Today is the 2nd in series of Red Letters We Wish Were Gray. Many versions of the Bible has the words spoke by Jesus written in red, so that they will stand out. The problem with that is that it gives these utterances authority and for the most part, we don't like that. We like to think that there may be some room for interpretation and other possibilities. We want to see them as "gray." But, they're not. We need to read them for what they say and understand them to carry the authority of Jesus, like today, when we will see that he says, forgive.Our scripture text comes from, Matthew 18:21-35
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. 29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' 30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Prayer
Who knows who this is?It is Steve Bartman, life-long Cubs fan, who came to noteriety on October 14, 2003.
It was Game 6 of the National League Championship Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Florida Marlins at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs were just five outs away from reaching the World Series for the first time since 1945.
Cubs left fielder Moises Alou ran over to attempt the catch a foul ball, but Bartman, who was watching the ball and not the fielder, got to the ball first.
The Cubs argued unsuccessfully for an interference call. Consequently, some have blamed Bartman for being a main reason why the Cubs did not reach the World Series that season.
There are still some Cub fans in Chicago who will never be able for “forgive” Bartman for his spontaneous reaction to reach out into the field to catch that foul ball.
Grudges just don’t happen in sports. Over the years there have been numerous reports about John Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, being instrumental in the break up of the Beatles. Whether she is responsible or not, I am sure there are some Beatles fans who will never “forgive” her for the break-up.
Grudges aren't always held against those we have no relationship with. Most often, we hold grudges against those we know best.
A few years ago, a couple came into a pastor's office seeking marriage counseling. They were having some serious issues and before they could really start talking about their problems, the woman gets up from marriage counseling and leaves because she is so consumed with anger
Why is it so hard for us to forgive some people?
I believe it stems from our lack of understanding of what forgiveness is and what it isn’t
Forgiveness is not denying or dismissing the wrong that has happened. It doesn’t make light of something that really happened or really hurt.
It is an action. It is choosing not to seek retribution on the one who has hurt us or offended us.
Forgiveness is actually a discipline that was taught long before Jesus came on the scene. When the priest of ancient Israel studied the scripture, they began teaching the practice of forgiveness in a somewhat ritualistic fashion. They taught that for one to truly forgive, a person must forgive their offender three times, otherwise there was no real forgiveness.
Keep this in mind as we go back and look at our text again.
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
When Simon Peter asks this question (possibly rhetorical), he is questioning the Jewish tradition about the ritual of fogiving someone. Peter, possibily wanting to show Jesus that he is willing to go more than the extra mile, asks, seven times (7 times = twice + 1)
What Peter is doing here in quantifying forgiveness, asserting that there mucst be some mystical number.
Jesus cuts to the crux of the matter and says, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times" or in some translations "seventy times seven."
But, friends, listen, Jesus was giving a quantitative answer, but a qualitative one.
Jesus is saying that you can’t just count a certain number of times and be done with it.
Forgiveness is a continual practice, a continual commitment that must be renewed each day.
Parable shows servant’s inability to receive God’s forgiveness – to do so is to recognize the extravagance of God’s love and reciprocate it
When we are truly honest with ourselves, we can relate to that servant.
Forgiveness has become something we claim, but fail to proclaim
We like the idea of mercy, but not if it causes us to change
This is also one of the reasons I caution people about how they pray, because God listens! So? What's the problem with that? Well, take of an instance, The LORD’s Prayer.
Have you ever really thought about what you a praying in this prayer? Let's take a look at the part that deals with forgiveness - "Forgive us of our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
What we are asking God to do is to respond to us just like we respond to others who do us wrong! Do we really want that?!
We can be different though. We can extend grace and forgiveness because God has extended grace and forgiveness to us.
Many stories about forgiveness in scripture. One of the most beloved is that of the Prodigal Son, the Adult SS class just finished a study on that passage. But what would something like that possibly look like today?
(Video Clip)
Because God forgives us as loves us in spite of our wrongdoing, we can, we must do the same to others.
Oh, remember that story of the couple in the broken relationship? They came back for another session a couple of weeks later. Though the tension was thick in the office, the woman remained. The pastor led off the session by asking the woman to do one thing - tell one good thing about her husband.
After several minutes of uneasy silence, she managed to murmur, "Well, he’s still around."
The pastor said, "Then that's where we will start. We'll work with that."
Forgiveness isn't always easy and is seldom quick. It is a process that we have to build upon and find the little handholds to help us rise up to the level, that while the pain and hurt may never be forgotten, forgiveness has taken place and relationships are restored.
Let's pray.
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