Forgive Us Our Debts
Sermon text for September 28, 2008:
Matthew 18:21-35
Preached at Valverde Presbyterian Church, Denver, Colorado
EVERY TIME HE THOUGHT ABOUT IT his face burned with anger. He was definitely cheated in the parent department. Not only were both his mom and dad alcoholics, but his father was a gambler to boot. It was said that his father was so good at cheating at cards that any time he went into a casino in Reno, security teams would stand around him and watch his every move.
Growing up, he endured years of drunken screaming matches between his parents. And he watched helplessly as his father won and lost a fortune gambling. There was no question that he had been cheated in the parent department.
At one time his father’s gambling appeared to have set the family up for a lifetime of security. He won a huge cattle ranch and a four hundred-unit apartment complex. The son was given the use of a great apartment rent-free, until his father lost everything he’d won in another card game.
He hated his mother and father. He hated them for all of the love he didn’t experience while they slept off their binges. He hated them for the ever-present smell of stale booze. He hated them for never being sober when he needed them. He hated his father for losing so much money gambling, and losing his inheritance, his security in a card game. After all wasn’t he entitled to a little compensation for such a lousy childhood? He would never forgive them. Never!
---
A mother and father were so proud of their daughter that they could hardly stand it. She was gifted academically, and had grown into a young woman who genuinely cared for other people. Parents could ask for nothing more than the joy she brought them.
They were both proud and fearful when she decided to go to South Africa to work in one of the black townships. They knew she had a lot to offer, but South Africa seemed so far away.
One day a parent’s worst nightmare struck. Some young black men drunk and angry at white oppression attacked and killed their lovely young daughter.
Months later, the parents were in South Africa when the young men went on trial. Surprisingly they testified for the defense. They told the court that their daughter would not want vengeance; that they forgave the young men for this heinous crime, and they asked the court for leniency.
---
What made the difference between the people in these stories? No one knows for sure, but we might speculate that the parents who were able to forgive were secure in their own forgiveness. The young man who was so angry at his parents probably had not experienced forgiveness himself, and so he found it impossible to forgive. And that is probably true of us as well. If we hold grudges; if we carry anger; if we think that forgiveness is too good for someone else, it is probably because we ourselves have not experienced forgiveness.
One day Peter came to Jesus and asked magnanimously, “Lord if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” The standard teaching was that one should forgive an offender four times, so Peter is very expansive, suggesting a standard almost twice as generous as conventional wisdom. But for Jesus that is not enough. He said, “Not seven times, but I tell you seventy-seven times.” Or some translations say, “Seventy times, seven times.”
Then Jesus told an incredible parable on forgiveness. A servant who owed an impossibly large debt to his master was ordered to pay the entire amount. The servant owed so much that he couldn’t have repaid the debt in ten thousand years. When he was about to be sold into slavery along with his wife and children, he fell to his knees and begged for more time. In a gesture of immense compassion the master forgave the debt and released the servant from all obligations for that debt. He was forgiven.
As he was going out from his master’s presence he saw a fellow servant who owed him a relatively small amount of money. He demanded immediate payment and when the second servant could not pay he was ordered to prison along with his family. Clearly, even though the first servant was forgiven a tremendous amount, he didn’t feel forgiven, so the experience paid no dividends in his soul.
The reality of forgiveness is one thing and the experience of forgiveness is another. In many of our churches, after the congregation offers the prayer of confession, someone announces, “In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.” The announcement is true and the people are forgiven. But many of us have a hard time accepting that reality, so we do not experience the relief and joy that forgiveness brings. If we do not feel joyous freedom when we hear, “In Jesus Christ we are forgiven”, then forgiveness has not paid dividends in our souls. And we may find it hard to forgive others as we have been forgiven.
The point of Jesus’ parable is clear. In the kingdom of heaven the loads of guilt which are impossible to carry are taken from us by the God of Love. Because of the love of God we are free from the effects of sin and guilt. But that freedom carries with it the expectation that we are also willing to free others from the debts which they owe to us.
If you have a hard time forgiving; if things done to you in the past continue to haunt you; then hear the message of forgiveness. This message is absolutely true and can be trusted: The master has forgiven you of all that you owe. You are free; you are forgiven! Believe this good news and find it in your heart to be good news to others.
Copyright © 2008 by Dwight R. Blackstock
Matthew 18:21-35
Preached at Valverde Presbyterian Church, Denver, Colorado
EVERY TIME HE THOUGHT ABOUT IT his face burned with anger. He was definitely cheated in the parent department. Not only were both his mom and dad alcoholics, but his father was a gambler to boot. It was said that his father was so good at cheating at cards that any time he went into a casino in Reno, security teams would stand around him and watch his every move.
Growing up, he endured years of drunken screaming matches between his parents. And he watched helplessly as his father won and lost a fortune gambling. There was no question that he had been cheated in the parent department.
At one time his father’s gambling appeared to have set the family up for a lifetime of security. He won a huge cattle ranch and a four hundred-unit apartment complex. The son was given the use of a great apartment rent-free, until his father lost everything he’d won in another card game.
He hated his mother and father. He hated them for all of the love he didn’t experience while they slept off their binges. He hated them for the ever-present smell of stale booze. He hated them for never being sober when he needed them. He hated his father for losing so much money gambling, and losing his inheritance, his security in a card game. After all wasn’t he entitled to a little compensation for such a lousy childhood? He would never forgive them. Never!
---
A mother and father were so proud of their daughter that they could hardly stand it. She was gifted academically, and had grown into a young woman who genuinely cared for other people. Parents could ask for nothing more than the joy she brought them.
They were both proud and fearful when she decided to go to South Africa to work in one of the black townships. They knew she had a lot to offer, but South Africa seemed so far away.
One day a parent’s worst nightmare struck. Some young black men drunk and angry at white oppression attacked and killed their lovely young daughter.
Months later, the parents were in South Africa when the young men went on trial. Surprisingly they testified for the defense. They told the court that their daughter would not want vengeance; that they forgave the young men for this heinous crime, and they asked the court for leniency.
---
What made the difference between the people in these stories? No one knows for sure, but we might speculate that the parents who were able to forgive were secure in their own forgiveness. The young man who was so angry at his parents probably had not experienced forgiveness himself, and so he found it impossible to forgive. And that is probably true of us as well. If we hold grudges; if we carry anger; if we think that forgiveness is too good for someone else, it is probably because we ourselves have not experienced forgiveness.
One day Peter came to Jesus and asked magnanimously, “Lord if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” The standard teaching was that one should forgive an offender four times, so Peter is very expansive, suggesting a standard almost twice as generous as conventional wisdom. But for Jesus that is not enough. He said, “Not seven times, but I tell you seventy-seven times.” Or some translations say, “Seventy times, seven times.”
Then Jesus told an incredible parable on forgiveness. A servant who owed an impossibly large debt to his master was ordered to pay the entire amount. The servant owed so much that he couldn’t have repaid the debt in ten thousand years. When he was about to be sold into slavery along with his wife and children, he fell to his knees and begged for more time. In a gesture of immense compassion the master forgave the debt and released the servant from all obligations for that debt. He was forgiven.
As he was going out from his master’s presence he saw a fellow servant who owed him a relatively small amount of money. He demanded immediate payment and when the second servant could not pay he was ordered to prison along with his family. Clearly, even though the first servant was forgiven a tremendous amount, he didn’t feel forgiven, so the experience paid no dividends in his soul.
The reality of forgiveness is one thing and the experience of forgiveness is another. In many of our churches, after the congregation offers the prayer of confession, someone announces, “In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.” The announcement is true and the people are forgiven. But many of us have a hard time accepting that reality, so we do not experience the relief and joy that forgiveness brings. If we do not feel joyous freedom when we hear, “In Jesus Christ we are forgiven”, then forgiveness has not paid dividends in our souls. And we may find it hard to forgive others as we have been forgiven.
The point of Jesus’ parable is clear. In the kingdom of heaven the loads of guilt which are impossible to carry are taken from us by the God of Love. Because of the love of God we are free from the effects of sin and guilt. But that freedom carries with it the expectation that we are also willing to free others from the debts which they owe to us.
If you have a hard time forgiving; if things done to you in the past continue to haunt you; then hear the message of forgiveness. This message is absolutely true and can be trusted: The master has forgiven you of all that you owe. You are free; you are forgiven! Believe this good news and find it in your heart to be good news to others.
Copyright © 2008 by Dwight R. Blackstock
posted by Dwight Blackstock | 6:18 PM
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