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In Chapter 16 of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable about a rich man and a poor man, Lazarus, both of whom died; the rich man, who withheld pity from Lazarus while both were alive, wound up in Hades, where he was tormented daily, while the poor man wound up by Abraham’s side in paradise. The rich man sees Lazarus and Abraham and asks Abraham to send Lazarus to him with a drop of water to ease his suffering. Abraham says that it is impossible to go from paradise to hades, because there is a great chasm between them.
I sometimes feel that an equally great chasm separates the points of view of the Christian and the non-Christian. I was reminded of this by the incredible act of forgiveness of Brandt Jean, the younger brother of Botham Jean, who was murdered by Dallas police officer, Amber Guyger, in his own apartment.
As Mike Leslie described it, “What a moment in the courtroom, just now. Botham Jean’s brother Brandt took the opportunity to forgive Amber Guyger, tell her to devote her life to Christ, and then asked the judge if he could give Guyger a hug. The judge, wiping tears from her eyes, allowed the moment to happen.”
According to The Washington Post, “Jean told Guyger from the stand, ‘I love you as a person and I don’t wish anything bad on you,’ Then, as their families watched, the ex-officer and the brother of the man she killed met in the front of the room and held each other in a long embrace. They were both in tears, and sobs could be heard in the courtroom.”
Allison Jean [Botham Jean’s mother] wrote on her Facebook page Thursday, “I’m proud of you my son, Brandt. Your load is lighter,”. She added, “Regardless of the views of the spectators, walk with God always. Forgiveness is for the forgiver and it doesn’t matter what the forgiven does with it.”
What happened afterwards demonstrates the different worlds we live in. For Christians, the key issue is forgiveness (Christ commands us to forgive and reminds us our God’s forgiveness of our many sins). For non-Christians forgiveness is applauded, but it is just one of many issue raised by this case. Many turned to the difficult racial and criminal justice issues the Guyger conviction presents. Was she given too lenient a sentence? Was this evidence of the continuing racial injustice in America? As some asked “Why do black people always have to be the ones to forgive?”
Botham Jean’s mother also had this to add:
“What you saw and what you heard in the courtroom really showed what your system is and you must seek to do something about it,” she said. “You saw a contaminated crime scene, you saw deletion of evidence by persons in high offices. You saw turning off of body cams and saw cameras in the vehicles.
“You saw investigations that were marred with corruption and throughout the trial what I kept saying to myself is, ‘Botham was a child of God and we know he did not deserve what he got.’ The most hurtful part is for me that even after he was shot, he was left to die.
A sampling of the responses from NPR:
“This is a definition of living like Christ would like you to,” Willy Orji said in reply to a widely watched video on Twitter. He added, “Vengeance is not ours. What a great gesture by Brandt.”
That was all right as far as it went, but it was followed by another extraordinary scene. The judge, Tammy Kemp, stepped down from behind the bench, hugged Allison Jean, and then proceeded to hug Guyger as well. She then handed her a Bible, which she said was the one she used every day. This was too much for some observers.
“How Botham Jean’s brother chooses to grieve is his business,” Atlantic writer Jemele Hill wrote. “He’s entitled to that. But this judge choosing to hug this woman is unacceptable.”
Kemp’s gift of the Bible and her urging Guyger to read specific passages was also unconstitutional because she was promoting her personal religious beliefs, according to a statement by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for the separation of church and state.
The group filed a complaint with the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Forgiveness, absolution, the length of Guyger’s sentence, racism, exoneration, corporate guilt, were all topics raised by tweeters and bloggers. There are many questions that need a deeper discussion, but the simple act of forgiveness needs to be kept at the center. Jesus preached most powerfully on forgiveness in Matthew 18:22: 21-22: 21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.
Christians should forgive in all circumstances because they are forgiven by God in all circumstances. Forgiveness is indeed good for the soul and for one’s mental well-being, but more importantly it is commanded by God. Botham Jean could not follow Christ and not forgive Amber Guyger. Non-Christians, however merciful they are by nature, cannot understand why we must (not should) forgive.
Perhaps it would help to hear Amber Guyger’s voice: “I hate that I have to live with this every single day of my life, and I ask God for forgiveness, and I hate myself every single day,” Guyger said in her testimony. “I never wanted to take an innocent person’s life. And I’m so sorry.” Christ doesn’t say forgive the “remorseful,” but forgive everyone, as our Father in Heaven forgives us. What I pray is that Guyger learns how to forgive herself and that she learns how deep and how wide is God’s mercy.
