Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
FORGIVENESS AS SELF-PRESERVATION Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. In today’s Gospel, Jesus does not allow you to think of forgiveness as an option, as if you have any kind of right or authority to choose whom you forgive and whom you do not. No, Jesus makes forgiveness your duty and obligation—and it does not matter how hurt you feel, how deeply angry you are, or how little your neighbor deserves your forgiveness. Get the job done! Forgive and be done! Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? [asked the king.] And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also My heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart. Dear Christian friends, A mother says to her young son, “Stay out of the street! I will boot your backside into next week if you even go near to that street!” Why would any mother say such a harsh and threatening thing to her child? Does she give such a command because she hates her child, or because she wishes for her child to live in fear? Of course not! The mother probably loves her child more than she loves her own life, even when she speaks harshly to him. The mother wants so dearly to care for her child and protect her child from all harm, that she lays a heavy law upon the child, spoken in severest terms: “You will regret going near the street!” There is a good chance the child has no clue what danger and pain awaits him in the street. All he knows is his mother’s law, and since the street seems like such a good place to play, his mother’s law seems harsh and unreasonable—maybe even impossible to keep. The child cries because his mother will not allow him to play in the street, but momma is not the least bit softened or moved by his tears. “Stay out of the street! If a passing car does not kill you, I will!” Your God has never once spoken a commandment to you that was not for your own personal blessing and benefit—even when He speaks harshly and demandingly. For example: · The first and greatest commandment—“You shall have no other gods” (Exodus 20:3)—this first commandment is really all about you. Your God commands you to have no other gods because He alone has power to be the sort of God you need in your life. He alone will preserve and protect you eternally, ruling over you in mercy and in love. All others that would claim to be your god shall only exploit and destroy you. The one true God commands you to have no other gods so that you may live. · Take the third commandment as another example: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8). With these Words, God commands and requires you to be devoted to hearing His Word and faithful in receiving His Holy Communion. God commands your worship, not because He is worried about taking attendance on Sunday morning, but because His Word and His sacraments—ONLY His Word and His Sacraments—continually provide you with divine life, apart from which you shall die. · In the same way, all the commandments of the Second Table are as much about you as they are about your neighbor. o “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12); “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13); “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14): These commandments are all about God taking care of your physical body and life. o “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15); “You shall not bear false witness” (Exodus 20:16); “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17) These commandments are all about God taking care of your possessions and reputation until your last hour comes. God is kind of like a mother that way. In the same way that momma lays down the law for her child in the harshest of terms, in order to preserve and protect her child, so also shall your God lay down the law for you—even laws you may find too difficult and unacceptable. God speaks His laws and He gives you His commands in order to preserve and protect you. God says to you in today’s Gospel, in very clear terms, YOU SHALL FORGIVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. Not only shall you forgive, but also you shall not cease forgiving. Peter came up and said to [Jesus], “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” Jesus commands Peter and He commands you to forgive your neighbor a ridiculous number of times. There are no options for Peter and there are no options for you. Cry, weep, and rant if you wish. Your protests about how your neighbor does not deserve your forgiveness will fall on deaf ears, just as a child’s tears and pleas to momma—that he be allowed to play in the street—will likewise go totally ignored. Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? [asked the king.] And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also My heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart. Your God has never once spoken a commandment to you that was not for your own personal blessing and benefit. The command that you forgive your neighbor is no exception. Yes, you have been hurt. Yes, you have been mistreated, disrespected, and perhaps even physically harmed. None of those things should ever have happened to you. Your God commands you to forgive your neighbor from your heart nevertheless. Nothing has happened to you—nothing ever will happen to you—that your loving God will not set straight for you in the future. Forgiveness is very much an act of self-preservation. Jesus commands you to forgive, not merely for your neighbor’s benefit, but for your own personal benefit and blessing, as well. · Do not nurse your resentments toward your neighbor. Your anger and resentment will only grow into an incurable infection. Let it go. Think of forgiveness as being like an antibiotic that will prevent your injury from growing worse. Think of your Baptism as washing and healing your wounds, so that they do not require your attention any longer. · Bitterness is a dead end street. The longer your remain bitter toward your neighbor, the more likely you will grow bitter also toward God, since God is the one who allowed that neighbor into your life. “Let all bitterness and wrath… be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32). · “Forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” That is really the point of forgiving your neighbor, isn’t it? Okay, he or she has done a bad thing and treated you wrongly. How does your neighbor’s small sin against you really stack up against all the many sins you have committed against your God? God forgives you every sin and more, because of His grace and mercy in Christ. When you forgive your neighbor, you are really just proving that you believe you have been forgiven by Jesus, too. Jesus tells a parable in today’s Gospel. Sometimes the parables are difficult to understand, but not this one. An indignant king said to his unmerciful, unforgiving servant, Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. The kingdom of heaven has come to you, Christian. All of your debts to your master have been fully forgiven, so that not even a penny remains. The parable in today’s Gospel ended badly. Play out today’s parable in your own life, but give it a different ending. Your forgiveness toward your neighbor will mean happiness for your neighbor. Your forgiveness toward your neighbor will also mean happiness for you, both now and in eternity. The peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen. ___________________________________________________________________ 'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author (as long as no charge is made for the work and it is not made part of a compilation), as well as for quoting or use in a congregational setting _with_or_without_attribution_. Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list. Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster. Subscribe? Send ANY note to: sermons...@cat41.org Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: sermons-...@cat41.org Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/sermons@cat41.org/> For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at: Rev. Fr. Eric J. 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