| Matthew 18:21-35 "Jubilee: As We Forgive our Debtors" |
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| Written by Rev. Don Lee | |
| Saturday, 10 March 2007 | |
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My wife, Susan, is teaching Language Arts for LISD. Someone forwarded her a published list of analogies and metaphors from actual high school essays submitted by English teachers. Here are some of the more repeatable ones: -Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master. -He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it. -He vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever. -From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m. -John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met. -Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut. -The plan was simple, like my brother-in law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work. -The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while. -He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something. -He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up. (now that’s love!) At times, Jesus used some “pretty off-the-wall” metaphorical language to describe his Kingdom come! In this morning’s scripture reading, Jesus tells the story of a bighearted King, an ungrateful slave, and a missed opportunity. If you brought your Bibles I invite you to turn with me to the gospel of Matthew 18:21-35. As you are able, please stand for the reading of the Gospel. 21 Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ 22Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. 23 ‘For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; 25and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. 26So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” 27And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.” 29Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” 30But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. 31When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 32Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?” 34And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. 35So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’ Prayer: Come Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Your Love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. Amen. How many times should you forgive someone? When is enough, enough? The unspoken cultural standard was three. Peter ups this to 7, pretty generous, huh! Jesus counters with 77 times, as in as many times as it takes! He follows that with a parable is about a slave who, having experienced grace himself, refuses to extend it in-turn to another. What’s crucial in understanding what Jesus is saying, is the amount of debt this person has been forgiven. In 1st century Palestine a “talent” was the equivalent of about 6,000 denarii. A denarius was a day’s wages; thus 6000 denarii is roughly 20 year’s wages! Now multiply that by 10,000. Get the picture? Can you imagine running up that kind of debt? Could be fun! But it’d be impossible to ever pay off. The other slave’s debt is chump change, comparatively. Imagine someone forgiving you that kind of debt? Are you going to be a little grateful? That’s what makes the forgiven debtor’s behavior so appalling. The assumption is he’s going to “pass it on.” No wonder the king hears chastises him and rescinds his royal pardon. Here’s something that might help bring home what Jesus is trying to say. You all know the golden rule, right? “Do unto others as you would have then do unto you,” commanded Jesus. There’s this wonderful book, Landscapes of the Soul. In it, the author suggests that often those who claim to live by the Golden rule actually mean they live by the “Silver rule. The silver rule is not to do to others what you do not want others to do to you. Basically, a negative form of the Golden rule. The difference is, the silver rule merely counsels us to avoid hurting or offending another, whereas the golden rule admonishes us to actively seek the other’s well-being. Live by the Silver Rule and life will be more morally passive. Live by the Golden Rule and life will be morally active (love, kindness, generosity). We will not be content just to leave others alone, to refrain from hassling or judging them, but will actively seek their good. The author adds a third rule into the mix, the so-called Tinsel Rule. The Tinsel Rule is to treat others as they deserve. He claims most of us live by this rule. “We tend to be good to those who are good to us and treat those who are bad as we think they deserve. He claims all three rules are varieties of reciprocity. None of the three call us to any kind of extraordinary goodness… The vast majority of Jesus’ teaching, however, calls his followers to exceed the social obligations expected of them and to respond instead in extraordinary ways. We are to love so universally as to include even the enemies that persecute us. We are to go out of our way to love. “What Jesus instructs us to follow is the very example of God, whose sun rises on both the evil and the good.” If you formulated this into a rule it would be Do unto others as God does unto you.” It is to live with a generous and forgiving heart. Generosity, not reciprocity! Jesus’ point is clear, “To whom much is forgiven much forgiveness is required. This last Friday was my day off. I had three essays to write due Monday for my doctoral class. My nine year old son, Chris invited me to come to his Artic Press award ceremony at school. He had written a book and that accomplishment was going to be acknowledged. I thought to myself, “I don’t have time for this.” It was my daughter’s birthday and we were taking several of her friends out that evening and I was stressed about getting everything done. I told him, “Chris, I’ve got a lot going on but I’ll try to be there.” He seemed content with that. When the time came around I decided I needed to take the time to be there for my son. He walked up to the mike and said, “I’m Christopher Lee and the name of my book is “Speedy the Race Car and I’ve dedicated to my dad.” That’s when I realized why it was so important to Chris that I come to his ceremony. It wasn’t about him at all, it was about me. I am learning how to be generous and forgiving from a nine year old child! Christians are called to live generous lives. To quit keeping score and instead, fully engage one another truthfully, lovingly, and authentically. Forgiveness is characteristic of a life committed to justice and peace. To forgive is to let go of any claim to power over another. It would be easy to interpret Jesus’ words nationally. That God calls us as a nation to seek peace with all other nations; to stand against the “you bomb me, I bomb you harder,” mentality that feeds an escalating level of violence in our world. That’s not what Jesus is saying here. In this text Jesus is speaking directly to his church and he is saying, “Church, forgive each other as God has forgiven you.” Vs. 21, ‘Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive…?” Only as a forgiven and forgiving community of God’s faithful can we truthfully witness to the reign of God on earth. Let there be peace on earth, yes, but let it begin in Carrollton, in my neighborhood, on my street, in my home, in my life. In closing I want to share with you a story written byFrederica Mathewes. She writes about her church’s Ash Wednesday service celebrated in her Eastern Orthodox tradition: On the first night of Lent, as Vespers comes to an end, my husband turns from the altar. He asks everyone to form a circle around the interior of the church, and when we’re in place, the person next to him—in this case, our son David—steps over to face his dad. My husband crosses himself, bows to David, then says, "Forgive me, my brother, for any way I have sinned against you. " David says, "I forgive you," and they embrace. Then it’s David’ s turn to bow to his dad and ask the same question, and receive the same forgiveness and embrace. The ancient rite of forgiveness has begun. David steps to the next person in line to repeat the exchange, and a different parishoner faces my husband; before the evening is over every single person here will have asked for and received forgiveness from every other. Orthodox Christians have done this for centuries, every year on the first night of Lent, to cleanse past wounds and allow a fresh start. When I next look up I see David embracing his younger brother Stephen. Where David is quiet-natured, a cool stream, Stephen is a geyser, full of passionate opinion, wide-flinging love and, not infrequently, anger. There were things to be forgiven there. At last the rite has reached my point in line, and one at a time I bow to people I worship with every week, looking each one in the eye. Each moment is intimate, and I feel on the wobbly border between embarassment, laughter and tears. When I ask 12-year-old Melanie to forgive me, she says, "Not that you’ve done anything, but okay." Basil is giving out enveloping bear hugs with exclamations of "Praise Jesus! Praise Jesus!" Down the line, worshippers dip and bend as in a country dance. I come to my daughter Megan, who will be eighteen in a few days. She has made it safely to adulthood past an adolescence that had it rocky places; yes, there are things to forgive here too. I bow to her and manage to say, past the lump in my throat, "Megan, please forgive me for any way that I have offended you." I could think of a million mistakes I had made. She looks at me, her lashes wet, and says, "I forgive you, Mom." Then she bends to touch the floor and stands again, and says to me, "Please forgive me, Mom, for everything." Can a mother do such a thing? You bet.” Forgiveness is one of God’s gifts of Jubilee! Jubilee was intended to alleviate suffering and demonstrate how the Jewish people should show mercy as God had shown them mercy. Thus this was truly a religious law to encourage justice tempered with mercy. How many times should you forgive someone? When is enough, enough? And Jesus says, “As many times as it takes!” Pray with me: Oh Lord, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Ame |
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