Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 14, 2008
It Begins with Forgiveness
Genesis 50:15-21; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35
Grace and peace to you from God, our Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
The political conventions are over, and the campaigning is moving into hyper gear. The candidates are going after each other tooth and tong, and every word they say is being scrutinized by the media. It’s no wonder that words get twisted to take on slights or new meaning. Judging others seems to be the order of the day.
Everything the candidates have done in the past is being reviewed: who they’ve dealt with, what promises they’ve broken, who they’ve hurt, and what they’ve done wrong. So far, we’ve heard about a candidate’s infidelity, abuses of power, family values, a young woman’s pregnancy, oil company ties, and flip-flopping. It seems to be more about attacks and defenses than policies and the economy, things that actually matter to the lives of millions of Americans.
What’s all this got to do with the theme of our scripture readings today, which focus on the subject of forgiveness? Oddly enough, “the most forgiving folks in the process so far have been the former presidential candidates. Are their supportive comments evidence they are offering authentic forgiveness and reconciliation? We may never know for sure. But we do know that after November, all the candidates and all of us will have to figure out a way to live together.
Our story from the book of Genesis gives us intrigue and politics, and offers a study in dysfunctional families. Joseph was a bratty kid about being his father’s favorite. His brothers beat him up and left him to die in the desert. Then, in a “change of heart” they sold him into slavery in Egypt instead. The brothers lied about what happened, telling their Father that Joseph was killed by a wild animal.
Later, a famine came. When the brothers needed help, they traveled to Egypt not knowing their brother Joseph had become the man in charge of things there.
Joseph wept when his brothers sought forgiveness even though they did not fully confess what they had done. The brothers cried, too. The vulnerability of the moment, the compassion shared in genuine forgiveness, brought a river of tears.
The brothers were expecting Joseph to do to them worse than they did to him. Instead, Joseph’s forgiveness and care brought healing of old hurts and fears. Just imagine how much anger, resentment, and fear they’d been carrying around all those years.
What happened? God’s love for them all was enough to cover the deep wounds that had separated them.
Have you ever had to apologize, or be apologized to for something really serious? At times like that sometimes only tears can express what is going on. Picture the scene of all the brothers crying in the halls of the Pharaoh’s palace (the Egyptian White House). Can you picture Obama and McCain hugging and crying and apologizing after the election is over, regardless of who wins?
St. Paul writes about something similar in his letter to the Romans. He raises the question of what we do when there is a disagreement within the community of faith. And the issue is over who is vegetarian and who eats meat! Paul concludes by saying that whatever our practices in terms of food, we should do what we do to the glory of God and assume that others who see things differently are doing the same.
Differences in how we follow our consciences have the potential to threaten our ties to one another in our families, our church, our neighborhoods, and our national politics. Paul is writing about that reality of differences among those in the early church in Rome.
A story to illustrate the ways our convictions can get in the way of unity is about the late Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth. She attended a luncheon in Germany with the wives of conservative pastors.
It seems the women had their own ideas of how Christian women should look. The woman sitting across from Ruth Graham thought it shameful that the wife of this famous pastor looked so worldly. She was even wearing lipstick. The German woman became was so angry that she started crying right into her beer.
And while Ruth didn’t understand why the woman was crying, she felt bothered that a pastor’s wife was drinking alcohol at a meeting to plan a revival. Judging others, both personal and political, is easy to do. Forgiveness and compassion require effort.
Peter asks Jesus how often one should forgive. He suggests the perfect number seven, wondering if that is enough. Jesus responds with the ultimate combination of perfect numbers, seventy-seven times. It’s a metaphor for saying there is no limit to the amount of forgiveness we should give. Just as there is no limit to the amount of forgiveness God gives to us.
Jesus’ story is about a servant who owed his employer a lot and could not pay. The servant’s debt was forgiven, but then he went out and demanded immediate payment from someone who owed him. Worse yet, he had the man put in prison.
As Christian people, we proclaim the message that there is nothing that can separate us from the love and grace of God. God is forgiving, not vengeful. God sets aside punishment or required payment. God longs for our tears of apology, and waits for our request for forgiveness. That is key to the forgiven life we are invited to live.
Sometimes we assume that our lives are so hopeless they can’t be redeemed. We feel there is no payment large enough to warrant being saved. But that’s not what God expects. God has forgiven us through Christ Jesus. We can’t earn such grace. It is a free gift. That is hard to fathom.
It is hard to believe that we have been given the gift of life from God. When we get caught up in judging others; caught seeking the worst in our opponents; when our lives are off track, God forgives us and invites us back to life again without requirements,
Seventy-seven times God does this for us. It’s an impossible number. It means God forgives us beyond our ability to keep track and asks us to do the same to those who need forgiveness from us.
Whatever happens in the political processes of our world, we live in God’s economy. The lesson for today is still the same. Forgive without counting, without keeping score, without reservation. God’s grace creates the space for forgiveness that will break the cycles of retaliation and abuse in our world. It is forgiveness that will set the slaves and prisoners free. Forgiveness can heal our divisions: political, racial, and economic.
We are created to live in harmony with each other, and with God. We are forgiven just as we are. Saying the Lord’s Prayer calls us to do the same for others. It starts with forgiveness. It ends with forgiveness: when we ask for it and when we give it.
Amen
With thanks to Pastor Jay McDivitt, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Denver, CA, who prepared the ELCA Youth Ministry “Faith Lens” on today’s lectionary. Other sources include: Luther Seminary’s “Working Preacher” site, and the weekly participants in St. Paul-Reformation’s “Faith Matters” lectionary study group.