Unfortunately for actor Mel Gibson, the recent drama played out in Malibu was not a scene from an unedited version of a new action film by the star, with any unwanted footage removed in the studio’s cutting room before the movie was released for showing in theaters.
Don Kirkland“This is about real life,” the actor said of the incident, “and recognizing the consequences hurtful words can have.”
Gibson, who won applause from the Christian community two years ago with his production of the movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” alienated the Jewish community when, following his arrest for drunken driving, he blurted out anti-Semitic comments, accompanied by expletives, to police officers.
To his credit, the popular actor has shown remorse for his ill-chosen words while owning up to his problem with alcohol. In a statement, he issued an apology to “everyone in the Jewish community” for his words, which he characterized as “vitriolic and harmful.”
“The tenets of what I profess to believe necessitate that I exercise charity and tolerance as a way of life,” he said in a later statement. “Every human being is God’s child, and if I wish to honor my God, I have to honor his children.”
He insisted, “I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith.”
William Donahue, president of the Catholic League (Gibson is Catholic), was pleased with Gibson’s apology, saying it was different from “most that come from public figures” and adding that it “reflects the genuineness of his faith.”
“There will always be those,” he added, “who refuse to forgive. They are a tragic lot. Worse, they are the only losers.”
The feelings of the Jewish community may not, however, be easily salved. “There will be many in that community,” said Gibson, “who will want nothing to do with me, and that would be understandable. But I pray that the door is not forever closed.”
It is too soon to know what impact the incident, which may result in some jail time for the actor, will have on his career. It has cost him already, however. In a predictable move, ABC announced that it was scrapping plans for Gibson to produce a miniseries on the Holocaust.
As King David learned and expressed so eloquently in Psalm 51, for the child of God, sin leads to regret, which can only be cleansed by sincere confession, repentance and forgiveness. This, Gibson has done, and the forgiveness he has sought must extend to himself.
Our own lives are a drama played out in real time with no opportunity to delete undesirable scenes. What we have done and said is documented with those who have experienced our rudeness, our snappiness, our hurtful words, our impatience, our poor decisions – and much more.
Actions and words immediately regretted have a lasting effect on others and ourselves as they are replayed in our minds, preventing or interrupting our sleep and robbing us of peace and joy. In our disappointment and even disgust with ourselves, we ask, “Why did I say that?” or “How could I have done that?”
Confession, repentance and forgiveness are the route that we, too, must choose when our sinfulness leads to remorse. And then we must determine to get on with our lives, like the apostle Paul, “forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead.” By God’s grace and mercy, we can hope that we will be remembered for the best rather than the worst moments in our lives.