miroslav-volf

Forgiveness flounders because I exclude the enemy from the community ofhumans even as I exclude myself from the community of sinners. But no onecan be in the presence of the God of the crucified Messiah for long withoutovercoming this double exclusion _ without transposing the enemy from thesphere of the monstrous_ into the sphere of shared humanity and herself fromthe sphere of proud innocence into the sphere of common sinfulness. Whenone knows [as the cross demonstrates] that the torturer will not eternallytriumph over the victim, one is free to rediscover that person__ humanity andimitate God__ love for him. And when one knows [as the cross demonstrates]that God__ love is greater than all sin, one is free to see oneself in the light ofGod__ justice and so rediscover one__ own sinfulness.