Sermon - Trinity 17 Forgiveness

Matthew 18.21-35
+ May I speak in the name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN
Matthew’s 18th Chapter contains a series of instructions for the daily life of the Christian community. Forgiveness is one of them. Peter wants to know how often we should forgive (v.21). Jesus gives the question a broader horizon: we must always forgive. That is the meaning of the mysterious expression “seventy-seven times” (v.22) There may also be an allusion – taking the opposite position – to Genesis 4:24 “If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times."
It means there are no limits; love doesn’t work with obligations that can be counted. Mutual forgiveness builds up the community, and it implies trusting people.
Jesus’ statement is illustrated in one of the most beautiful parables in the Gospels, one only found in Matthew. The “settling of accounts” will vanish because God’s justice is based on gratuitous love. At the Kings request, the servant forgives the debt, “ten thousand talents” is a huge amount of money, that could never be repaid (it is something like the foreign debt of many poor nations). This is why the slave’s promise is merely an attempt to move the Lord. The kinds forgiveness is totally free; he forgives simply, as it says “out of pity”, out of love, not because he expects, at some point in the future to receive what is owed to him.
Do not hold grudges against your neighbour
This parable in the Gospels doesn’t leave any room for manoeuvre, the conduct of the slave is the exact opposite of the Lord’s action. The fellow slave barely owes him a hundred denarii, not an insignificant amount, but it wasn’t that much really, it could easily have been repaid, but the debtors plea is not heeded. The “wicked slave” hasn’t learned his lesson. According to the strict justice, he can send the debtor to jail, but the King has shown him another kind of justice based on gratuitous love that asks for nothing in return. This justice considers people for what they are, rather than for what they have.
The God of Jesus loves because he is good. In the presence of the boundless love, people’s merits as secondary. Those who believe in this God must love the same way. The love of God is the model of our conduct – we might be imperfect, however that is not an excuse for us not trying to change.
The Lord is always ready to renew his covenant (his promise) with us, to turn over the page and start again. This is what challenges us to start again and try better next time. Open our hearts to others.
In the presence of this love, the question “how often should I forgive?” becomes a redundant question really. Don’t for a moment think that this is easy however – if you were thinking that this nice story is a comfortable fireside chat it isn’t. There is nothing more difficult than forgiveness.
God does however guarantee that we will be changed – and even the people we forgive can (sometimes) be changed – it is a two way street after all.
There are a few standard stories that reappear in different guises, in many different scenarios. It’s a bit like all those action films of the 90’s (and some now) – Good guy, bad guy, love interest, danger, car chase, gunfight, big finale, good overcomes evil, light beats darkness.
The standard faith story is this - A man of retribution and violence through grace becomes a man of forgiveness and peace in the blink of an eye. People around him can’t believe the transformation and he is tested, but God has transformed. We all know the story in so many different genres.
They are absolute rubbish– the man of retribution and violence has a constant battle to be a man of peace – it is only because with each and every painful interaction, each and every person he forgives when he doesn’t have to, each and every time he is goaded and decides to answer with peace, every time he lets a little piece of his integrity get chipped away by having to behave and count to ten.
That’s the real test of the seventy-times seven, that’s what it really means – it means that it is a constant battle – not a quick fix. Forgiveness is costly and I believe it is sent from God, because it seems so other worldly.
Some quotations about forgiveness to think about.
Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.
Peter Ustinov (1921 - 2004)

Life is an adventure in forgiveness.
Norman Cousins (1915 - 1990)

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

It is difficult to give practical advice on forgiveness because the point Jesus is making is not something we can hide from. We can just say that ‘for the record’ it isn’t easy, and there are lots of issues at play in this complicated minefield of a Gospel reading.

Finally, I suppose there are just two things left to say;

Firstly, it really doesn't matter if the person who hurt you deserves to be forgiven. Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. You have things to do and you want to move on.

Secondly, forgiveness does not always lead to a healed relationship - it might be wise to let them go along with their belief that they have somehow won, when they haven’t. Wish them well, and let them go their way.

Thirdly, let me know if you discover a pain-free way to forgive others. We will make millions!

Forgive from the heart in the name of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.