From the headlines of the Seattle times:
Islamic State
extremists released a video
showing the
beheading of British aid worker David Haines,
who was abducted
in Syria last year,
and British Prime
Minister David Cameron late Saturday
condemned his slaying
as "an act of pure evil."
And then we have just heard three scripture readings this
morning
all
about forgiveness and not judging.
That’s a real non-sequitur
given
the widespread reaction to these horrendous killings,
that
calls for action “to degrade and ultimately destroy
the
terrorist group known as ISIL.”
So now we need to ask ourselves, what is forgiveness? what
is it really about?
Some things seem unforgivable,
like
terrorism, murder, rape, genocide,
willful
destruction, and just plain meanness.
These are human violations that take away what cannot be
replaced,
whether
that is life itself or the wounding of the human spirit.
But what then are the spiritual dynamics of forgiveness
that
make it such a central part of the Christian message,
the
Gospel good news,
especially in light of such things.
The scripture lessons that we have today certainly zero in
on this,
and
we need to look at them more closely than just a casual reading
if we are to discover deeper wisdom, saving wisdom.
Peter comes to Jesus with a serious question.
“If another member of the church sins against me, how often should I
forgive?”
Now,
how did the church get into this passage?
This
is the gospel; the time setting is before the church was formed.
Friends, it doesn’t say that in the Greek.
It
is much more specific.
It reads: “If my brother
sins against me, how often should I forgive?”
Hmmm
– Andrew has been given his brother Peter some grief.
Quite
common among siblings, don’t you know.
But we also must remember that around Jesus we are
all brothers and sisters.
We
are all family – every single one of us, and not just here in this place.
ALL
humankind.
Well, how long
does Peter have to put up with being sinned against by another?
Seven
times?
How about 70 X 7, Jesus replies. 490
times
Then Jesus tells Peter a story
that
gets to the main issue in this matter of forgiveness.
Let’s see what that is.
First off, Jesus begins with that familiar phrase,
“The
Kingdom of Heaven is like…”
Keep
that in mind, and we will come back to that.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a king
who
wants to take account of his slaves.
And he discovers that one of these slaves has run
up a huge debt with him.
How big of a debt? 10,000
talents.
Do you know how much that is? Let’s
do the math.
1
talent is worth what the average worker can earn in 15 years.
That
means that for this slave to work off the debt,
it
would take him 150,000 years.
So to recoup his loss the king decides to sell not
only this slave,
but
his wife and his children and all of their belongings.
That won’t cover
the debt, but that is the total means of revenue in this situation.
The slave pleads on his knees promising to do the
impossible
and
pay back the debt in full.
The king is moved with compassion and instead
cancels the whole debt.
The
whole debt.
This man who has been spared is worth 10,000
talents to the king,
far
more than the total value of his lifetime work productivity.
Wow!
Now we know what happens next.
This
slave goes out and finds a fellow slave who belongs to said king,
and
demands payment of what that slave owes him.
How much? 100
denarii…
How much is that?
1
denarii is the value of 1 day’s wage for the average worker.
Let’s do the math.
This
person owes our slave about 4 months’ pay,
a
significant amount,
and
not unlike the amount of credit card debt some of us have.
This time there is not the same compassion and
valuing of his coworker
that
had been shown to him.
First he grabbed him by the neck,
his
hands around his windpipe cutting off vital air,
and
then throws him into debtors prison.
That’s how much he values his coworker;
he
only sees him as 100 denarii.
That is all he is worth to him.
He
rejects his brother slave until he pays the value placed on his life.
“When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they
were greatly distressed, and
they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.”
What was it that had distressed them so much that
they told their lord?
It wasn’t about
the debt, but about how this slave had treated his fellow worker.
The king goes ballistic
and
“handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt.”
Remember how this parable started?
The
Kingdom of Heaven is like a king
who
wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
And Jesus concludes, “So my heavenly Father will
also do to every one of you, if
you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."
Do this sound like a threat to you?
Then think of it in terms of a consequence.
But the point is this:
The
wickedness of the unjust slave
was
in separating himself from the community
and
missing entirely the importance of the brother, the sister.
If you do not forgive, if you do not take away the debt
owed you,
you
will be put in a state of suffering, like being tortured.
And then when you are feeling so bad
that
you feel as though you are being torn apart,
then
God will show you that there is no separation with God,
no
possible separation from others,
and
God will show compassion. That
is how mercy works.
The brother or sister cannot be made an object,
cannot
be quantified with a price, a monetary value.
And the forgiveness, the taking away of the debt,
must be from the heart,
Jesus
says.
God who knows the thoughts of our hearts, as the
Collect for Purity states,
is
always looking at the heart and its struggles.
Is
the heart clean and open? Or
is it choked and cramped?
For always we can count on this:
We
are worth more to God than the value of our debt.
Knowing that, then what is the value to us of the
one who sins against us?
We are responsible on our side for the condition of
being sinned against.
We can let that offense increase our separation
or
we can remove what separates us from another.
It’s all about the value we place on the other.
God
sets that value at 150,000 years worth of labor at the least
for
each person, each human being,
such is the economics of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Genesis 50:15-21 Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers said,
"What if Joseph still bears a grudge against
us
and
pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?"
So they approached Joseph, saying,
"…
please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father." …But
Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid! …
Even though you intended to do harm to me, God
intended it for good,
in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is
doing today.
So have no fear.…”
That is real reconciliation – the evil intent of
the brothers
ultimately
was turned to good for their sakes.
Remember these words from the Sermon on the Mount:
5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate
your enemy.’
44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you,
45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
Hard words to hear?
Well,
this is at the heart of the undiluted Gospel good news.
These
are words of our radical Savior
who
wants to save terrorists as well as good church folk.
This
is how it is done.
So my advice to you in light of all this is the
following:
Give up now, give up your whole life to God,
who
knows the secret thoughts of the heart.
You can’t do that if you don’t forgive.
The forgiving frees you, and it also frees the one
forgiven.
It
opens the way for them to be brought back into communion,
into
community.
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