Forgiveness

9/12/99

Matthew 18:21-35

Isn’t this a fascinating portion of scripture?

Peter came to Jesus and asked him if a person should be forgiven as many as seven times.  And Jesus,  true to form,  probably shocked Peter.  Jesus said,  you don’t forgive seven times,  you forgive seventy-seven times.

Then Jesus told a story about a slave who owed an enormous amount of money to his owner.  The owner asked him to pay up and the slave couldn’t do it.  Then the slave pleaded with his master,  and the master was compassionate. 

And he didn’t just say…”All right,  I’ll give you more time to pay.”  He told his slave that his debt was forgiven.  I think it’s safe to say  this was probably a very relieved and happy slave.

But then the slave went out,  and when he saw a person who owed him a much much smaller amount of money,  he  reacted just the opposite.  He wasn’t compassionate.  He didn’t forgive.  In fact he took the matter to the authorities and pursued it until the person was thrown into prison.

Well,  at this point,  the owner of the unforgiving slave was made aware of what had happened.  He probably couldn’t believe it. He called the unforgiving slave before him,  put the huge debt back on the books,  and made things miserable for the man.

At this point Jesus told his listeners,  this was the same kind of thing thy could expect from God if they didn’t have forgiving hearts.

So,  how are we to understand a passage like this for us today?

Are we to forgive not seven times but seventy –seven times? 

Are we to understand this passage in a literal sense? I don’t think so.

I believe what Jesus was trying to communicate was that forgiveness shouldn’t be thought of in terms of numbers.  Jesus could just as well have said 777 times or 7777 times when he responded to Peter.

It doesn’t seem that the number that he gave was to be taken literally.

He was probably  trying to communicate that the people of God are to forgive and forgive and forgive.

And concerning the story which Jesus told about the king and the slave…..again,  we might look at the story in several ways.

Now Jesus seemed to indicate to Peter and the other listeners that if they were not compassionate and forgiving to others,  they in turn would be shown no compassion and forgiveness by God.

Did Jesus intend for his words to be taken literally by Peter and by others?

If we withhold compassion and forgiveness,  does this mean that God cuts it off from us?

Has this been your experience?

It hasn’t been mine.

In fact it has been just the opposite.

In those times in my life when I’ve failed the worst….in those times when I have been the most insensitive to others….. these are some of the times when I have most experienced the presence,  the grace and the forgiveness of God.

And take a look at Jesus himself- 

When his own disciples betrayed him and would not reach out compassionately to him,  from the cross, he blessed them and offered them his forgiveness.

When Jesus spoke of the heavenly father withholding grace,  I don’t think he meant it literally.

Maybe he was just trying to communicate how absurd it is for us humans to withhold our oh so limited kind of forgiveness,  when we are all the recipients of such awesome grace ourselves.

How could the slave be so cold and unresponsive when he had been so blessed?   So freely given to? 

And how can we withhold our compassion and forgiveness to others when we’ve been shown such mercy?

How can we harden our hearts to forgiveness when it has been heaped on us over and over and over again,  not seven times or 777 or 7777 times,  but over and over and over again?

Well,  this passage sets before us again one of the very essential ingredients of the Christian faith doesnt’t it?

But this is nothing new to us is it?

We‘ve heard this before.

We know what Jesus taught.

And we know how Jesus was.  He was the epitomy of forgiveness.

And we know the picture he painted of God…...one who does not deal with us according to our sins,  nor repay us according to our iniquities.(Psalm 103)

But knowing these things,  and being able to see clearly this beautiful Christian ideal,   still doesn’t make it easy to have a forgiving heart does it?

For example:

It’s not easy to forgive those who we feel withheld from us in our formative years is it?

It’s not easy to forgive those who we feel used us.

It’s not easy to forgive those we feel were cruel to us.

It’s not easy to forgive those we feel abandoned us.

It’s not easy to forgive those who we feel have embarrassed us and humiliated us.

It’s so hard to let go of harsh feelings toward those who we feel kept us from achieving our hopes and dreams.

Towards those who we feel betrayed us.  Or were not there for us when we needed them most.

And then there’s another thing.

It’s so difficult to forgive those who have hurt people we love. In fact for some of us,  it’s easier to forgive people who have hurt us personally,   than those who have wounded our loved ones.

Oh, we know all about forgiveness.  What the Bible says about it.  And some of us have readarticles and  books about it and heard great sermons preached on it.

But to have a forgiving heart. 

A gentle non-judgemental heart.

A heart that can let go of the pain of the past.

A heart that is soft toward others including those who have failed us or hurt our loved ones. 

A heart like Jesus heart. 

Well,  that’s another matter.

But this is what we pray for isnt it?

This is what we long for.

This is what we know has to be.

(Ireland experiences – Walking along Galway Bay – the plaque on the old house  On this spot on October 19,  1921, Robert Walsh was shot dead by the blacks and tans.

Experience in Mill Town Cemetary,  recalling the tragedy which occurred there when extremists threw hand grenades and opened up with automatic weapons as Catholics were burying their dead.

(Application)

AMEN.