Parker Palmer and Forgiveness

Parker Palmer in his book, The Promise of Paradox writes in response to a Marxist perspective on life that says that a suffering society calls for violent revolution followed by dictatorship of the working class.

He writes, “Somehow these steps are supposed to lead to a society of equity and peace but we know that the pain will only persist. We have no reason to believe that chage by violence and dictatorship foreshadows anything other than violence and dictatorship. At best, the Marxist revolution might cause oppressor ad oppressed to switch roles, and there would be grim justice in that. But Marxism offers no way to transform pain into peace.”

Then this profound statement. “The cross says, ‘The pain stops here.’ The way of the cross is a way of absorbing pain not passing it on, a way that transforms pain from destructive impulse to creative power.”
 
What he is saying is this: Destructive impulse says, "You wounded me. You did this to me. I will escalate the conflict and do this to you. I will return pain to you at more than what you gave to me so that I can pay back with interest.”

When he says, "creative power" he is saying that revenge destroys, forgiveness creates. It is the choice to say,  “I am going to forgive you. When I do, I will have experienced God’s transforming love in such that I will not be able to see you in the same way again because I hae been changed.  Forgiveness is a forestaste of heaven.

To pick up Parker Palmer's thoughts, “in contrast, the cross says, 'the pain stops here.' The way of the cross is a way of absorbing the pain not passing it on, a way that transforms pain from destructive impulses into creative power. When Jesus accepted the cross, his death opened up a channel for the redeeming power of love. When we accept the crosses and contradictions in our lives, we allow that same power to flow. When we give our hearts to the world, our hearts will be broken—broken open to become channels for a love greater than our own. Only as pain is transformed by love will the real revolution come, a revolution that promises to take us toward the ‘peaceable kingdom.”  (Page 32 in parker Palmer’s book, The Promise of Paradox). 

The cross is the definitive declarative display that the pain stops here. So when you and I decide to forgive, we image God to oursleves and to oone another.  When we take someone’s name, write it down and place it at the foot of the cross we then are entering into the way of Jesus that the pain stops here.