Finding the good in Good Friday, and in humanity
Over Easter 2024, four articles were commissioned by our xvox team and delivered to various mainstream news outlets for publication.
This article was written by Dr Andrew Shepherd and published in The Post. Dr Andrew Shepherd is a lecturer in theology and public issues at the University of Otago.
This is an excerpt from the article -
“And the nature of this new way? In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus, on the cross, asks his Father to forgive those responsible for his murder. This practice of forgiveness and reconciling love, displayed in his bleakest moment, typifies the post-resurrection episodes recorded.
In the Gospel of John, encountering again those who had deserted him in his moment of greatest need, Jesus declares: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
He extends his forgiveness and commissions them to be people of peace – a people who, having received forgiveness, now forgive themselves and those who harm them, thus breaking the spiral of hatred and violence.”