Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
The father of the 32 year-old woman who was killed on Saturday when a driver drove his car into a crowd of protestors in Charlottesville cited the Bible and Jesus’ death on the cross when he told the media that he forgives the man who killed his daughter.
The Daily Caller is reporting on the powerful witness of Mark Heyer, father of Heather Heyer, who died on Saturday when a car driven by 20-year-old James Fields struck and killed her at the Charlottesville protests.
“My daughter was a strong woman who had passionate opinions about the equality of everyone and she tried to stand up for that. And for her it wasn’t lip service, it was real. It was something that she wanted to share with everyone,” Mark Heyer said in an interview with a local news outlet yesterday.
“And my thoughts with all of this stuff is that people need to stop hating and they need to forgive each other. I include myself in that in forgiving the guy that did this. He don’t know no better. I just think about what the Lord said on the cross. Lord, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing,” he said.
“My daughter’s life — I’m proud of her. I’m proud of her for standing up. She had more courage than I did. She had a stubborn backbone that if she thought she was right she would stand there and defy you. But if I understand her, she wanted to do it peacefully and with a fierceness of heart that comes with her conviction,” he added.
“I hope all this stuff that’s come out isn’t twisted into something negative but there comes a positive change in people’s hearts, in their thinking, in their understanding of their neighbor. We just need to forgive each other. And I just hope that’s what comes out of all this.”
Mr. Heyer’s sentiments are shared by millions of Americans as we mourn the division and hatred that has rankled our nation over the past few years. His witness to the faith serves as a stark reminder that the perfect peace plan came from the lips of our Savior when He said, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Imagine what a beautiful world this would be if we all just followed His advice!
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