The Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity
The Collect.
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ORD we beseech thee to keep thy household the Church in continual godliness; that through thy protection it may be free from all adversities, and devoutly given to serve thee in good works, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:3)
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HEN came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. (Matt 18:21-35)
Today’s sermon addresses a great misunderstanding on the part of the people of God concerning the subject of forgiveness. It seems that preacher always takes the one part of our Lord’s Word out of context and omits the latter. Every excuse for dismissing sin in and out of church is addressed by the text, 1 Judge not that ye be not judged. We almost never hear the sermon address the remainder of the quote: 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. (John 7:1-5) You can clearly see that our Lord lays out the terms for judging. A thief should not go about judging others for their thievery. But we are actually commanded of the Lord to judge: 24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (John 7:24) This means to judge with God’s judgment, not man’s. Whatsoever God calls sin, we must also call a sin.
Peace of mind is one of the fruits of forgiveness. Even when we are sure in our minds that we have been irreparably wronged, there is a sore spot in our hearts that says, FORGIVE.
The wrong done you will not result in the loss of an arm, or of one’s life. Go to that person who has wronged you. He is hurting more than you are. Frankly forgive him in the same way Christ forgives you.
A tree grows and produces fruit because of the outward benefit the leaves provide through the process of photosynthesis to the inward tree, just as the inner tree gives growth to the leaves. If we take away the leaves, the inner tree will die. Forgiveness is the leaves of the tree of our hearts.
Peter seems to be the spokesman of choice for the disciples. He is fearless in being open and frank. One of the others most likely planted the question in Peter’s mind – most likely Judas – the least forgiving of all. So, Peter frames the question in a manner consistent with the law of Moses. He feels that seven times is a large number, but Christ gives him an answer that is intended to indicate that, like love, there should be no bottom to our forgiveness.
There are three stages of forgiveness that are consistent with the manner in which God forgives.
1) When a brother, not one of the world, offends me, I should forgive that person in the silent chambers of my heart, but not yet openly. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (Eph 4:32) The bitterness of unforgiving spirit is then taken from our own hearts.
2) I do not inform him of my forgiveness for him since that would not be consistent with the manner in which God forgives. I must go to him, in love, and rebuke him for his offense. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. (Luke 17:3)
3) Immediately upon the friend’s apology, you must inform him that he is forgiven. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. (Luke 17:4)
22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. (Matt 5:22-24)
There are reasons for righteous anger and indignation. It spurs us to action to remedy a wicked circumstance such as rape, murder, molesting little children, etc.
We now have the parable of the Kingdom involving a King. That King is God the Father.
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ND when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
In the days of this accounting, the amount of ten thousand talents was an enormous amount – more than $20,000,000.00. The King in this story represents God. The debtor – you and me. Without the remission of our debts (sins) we are sold off into slavery and bondage to Satan. In fact, we sell ourselves out to that merciless master.
We may deem it a simple thing for a great King to forgive even an enormous debt, and feel that we are justified in demanding the last cent owed us by a poor man; but though God is a great King, He has a great Heart and is willing to forgive. It was no simple thing for Him to forgive our sins and remit them. It cost Him the life-blood of His only Begotten Son!
A minister was discussing forgiveness with some schoolboys one day. One of the boys was incensed that his friend had struck him on the playground. The minister asked, ‘Jimmy, do you think, in view of the Scripture passage we just read on forgiveness, that you could find it in your heart to forgive another boy who hurt you, or struck you, on the playground?’ Jimmy responded, ‘Y-e-e-s-s, Sir, I suppose I could,’ and then added, ‘I could if he was bigger than me!’ Well God is bigger than all of us. But He desires that we love others as a measure of our love for Him.
The debtor in the parable pleads for patience. Apparently, the King has long exercised patience with this man, and there is no more time for it. God’s Spirit will not always strive with man. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh (Gen 6:3) God cannot renew an unwilling spirit to reconcile that spirit to His own Spirit of Righteousness. Those whose hearts are not full of love and forgiveness do not belong to God.
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UT the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
See how this unworthy servant has received such a mighty forgiveness, and at enormous cost (as you and me through the blood of Christ) – yet cannot forgive even a small debt (100 pence or three months average wage at the time) of a fellow servant of less means. He will sell him into bondage! This is not God-like. This is not Christ-like! This is very much like the devil that deceived Eve.
You may have had a dear friend spite you in a small matter, but the resentment has built-in your heart – it has grown beyond the proportions of a normal Mustard Tree and taken over your whole heart. You are weary day by day and avoid even looking into your dear friend's eyes. He is hurt by your behavior, but who suffers more: the offender, or the victim. Seeds of wrath in the heart bare trees of hatred and misery.
We have all fallen so very short of the righteousness of God that it is completely beyond our sight, but Christ gives us the means to assume that righteousness of His own. He forgives our sins, washes us clean, and is ever ready to renew our hearts when we repent of every offense. He suffered intensely for you and me. Can we not overlook the smallest infraction by a friend?
The criminal has no rest of conscience is constantly contemplating his being discovered. Many would find greater joy in confessing their faults and paying debt than in whiling away in constant fear. The sinner suffers no such dilemma. The King stands at the ready to forgive promptly and completely every sin confessed, and those unthought-of sins unconfessed. We need only remove the shroud of false pride and bitterness, empty our hearts of hate, and come to Him seeking forgiveness in repentance. There is no cost to the sinner for such a benefit for the cost has already been paid by the King’s Son. If you have resentment and hate in your heart growing from unforgiven offenses, open your heart to the Dipper of Love in God’s Hand and forgive all. Then you may have rest to your souls. Amen.
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