S1E5.5 BONUS: Mercy and Forgiveness on Good Friday: An Excerpt from Savannah Guthrie's book, Mostly What God Does

Have you ever felt weighed down by shame so heavy it seems impossible to escape? The burden of our past mistakes can weigh on us, yet the most transformative power in the universe awaits: forgiveness.

This Good Friday episode takes us deep into a scene from the film "The Mission," beautifully described in Savannah Guthrie's book "Mostly What God Does." We witness the journey of Rodrigo Mendoza, a slave trader who murders his own brother and carries a massive physical burden up a mountain as penance. When he finally faces the indigenous people he once terrorized, something unexpected happens—instead of the execution he deserves, he receives mercy as his burden is cut away, leaving him transformed by forgiveness.

The scene powerfully mirrors what God does for each of us. Many walk through life with shame "strapped to our necks like a hunk of junk," but divine mercy severs these burdens, setting us free. I invite you to consider how you might extend this same transformative forgiveness to yourself today. How might your life change if you could forgive yourself as completely as God already has?

Beyond the compelling imagery, this reflection challenges us to become "this forgiving presence" within ourselves. If God has already forgiven us, how will we forgive ourselves?

How has mercy transformed your life? What burden are you ready to let tumble down the mountainside? Join our community as we explore these profound spiritual journeys together.

Music by Song Channel Music.  Listen at SongChannelMusic.com

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Find Savannah Guthrie's book, Mostly What God Does, here.  The chapter I read from today is called Mercy, Chapter 21, pages 191-194.

Transcript

Welcome and Introduction

Speaker 1 0:05

Hi and thanks for joining me on Welcoming God . Hello everyone , sarah Haeckel , here

Savannah Guthrie's "Mercy Me" Chapter

Speaker 1 0:25

. On Good Friday , which is celebrated in the Christian tradition as the day that Jesus was crucified , and I happened to read this passage in this book by Savannah Guthrie called Mostly what God Does Reflections on Seeking and Finding His Love Everywhere this morning , entitled Mercy Me . It's chapter 21 . And I wanted to read this to you because it so deeply touched me , especially on this day , at this time around forgiveness and mercy and God's grace and love . So I give this to you on Good Friday . The chapter is called Mercy

The Mission: Rodrigo's Journey

Speaker 1 1:19

Me . In a fit of humiliation and rage , he killed him About 30 years ago . Savannah Guthrie writes I saw a scene in a movie called the Mission that I have never forgotten .

Speaker 1 1:33

The film is loosely based on a true story about a group of Jesuit missionaries in colonial South America in the late 1700s who came to convert the indigenous people to Catholicism . 1700s who came to convert the indigenous people to Catholicism . It pulls no punches about the fraught nature of that effort or the brutality of the time period . I recently rewatched it to see if the scene I had remembered so vividly held up . It did . The movie tells of a Native people living in a magnificent yet unforgiving mountain region , high above the waterfalls , almost beyond outside reach .

Speaker 1 2:10

Almost Robert De Niro plays a mercenary and slave trader named Rodrigo Mendoza . The first time we see Rodrigo , he is capturing Native adults and children in a net to sell them into slavery . Capturing Native adults and children in a net to sell them into slavery . He is unrepentantly vicious and arrogant , a fearsome and feared man cutting a reign of terror in the community . That is until one day he returns home to find that his lover has left him for another man . That's when , in a fit of humiliation and rage , rodrigo kills him . The man is his own brother , whom he dearly loved . Rodrigo descends into despair . The law provides no punishment for his crime of passion . So when we see him next , he is in a prison of his own making , living in squalor , shackled by his own guilt , lying in torment , wishing for death .

Speaker 1 3:10

A priest , played by Jeremy Irons , pays a visit . But Rodrigo has no time for a man of God . For me there is no redemption , he tells him . The priest challenges him to accept penance , a way to pay for his sins . There is no penance , hard enough for me , he replies . And yet , crushed by shame and eager to suffer . He agrees .

Speaker 1 3:33

The penance calls for Rodrigo to return to the mountain , back to the villages he once ravaged , this time making the grueling and unforgiving journey with an enormous makeshift pack strapped to him a homemade beast of burden , metal , wood and rubbish , bound together by rope and tethered to his back . His expiation is to haul it up the mountain , the same one he once traversed on his mission to capture slaves . Day after excruciating day , he struggles to tow his cargo to the peak , navigating treacherous falls and scaling cliffs by his fingernails , his load heavy as a millstone , pulling him ever downward . When he is near collapse , at one point some of the younger priests in the traveling party rush toward him to cut the pack loose . He refuses . He has not paid his penance . He will not permit himself to be relieved of his burden . It culminates in one of the most powerful depictions of forgiveness

Divine Forgiveness and Personal Reflection

Speaker 1 4:41

I have ever witnessed .

Speaker 1 4:42

Savannah writes A scene with no words spoken , exhausted and near death , the rope now strapped around his neck . He arrives at the top of the mountain , where he comes face to face with the indigenous people he once trapped and sold like chattel . The little ones see him first and recognize him immediately . They know exactly who it is . The leader of the people approaches and pulls out a knife . Rodrigo is certain he is about to die , and surely that is what he deserves . The man places the weapon to his neck . Holding it there , rodrigo awaits his execution . The knife is lifted and brought down violently , but only to sever the rope and unleash the pack , the wretched load sent spiraling down the cliffs to the river below . The burden is gone , the weight is released . The priest , watching the scene unfold , rushes in kneels and wraps his arms around Rodrigo , rocking him like a baby , tears of deliverance rushing down his cheeks like waterfalls , deserving of death given life redeemed at the hands of the very ones he persecuted , at the hands of the very ones he persecuted .

Speaker 1 6:14

Is there any more transformational force in the universe , savannah writes , is there anything more powerful to effect change within the human heart ? Whether or not we realize it , many of us are walking around with our shame strapped to our necks , like a hunk of junk , strangling us , holding us down , but God severs it for good . All we must do is stand still before him . God hacks off our burden and our shame , frees us , then envelops us in love . The failings we are afraid to admit , the sides of ourselves . We would never dare to show the sins within that even we cannot forgive . They go tumbling down the mountainside .

Speaker 1 7:00

The spontaneous response to this overwhelming gift of grace is deep relief , gratitude and loyalty . If there is a fast track to closeness with God , his mercy , is it . Pardon the noise . There's some construction happening here . There's some construction happening here . So I leave you with this and I invite you to connect in with how will you show up as this forgiving presence within yourself ? How will you choose to forgive you today , like God already has forgiven you , forgiven us , forgiven me ? How will we show up forgiving ourselves so that we can truly move on to be this greatest gift that we're here to be now in life ? I wish you all a beautiful Good Friday and , if you celebrate

Closing Thoughts and Easter Wishes

Speaker 1 8:17

, happy Easter , and many blessings . Aloha nui loa . Thanks for joining me on another episode of Welcoming God . Please subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen and consider leaving us a review , as it helps more people find and benefit from this show . Music by Song Channel Music . You can listen and hear more at songchannelmusiccom . Until we meet again , aloha nui loa , take care and God bless , thank you .