4/10: Forgiveness: The "#$%&^" Word of the Bible

Forgiveness is the “#$%&*” word of the Bible.  I’m all for forgiveness as long as I’m on the receiving end, not the one needing to forgive.  Mercy is for me, forgiveness is for someone else.  Yet, the prayer Jesus taught us to pray has what St. Augustine called, “The terrible prayer:”  “Forgive us our debts AS we forgive our debtors.”  (Matthew 6:12)  To further underscore the fact Jesus meant business when it came to forgiving as we’re forgiven, he responded to Peter’s question about forgiveness with a very disturbing story:

Matthew 18:21-35

Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

All I can say is, “Yikes!  I’m in trouble.”  Peter was being generous when he suggested seven as the number of “strikes” before someone was out.  The rabbinic teaching was that the prophet Amos cites God’s condemnation three times on various nations before judgment is finally carried out.  Since human beings couldn’t possibly be expected to be more generous than God, it was “three strikes and you’re out.”  Barclay cited these examples of rabbinic thought:

• Rabbi Jose ben Hanina said, "He who begs forgiveness from his neighbor must not do so more than three times."
• Rabbi Jose ben Jehuda said, "If a man commits an offence once, they forgive him; if he commits an offence a second time, they forgive him; if he commits an offence a third time, they forgive him; the fourth time they do not forgive."

Peter figured Jesus would be more generous, so he doubled the three to six, and threw in one more forgiveness just for good measure.  Jesus’ response is so outrageous as to be practically unimaginable.    Seventy times seven means that it takes what it takes because it’s ultimately not about us forgiving, so much as it is about God forgiving us.  If we don’t get that, we’ll miss Jesus’ point every time. 

And this is precisely why I say, “Yikes.”  I can see the proverbial speck in your eye and miss the log in my own.  The human tendency is to exaggerate the wrong suffered at the hands of another, while at the same time excusing our own failures.  The thing is if we don’t get honest with ourselves and recognize God’s amazing grace in our lives, we’re probably going to find forgiveness virtually impossible.  The result will be our lives will be poisoned by daily drinking the toxic potion of unforgiveness.  In the end, we will find ourselves cut off from God and our souls will wither as if poisoned by “Soul Round-Up.”  So what are we to do?  We’ll talk about what forgiveness is—what it is not—and how to engage in a process that results in forgiveness of the other and renewed vitality for us.

Now for the other stuff on my desk…

BUY A MILE and send our Youth to Philadelphia. We are raising $$ for 34 airline tickets to and from Philadelphia, PA. Our goal is $8,000. (the actual cost of the trip is closer to $18,000) Please help support our youth and chaperones in our mission trip this summer.  If they meet their goal, then the youth get to choose what Dawne's next hair color will be.  You can have a say in this as well - the youth are taking ideas from those that donate!  So far, Dawne’s hair isn’t going to be changing, which means we’re falling far short of our goal. 

THERE IS ROOM FOR TWO MORE PEOPLE TO GO ON THE VBS MISSION TRIP TO ROMANIA, JULY 20 - AUGUST 4, 2011.  This team of people will head up a Vacation Bible School with crafts, recreation and support roles as well as lead Bible classes.  Translators will be provided.  Team members will lodge and eat with congregation members.  Training sessions in language, songs, culture, etc. will be provided prior to the trip.  There will be time to enjoy some local sights - castles, churches, tour Bucharest, etc.  Missionary airfare SFO Bucharest ends soon.  Warren Jaycox and Bob Jones will be available after both services this Sunday to answer any questions that you may have.  

One last time…WE’VE BECOME AWARE THAT NO ONE IS PLANNING ANY SORT OF CELEBRATION FOR THE 10^TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11 IN SONOMA, BUT THERE IS INTEREST IF SOMEONE STEPS UP TO LEAD THE CHARGE.  Does this need have your name on it?

FINALLY, EASTER IS TWO WEEKS AWAY AND IT IS A DAY WHEN NEW BELIEVERS ARE TRADITIONALLY BAPTIZED.  IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE BAPTIZED THIS EASTER, PLEASE CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE AT 996-6024 OR EMAIL US AT andrewpres@sbcglobal.net

With that…you really do know what I know…

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Gary De Smet]

When I was new in the classroom as a teacher, I had no kids. Parents trooped in twice a year and I was able to ask, "How did you raise such a great kid?" A remarkable piece of parenting offered by one wise mom, "You cannot ask a kid three times and expect it to be a done deal. Keep asking... maybe when you've asked a thousand times it will be a done deal." Still working on patience. Forgiveness, it seems according to this Post, is like that parenting advice: keep at it, 'it takes what it takes'. Thank you, Pastor.