It is God’s prerogative.]
Christ
teaches us to be compassionate and not to condemn each other, this is clear.
He does not say we should let each other sin and hurt ourselves and others
indiscriminately either. But to go so far as to execute one of God’s children
as punishment is not our prerogative or place.
From
the previous sessions, what are some biblical reasons for not supporting capital
punishment? [The body is the temple of the living God, we are made in
the image and likeness of God, God is forgiving, etc.]
What
are some scriptures which support the death penalty? [Exodus 21 lists
several crimes for which death is the penalty, including the famous “eye for
an eye” formula. However, Christ directly
transformed the Law in Matthew 5.]
What
is sinful about capital punishment? [It can be prideful in that we think
we have a moral high ground to kill another. It can be wrathful in that it
is giving in to one’s anger. It is playing God.]
Why
do people find capital punishment helpful or useful? [To prevent further
crime, to bring revenge or “justice,” to bring closure to the families of
victims, to satisfy public demand for punishment.]
Does
capital punishment hurt more people than the convict in the long run? Who?
[Not only does it kill the criminal but it involves the executors, their bosses,
and those who are calling for the death by supporting the idea that death
is a solution and forgiveness is impractical or impossible.]
What
role should the Church take in dealing with capital punishment? Why? [Publicly
support or denounce, act to help convicts repent, support healing and forgiveness
in families and friends of victims.]
Our
Church, while concerned with social justice, does not see this world or this
life as an end unto itself. She does not seek first power in this world to
save us from pain in this life, but to make our suffering a good and meaningful
sacrifice. The Church reveals her approach by focusing on what is most important
for the people involved: forgiveness
of sins and eternal life. Here is part of a prayer for those condemned to
death by the state:
We
entreat You, Most gracious Master: with Your compassion look also on this
Your servant, who has been condemned to death by the judgement of men. Forgive
his or her mortal transgressions; inspire in his or her heart true repentance,
that he or she may, if even in this hour before death, also confess You, his
or her God and Savior, as once did the wise thief, and be granted mercy from
You. Yea, O Long-suffering Lord of many mercies, condemn not by Your just
judgement this condemned sinner, pardon him or her by this penalty of death,
from the eternal death prepared for unrepentant sinners, that he or she may
glorify You with all the sinners who have repented and been justified through
You, for You alone are sinless and to You are due all glory, honor and worship,
together with your Most Holy and Life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto
ages of ages. Amen.
IV.
Activity #2: The Prodigals
Time: 20-30 minutes
One
great reason for avoiding capital punishment is that an ends a life before
its time. In the time that is lost, great miracles can happen. Some of our
most beloved saints began as hardened criminals and unrepentant sinners but
through hard work and the Holy Spirit they turned from their ways and came
to glorify God in their lives.
What
kind of person can become a saint? [A holy person, a very religious, humble,
prayerful, kind, charitable person. Actually, any person has the potential
to become a saint.]
Can
you think of any saints who were not always prayerful and humble that ended
their lives as saints? Who were they? [St. Paul, St. Moses of Ethiopia,
St. David of Egypt (Sept. 6), St. Mary of Egypt, Prophet King David.]
Split
into groups and have each group study one of the above prodigal saints from
the worksheets at the end of this session. Ask each group member to take a
turn reading a portion of the stories of let them pick one reader. Each person
should have a copy of their saint’s life, which they can keep in their journal.
Discuss
using the questions below.
What did
these saints do before repentance? [Cheated, robbed, killed, persecuted.]
What
did they do to repent? [Left their former lives, sought a confessor and
prayed for repentance, began a new life in Christ.]
Based
on their stories, what does it mean to repent? [A Change of heart, a transformation
of the self, turning away from sin, praising God, realigning ourselves to
God, etc.]
What
do you think God expects us, considering the dramatic stories of these prodigal
saints? [God expects only the best that we can do, even if that is not
much at the time. But in time, He helps us to make it even more.]
How
can we use these stories to help people faced with capital punishment, in
whatever role they may find themselves? [Give to inmates as an example
for them, use them as evidence to protest capital punishment, pray to these
Saints, show them to victims as reasons to forgive, etc.]
Several
of the stories we have chosen are not really that simple. In choosing martyrdom,
it seems at first like the saints are giving a thumbs up to capital punishment.
St. Moses says those who live by the sword die by the sword. St. Longinus
is given the opportunity to escape death but refuses it. St. David of Egypt,
though he is not executed, seems to be only half-hearted in his repentance
at times. These stories should challenge us. They are irrational in many ways.
They do not match our expectations of how people should act.
The saints reveal to us an entirely different understanding of the value of
life. They have entirely different priorities. While many people debate either
for or against the death penalty and argue ethics and justice, the saints
direct our attention above the fray to the heavenly kingdom. What matters
above all is the spiritual life— our relationship to our God.
V.
Activity #3: A Look at Forgiveness in Church Prayers
Time:
15 minutes
Forgiveness
between brothers and sisters does not begin on death row, at the 11th hour.
Rather, it begins at home and in the parish, wherever God's children meet
and find themselves struggling against the Enemy of Life itself. The Church
provides us with the prayers and the means to attain the Holy Spirit and live
in brotherly love. This activity takes a look at our Orthodox prayer life,
exemplified in the service of Forgiveness Vespers, and calls them to ask from
each other forgiveness.
|
What
is the most well known Christian prayer in the world?
[”Our Father”] |
|
Who
first spoke this prayer? [Jesus
Christ]
|
|
Why
do you think this prayer is so important? [Forgiveness is crucial
to us.]
|
Christ
told us why we should pray this way: “For if you forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do no forgive men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Forgiveness
is the foundation of our spiritual life.
Who
should we forgive? [Those who have done wrong to us. Those who have been
condemned by men. Ideally, all those who suffer from sin, because sin hurts
the whole world.]
Who
should we ask forgiveness from? [From those we have hurt or offended.
From each other.]
We
spoke of repentance, but we can only understand repentance correctly when
we connect it with forgiveness.
What
does repentance mean? [To repent means to ask forgiveness, to realign
ourselves with God, to turn away from sin, it means letting go of our hurtful
ways and asking God for help.]
What
is the difference between saying “I’m sorry” and “Please forgive me?”
[”I’m sorry” is a statement about your self, and does not say if you want
to change or not. It keeps a person in the “I” realm and not the “you” realm.
Asking for forgiveness brings a person out of themselves to depend on another
and trust in God.]
When
we ask forgiveness we take a step beyond being sorry to making a difference.
We can often find people who have the habit of apologizing for everything,
even when there is no reason. This may be a sign of low self-esteem. They
need forgiveness too, not only from us but from themselves.
Why
would we ask forgiveness from someone if they weren’t our enemies or we hadn’t
done anything to hurt them that we know of? [We do not know how our sins affect
the world. Most importantly, we do not recognize each other as children of God
through our indifference, selfishness, and lack of humility.]
How
would we really act if we treated each other as children of God?[We would
constantly ask for forgiveness from each other, honoring and respecting each
other and humbling ourselves.]
The
Church is the body of Christ, yet we often do not treat each other like member’s
of Christ’s body. Just as we ask Christ for forgiveness, we should always
be asking each other for forgiveness and prayers. We are called to be one
body, supporting and nourishing each other.
The
Church does provide us with the way of forgiveness. When are some times or
events in the Church when we focus on forgiveness? [Confession, Certain
points in the Liturgy, every time we say “Our Father,” Forgiveness Vespers,
etc.]
What
happens on the Sunday evening of the very beginning of Great Lent? What do
we do at the end of this service? [Forgiveness Sunday Vespers, where we
all ask for forgiveness from each other.]
VI.
Activity #4: Take the Forgiveness challenge!
Time: 10 minutes
This a exercise
designed to take forgiveness out of the class and the Church and put it into
the daily lives of participants. You will need a quantity of stones and enough
sacks for each person to take some home with them. If possible, you might
ask the group during the previous session to come to this session with a bunch
of rocks representing judgements they have made of others. If you don’t have
stones, this activity can easily be done without. The stones just add a physical
immediacy to the need to forgive and be forgiven. You might also want to provide
fancy stones or stones with surfaces that participants can paint or write
on. In any case, pool the stones in the middle of the whole group.
In
your journals, make a list of people from whom you would like to ask forgiveness.
Maybe you have no intention now of asking for their forgiveness. Maybe you
even think that you don’t need to. Maybe you think they wouldn’t forgive you
anyway. Try to include as many people as you can without judging the “usefulness”
of forgiveness.
What
happens to us when we ask for forgiveness — what does it mean to ask for this?
[Forgiveness means giving your shame up to God and letting go of guilt
and yet taking responsibility. Asking for forgiveness means trusting in God
and his compassionate mercy.]
For
every person on your list, take one stone. The stone represents the hurt we
have caused others. Christ said, “He who is without sin among you, let him
throw a stone . . . first.” and “Judge not, lest you be judged.” By taking
a stone, we are taking back whatever stones we might have cast and whatever
judgements we might have made.
Next,
make a list of people that you need to forgive. You may not want to forgive
them. You may see no good reason to forgive. They may not even be the slightest
bit sorry. They may continue to “trespass” against you.
Why
would we want to forgive someone even if they are not sorry or don’t intend
to stop their hurtful ways? [Forgiving does not mean putting up with it,
or saying that it is okay. Forgiveness means giving your hurt up to God to
take care of and letting him do the judging. Forgiveness means trusting in
God and praying for your enemies, not against them.]
For
every person on your second list, take one stone. These stones also represent
hurt, in this case, the hurt we have felt. They also represent the judgements
that we might have made in retaliation of the hurt which we have not forgiven.
By taking these stones, we take back our need for vengeance and make a step
towards forgiving.
Keep
these stones with you in a backpack, purse, or pouch. Notice the weight you
have to carry when hurts are unforgiven.
Challenge
yourself over the next few weeks to approach privately as many people as possible
that are on your two lists (that are safe to approach!)
Ask for forgiveness from them, even if you think they should be asking
you!
Why
would we ever want to ask forgiveness from someone who should be asking us?
[The best way of showing someone you forgive them is by turning around
and humbling yourself before them, not demanding an apology or holding out
forgiveness like a reward for boosting your bruised ego. And if they should
be moved to ask forgiveness from us, we should not hesitate to speak as if
at a Forgiveness Vespers: “God Forgives and I forgive.”]
Every
time you ask for forgiveness, place one of your stones behind on the ground
and walk away. (If the stones are decorated or fancy, offer them to the person
as a gift — “Here is the stone with which I judged you. Please accept it know
in peace as a sign of my asking your forgiveness”) Continue until you have
finished your list and the bag is empty. Then, whenever you noticed that your
heart has picked up a stone, put a new one in your bag until you can get rid
of it through forgiveness.
This
is what Forgiveness Vespers is all about, and it is good to live this way
at all times. If you take this challenge, write down in your journals how
you felt before and after and what happened.
Did
anything change inside you?
Did
your relationship change?
How
did different people react?
VII.
Session Conclusion
Make
a Beatitude Cross
As
a follow-up project and conclusion to this session, design a series of “Beatitudes
Crosses.” Paint and decorate a group of small Orthodox crosses for indoors
or outdoors with the verses of Matthew 5:3-12, the Beatitudes. Then keep them
home as a tool for prayer or display them around the church. The Beatitudes
speak to all facets of the issue of forgiveness, judgement and punishment,
both to victims and to perpetrators. These are our ultimate guidelines.
Review:
What
is the most important concern we should have when faced with a capital punishment
situation? [Forgiveness of sins, healing of hearts, and the salvation of all
those involved.]
What can we do to help prevent death penalty situations from arising? [Practiced
forgiveness.]
Forgiveness
in our daily lives is the beginning of the solution to the problems of crime
and punishment. It may not seem like much but it does not have to be. Throughout
the history of Christianity, the death penalty has been a mark of persecution
and heresy, of self-righteousness and a loss of faith in God. Killing someone
is not a solution to a problem. It cannot truly relieve pain, and it certainly
cannot erase the effects of violent crimes.
We
are left to ask ourselves, when tragedy strikes, what kind of people do we
want to become as a result. Do we want to accept evil and make it our own
way, or do we wish to rise above it by following the commandments given to
us by our Lord? Should we, as Christians, make hypocrites out of ourselves
when we pray “Our Father?” These kinds of decision are some of the hardest
we could ever be forced to make. But they are made easier when we make consistent
decisions on the everyday level to choose what is best for our life in Christ.
VIII.
Closing Prayer: Our Father in addition to closing prayers is recommended.