Friday 9 April 2004

Did Jesus die for Nazis?

We interrupt our series on the city of imaginary heroes and villains, to consider some real ones. Well, presumably. You see, today is a day of conflicting interests. Very conflicting. And very interesting.

Today is April 9th, traditionally semi-official German-bashing day here in Norway. On April 9th 1940 Germany invaded our small, peaceful and neutral country, inflicting on our nation a kind of collective rape trauma that was still very much in effect when I grew up. Kinda like 9/11, only more so. Only with the death of those who were old enough to remember has this begun to fade. Most Norwegians will immediately recognize the slogan "Never again 9th of April!"

But this year, April 9th is also commemorating another injustice, older and more famous: This is Good Friday, or "Long Friday" as we Norwegians call it, in memory of the torture and death of Jesus whom we call the Christ. (Well, we Christians call him that. Most humans in the world probably don't, or at least they don't mean much by it.) According to my religion, he was much more innocent than us Norwegians, and yet he did not cry for revenge toward those who hurt and killed him. No, he prayed that they be forgiven, because they did not know that they did. And surely this applies not just those who personally nailed him to a piece of wood, but all those whose mind were darkened in ignorance so they gave in to evil.

***

The process by which Jesus' death should somehow lead to forgiveness for everyone else is poorly understood. The popular view among Protestants at least (that's the official religion where I grew up) is that God was kinda demanding our heads, because we had sinned. And then Jesus died in our place so we didn't need to. This is kinda disturbing, since most of us are skeptical of bloodthirsty gods on principle. It is also kinda confusing because it is pretty clear from the gospels that it was God (the "Father" as Jesus called him) who insisted that Jesus go through this whole thing. They may have agreed on it at some earlier time, but when the night came, Jesus was scared half to death. (I certainly can sympathize with that.) He went through with it anyway. There's a movie that's been playing this Easter which supposedly goes into gory detail about the torture. The idea that God wanted all of this rather than being satisfied with a quick clean sword stroke is not exactly making things better.

(Actually the rationale given by one of the apostles for crucifixion was a passage in the Law that "cursed is the one who hangs on a tree". Jesus did indeed take the curse on himself. But in its original context it meant that hanged criminals should be cut down so as not to bring curse to the land, which is understandable since their rotting corpses could cause disease, what with flies being somewhat indiscriminate.)

Perhaps the traditional idea of Jesus getting what we deserved, perhaps that was enough in darker ages. But I personally think there is more to it than that. Jesus preached a message of forgiveness, although he certainly could be pretty harsh on people too (especially those who thought they were better than others). On Good Friday, his message was put to the test, and the Good thing about it is that it passed the test. He continued to forgive all the way into death, setting an example for those who claim to follow him. Is there any injustice done to you or your loved ones that exceeds betrayal, torture, public humiliating and a slow agonizing death? For most of us, I'd say the answer is a pretty clear-cut NO.

That's certainly not to say that I trust Nazis, or for that matter Germans. Bad habits are hard to break. But to forgive is not necessarily to forget. Jesus did not forgive in the sense of shutting it out of his mind. Rather he excused them, realizing that they did not really understand what they were doing. That was certainly the case with most anyone present. The Romans thought they were dealing with a rebel against the Empire and had to set an example. The High Priest and his colleagues in the Sanhedrin may have thought so as well, at the very least they considered him a sect leader who could disturb the fragile status quo of their society (where they just happened to be near the top). The disciples who ran away obviously thought they had cast their lot with the losing side. It is hard not to think so when your teacher is arrested and put to death. And the mob howling for his death, well we don't really know how many people those were, but they were just doing what they were told. So everyone had a good reason for doing what they were doing. It just so happened that they were wrong. (Or at least that's what we Christians believe.)

***

Some say that Jesus died so all people can be forgiven, but only if they repent. So the Nazis should not be forgiven until they stop being Nazis? I don't think so. I mean, yes, they should repent, but that's none of our business. We should forgive them anyway. Survivors from the occupation of Norway tell that the German soldiers were told they were going to protect Norway against an English invasion. Did they really believe that? Perhaps the common grunts did. And anyway, it's not like they had any choice in the matter. Quisling probably had a choice in betraying Norway and setting up a proxy government, but given the circumstances he and the other "nationalists" probably tried to make the best out of the situation. The occupants had a lot ideas in common with Quisling and his friends, after all, about the restoration of the old culture and the supremacy of the Nordic race. These ideas may sound weird to us, but they were floating around pretty freely before the war.

The confused "nationalists" of today, striving for the same goal, probably don't know what they do either. Turning the other cheek may not stop them right away, and we should strive to help them break out of their delusions. But the effects of standing up for forgiveness can obviously spread like rings on water for thousands of years. And on a day when memories clash, I heard no mention of April 9th at all. In that respect, it was a Good Friday indeed.