Matthew 18:21-35
18:21 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?"
18:22 Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
18:23 "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished
to settle accounts with his slaves.
18:24 When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to
him;
18:25 and, 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.
18:26 So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I
will pay you everything.'
18:27 And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the
debt.
18:28 But 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.'
18:29 Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and
I will pay you.'
18:30 But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the
debt.
18:31 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.
18:31 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.
18:32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked slave! I forgave you all
that debt because you pleaded with me.
18:33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?'
18:34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his
entire debt.
18:35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive
your brother or sister from your heart."
In this gospel reading, Jesus invites us to forgive one another. His invitation, however, is not an optional activity for Christians. It is the heart of the gospel and the distinctive character of Christian life. Out of love for us in our weakness and sin, God forgives us, heals us, and strengthens us to be a forgiving people. The sign of the cross invites us to the ministry of reconciliation in word and sacrament. The cross, marked on our foreheads at baptism and traced over our bodies at the funeral liturgy, assures us of Christ's victory over death and the promise of eternal life.
I saw an interesting bumper sticker last week. "Must be present to win." Not sure what the owner of the car meant; but it does say something about forgiveness. You cannot be fully present in life if you are nursing hurts from the past.
Also, saw a good slogan on a church sign today (not mine). "Life is more fun when you don't keep score." Ruby from Texas
Seems to me to ask the victim to forgive and to FORGET is to cause further injury. Forgiving does not guarantee one does not feel pain on remembering. I think folks see forgetting as a method of escaping from the pain of the injury once it is forgiven. For me, forgiving means changing "what I will do with the injury/harm". When I forgive it basically means that I will not use the harm caused me to injure the perpetrator or further injure myself or others. To forgive often means I will shed tears. I hate forgiving and find it very very difficult. Infact, I try hard to live a lifestyle where I cause not harm and I am caused no harm. yep!!! Storyteller
Dear friends,
Just a thought early in the week on this heavy subject. It isn’t just about 9/11: It is the neighbor who borrowed a tool and didn’t return it.
It is the rucus of the neighbors that keeps us awake each night. The ill word at a church meeting that caused a family to leave and not return.
It is the job lost to a lesser qualified person with better connections. Spouse that was left after they said “Till death do us part.” Child whose father or mother is absent by choice. It is the family feud that has been there for decades with no end in sight. Grace and peace, Mike in Sunshine
My mother told me this proverb (I think she said it was from Africa) when I was young: The wrongs that others do to us, we keep in a little pile in our hands, in front of us where we can see it; the wrongs that we do to others, we keep in a big basket strapped to our backs. We cherish that little pile of wrongs done to us... we would rather forget the big basket of wrongs we have committed. Jesus takes them both in forgiveness. Aren't we relieved to have the weight of the basket taken off our backs? Aren't we reluctant to hand over the little pile of wrongs done to us? LF
Somebody up the page a bit asked what forgiveness is, and maybe that is a clue to one way to hear the parable. Forgiveness is like when somebody *owes* us something, and we decide not worry about it, get along without it, allow the other to know that he or she can be in our presence without the debt filling the space b/w us. Forgiveness is a way for us to be together when keeping score would keep us apart. That is, after all, the only way we can be in the presence of God. Brian in MN
I am thinking of forgiveness as an intentional decision to enter the healing process. The process takes however long it takes. Somewhere In that process we experience the forgetting - and we know we are healed.
The NIB Commentary indicates that the King taking back his forgiveness may well be a Matthew addition - the Q Material ends with the question of 18:33. VespaRev
Some ideas about the meaning of debts in biblical terms: The difference between the servant’s debt to the king (ten thousand talents), and that owed by his fellow servant (100 denarii), is astronomical! The king’s servant would have been one of those royal satraps responsible for immense properties or incomes. Bondage to royalty was universal in the ancient world. Even wealthy courtiers were in total bondage to royal masters. Jesus pictures this one in danger of being sold, along with his wife and children, and all his belongings. Ten thousand talents was a whole lot! And the king had only begun the reckoning! Here are some references I filtered out of Trench’s “Parables of Our Lord”: In Exodus 38:24, we are told that twenty-nine talents of gold were used in the construction of the tabernacle. In preparation for the temple, David set aside three thousand talents, and the princes five thousand (I Chron29:4-7). The King of Assyria extorted thirty talents of gold from Hezekiah (2Kin 18:14). The ten thousand expresses the impossible weight of our owing to God, as compared to all we are owed. But, as we read, the wicked servant believes that his debt was nothing, compared to the few bucks owed to him. Having promised his Lord more than he could pay, he “went out” and choked his neighbor. Having received salvation, do we “go out” from the Lord’s presence, and forget our cancelled debt? Do we think His forgiveness was nothing more than to be expected (“Me and the Lord, we’re like this…”)? Perhaps we think of it as something He Owed Us~!! GECinMich
One of my favorite illustrations has to do with trapping monkeys in Africa. One of the tribes there make study clay bottles with narrow necks. They tie the bottle to a tree and put a little grain or fruit in the bottom. The monkey smells the food. Looks in and sees the food. Reaches in an grabs the food. In the process of grabbing, a fist is made and the fist can't be withdrawn through the narrow neck. They fuss and chatter and bite and spit as they are gathered by the hunters, but they won't turn loose of the grain. ........... I've used this as an illustration of how we stay attached to our wealth at our own destruction. (Probably would have fit with some people in the face of Katrina.) But it also speaks to how we deal with sin. If we won't turn loose of the sins done against us, we stay in the same place, even though we have been freed to leave in God's grace. East of Austin
"I'll forgive, but I won't forget!" is a phrase I've often heard... maybe someone else said that already, sorry, it's a bad week for everyone. Sometimes it's just nice to "type" and vent that way...
The older I get the more I forget... too bad the opposite isn't true... the older I get the more I forgive...pulpitt in nd
Fr. Foley, a Jesuit at St. Louis U. (on the SLU website regarding this weekends readings) quoted Dag Hammarskold on forgiveness and I found it very illuminating:
"Forgiveness breaks the chain of causality because he who forgives you -- out of love -- takes upon himself the consequences of what you hve done. Forgiveness, therefore, always entails a sacrifice.
The Price you must pay for your own liberation through another's sacrifice is that you in turn must be willing to liberate in the same way, irrespective of the consequences to yourself."
DcDrDan
What is sometimes meant by I forgive you:
I’m going to forgive you even though you are wrong.
I’m going to say it’s ok, because it will heap coals on your head.
I’m going to forgive you because I’m strong and you’re uhbiously a weak personality with no self control, morals or decency. I’m going to say I forgive you so God can reward me for putting up with you and eventually punish you for doing wrong.
I like how Paul links forgiveness and reconciliation together. Reconciliation being that the relationship is mended as though nothing happened. Sometimes I think that appears to be easier for God than people. Is this saying in effect - Be perfect as God is perfect?
Wondering Daniel
My favorite quote on forgiveness is; forgivenness is not holy amnesia. It is the draining of pus from the wounds to start the healing process" Doh't know who said it I could be paraphrasing it too...but it is so helpful for me at least the first part peace Pastor Keg
Coming out timidly from a long lurk--personally, I think it's easier to forgive than to be forgiven. The shame of my sinfulness is heavy, and the grace received at absolution after a hard confession is overwhelming.
My father's brother drowned when he was 14 when the lifeguard wasn't paying attention. Years later, the same lifeguard came through the village in China where my grandmother was living. She heard about it, agonized, and finally sought him out and invited the lifeguard over to dinner. He accepted, she prepared, and he never showed up.
To be forgiven is to let go the self-blame, the shame, the horror of what we each are capable of. I've been a chaplain long enough to see the effects of long-term anger on self-destruction, but the effects of long-term self-blame are equally devastating.
We blithely go through our general confession every week and it doesn't really cost us anything. Neither does absolution., really. But when we take it seriously--the full accepting of grace is not for sissies. Vicar in Maine
