13/9/26
Trinity 15
Romans 14:1-12
Matthew 18:21-end
I trust that this won’t be the first or last sermon you hear preached on forgiveness. I also hope that I have something new to offer as it is a tough and emotive subject for many people. We all have stories to share about times when we have needed to forgive another person or be forgiven for something we have done. I would also venture a guess that we have stories that we don’t share about times and situations of forgiveness and forgiveness.
It seems that it is the untold stories that often go unresolved. These stories often come out around the deathbed and by then it is often too late to do anything about it.
There are always the smaller, everyday forgiveness that need to be offered. The bad drivers, the unkind remark, the thoughtless comment, the missed birthday, or forgotten detail. We need to keep our accounts short as my mother would say.
As a starting point, forgiveness is an act of the will. It acknowledges that something negative, awful, traumatic and damaging happened and that it will not rule our lives. Forgiveness takes the power out of the event. It does not accept what happened as acceptable or permissible. It is important to hear that.
Forgiveness also does not mean that we must continue a relationship with the person/people who caused the event. We do not have to trust them again. Consequences follow all actions and this extends to the ending of relationships. This also goes both ways; if we are the one in the wrong, the one who seeks forgiveness, we should not necessarily expect that relationship to continue.
We have to ask for forgiveness if/when we have wronged someone else. We also have to extend forgiveness to those who need it from us. This can be a slow process! We may have to remind ourselves over and over again.
I have been talking about forgiveness to or from other people. There is also the forgiveness that we need from God. Many people believe that to forgive someone else there must be repentance first. In order for us to receive God’s forgiveness we need to repent first. Repent has a richer meaning in the original Greek; it is an internal reorientation, turning around thoughts and attitudes with an active change in behaviour.
We are all called to repent – I do it every week from the front. I give you space and time (probably not enough) for reflection and maybe the internal changes required of true repentance.
However, we cannot make another person repent of their wrongdoings any more than they can make us. The only way we are convicted is by the Holy Spirit moving us, calling us to repent. We are still called to forgive even when the other party does not show any signs. They might not care or be aware. Worse, they might know and still not care.
Secondly, what will extending forgiveness to another look like for us? What will change? What will life be like? This is what Peter wants clarified in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus has taught the disciples about forgiveness when he taught them how to pray. Matthew 6: forgive us our trespasses and we forgive others…
Peter wants to know how this works out practically; what is the limit? The Jewish rabbis were teaching that forgiving someone three times for the same sin was good enough. Peter thinks that by offering seven he is doing better. Seven being the number of fulfillment or perfection.
Jesus’ reply is much greater. He tells Peter and us that there is no limit to forgiveness. It is something that we are always going to have to do. As long as human beings exist together in community, in families, in friendship, in the workplace forgiveness is a cornerstone to good relationships.
The parable of the master and his servants underlines what Jesus had just said about unrestricted, unlimited forgiveness.
The first servant who sees the king has massive debt, billions of pounds in today’s money and completely beyond what he could ever pay back. The master could have ordered the man, his family and possessions to be sold to pay it off even though it would not ever cover it. The man falls on his face and begs for mercy.
The master is moved with compassion so decides to forgive him the debt. The only other times compassion is used in Matthew is in relation to Jesus. This king showed the compassion of Jesus.
Unfortunately for the newly forgiven servant the story doesn’t end here! He forgets what he has been released from as he encounters his fellow slave who owes him much less. About 600,000 times less!
The fellow servant pleads in exactly the same way that the servant had pleaded with the master but for a much smaller debt. The response was entirely different; physical violence and a lot of shouting. This gets back to the master who reverses his decision and the first servant is thrown into prison. He will be there forever.
That is what withholding mercy and forgiveness does – it locks us up in a prison of our own making.
Paul is teaching the new church in Rome to accept one another and avoid passing on judgment over non-essential, disputable matters like diets and holy days. I asked the Wednesday Study Group if they had any harmless preferences or habits they secretly wished everyone else would adopt. Things like how to load a dishwasher, or hang laundry or driving habits. We had a great discussion with a range of answers.
The new church in Rome was a mix of people; slaves and free, Jewish converts and Gentiles with no background. Some of the Jewish people were holding on to their kosher rules and sacred days; while the Gentiles had no need for either.
Some people need stricter personal rules to follow God, other people understand their freedom in Christ. Either way God has accepted them both. We are to honour God and give thanks.
Paul reminds them that they will all stand before God in judgment to give an account of themselves, not of other people. We have no right to judge or despise others.
Jesus parable ends with prison, hell with no way out as the debt will never be repaid. We can never repay the debt of the cross and because of this we need to forgive other people. Not easy, it takes time and needs to be repeated as there is no limit. Measured against the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, we can and must.
We reflect God’s forgiveness of our sins and shortcomings when we forgive other people. Think about this when we pray the Lord’s Prayer shortly. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. True disciples of Jesus are to act from mercy, forgiveness and love; in the same way God has acted towards them.
We will be treated as we treat others. This is why we have to love our neighbours, forgive our neighbours as ourselves. I need God’s forgiveness – a lot. Jesus has all the love, grace and mercy we will ever need. We can use His when we do not have enough of our own. Forgiveness comes at a high price; ultimately a price paid for by Jesus.