15
PENTECOST - PROPER XIX - A - 17 MATTHEW 18.21-35
Peter’s
question presupposes the reality of his rights and the limitations of his
duties. Among the Jews, the number of times one should exercise forgiveness
varied. Three times being the fixed number, in other statements seven. However,
that was according to the Old Covenant. In the pre-Israelite period vengeance
toward one who had done wrong knew no limits.
We
see from studying the gospels that the duty of forgiveness occupied a large
place in the teaching of Jesus. The spirit of revenge had cast a dark shadow
upon the life of his own race and upon society in general. God’s people were
awaiting a Messiah that would wreak havoc on Israel’s enemies and restore
Israel to nation status.
Unlimited
forgiveness, however, was to be the dominant spirit of the New Society Jesus
was ushering in, a hard lesson to learn then, as well as now. Jesus uses a
parable to illustrate his point.
Christ
said that the Kingdom of God is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with
his servants. He then told the parable of the forgiving king and the
unforgiving servant. The parable tells us more about the nature of God than
about the nature of the kingdom.
It
seems obvious from the parable that receiving forgiveness and forgiving are
related. Because God forgives us, we are in turn are required (obligated) to
grant the gift of forgiveness to others. How can we learn to forgive? Can we
learn to forgive ourselves and is forgiving ourselves related to our being able
to forgive others?
Jesus
says that true forgiveness comes from the heart. It cannot be merely lip
service.
When
I was growing up, I had a younger brother. He was exactly five years younger
than I was. By the time I was ten or so, he being five, he wanted to tag along
with my friends and me wherever we went and be involved in whatever we were
doing. However, we did not want him, told him so, and would send him home.
Of
course, he returned home crying and telling our mother how awful we had been to
him and that we did not want him to play with us. And of course when I returned
home I was confronted by my mother who told me I was to apologize to my little
brother and tell him I was sorry and I did so.
Looking
back on it now, I must confess, I am not certain it came from the heart but
more out of fear of not saying so. As we grow older in life, we discover that
we have all been stepped on at some point and felt abused, neglected, rejected
and taken for granted and if we are honest with ourselves, we know that we have
treated others in the same way.
Many
times, we have apologized for our behavior and perhaps have been on the
receiving end of another’s apology. But were we really being forgiven and were
we really offering true forgiveness? Did it come from the heart or were we
merely giving lip service in order to try to smooth over an awkward situation
with the aim of maintaining a friendship or relationship.
“What
if Joseph still bears a grudge against us…” Joseph’s brothers asked in the
first lesson. We can always tell when we have been truly forgiven, that is,
when once we have expressed our sorrow at having offended another, they accept
it and it is never brought up again. It is as if it had never happened, or
never been said and the relationship goes on as if it never did.
Likewise,
we can know when the opposite is true, that is, when the other person never let
us forget it. The key thing is not that we should therefore swallow all
resentment and “forgive and forget” as though nothing had happened. The key
thing is that one should never give up making forgiveness and reconciliation
one’s goal.
If
confrontation has to happen, as it often does, it must always be with
forgiveness in mind, never revenge. The parable, then, needs little
explanation. The lesson to be drawn is that the disciple who does not forgive
not only causes grief to the community, but also incurs the wrath of God.
There
is not one of us who does not stand in the same relation to God as the
unmerciful servant to the king in the parable. We have all been the recipient
of God’s unlimited forgiveness. Moreover, we have all been guilty of the same
sin of with holding forgiveness.
Ill
will and a revengeful, grudging spirit involve others in the consequence of our
own sins. And when we with hold forgiveness we impose on God’s good nature
without regard to the consequences. As St. Paul aptly reminds us, each of us
will stand before the judgment seat of God and will be held accountable for
things done and left undone.
Every
time we accuse someone else, we are accusing ourselves. Every time we forgive
someone else, we are playing forward God’s having forgiven us. Our obligation
to forgive others is a practical rather than emotional obligation, and, if we
do not perform it, we must expect to find those blessings forfeited. God’s
forgiveness is probationary and may be recalled at any time.
Mercy
is enthroned in the heart of God. Thus, it should be in ours. To forgive is to
be God-like. Our hearts must be open to forgiveness, never closed. If it is
open, able and willing to forgive others it will be open to receive God’s love
and forgiveness.
It
is only when our true relation to God is grasped that we come to think and act
in a God-like way. Jesus established the New Covenant and the way of life,
which will mark out the New Covenant, is forgiveness. The cross is proof not
only of God’s love for each of us but the sign that the blood of Christ has
reconciled us to God.
Here,
Jesus makes it clear that if we want to continue to receive God’s forgiveness
we have to be prepared to give it. It is a hard lesson to learn, but even
harder to put into practice. Peter’s question and Jesus’ answer says it all.
If
we are still counting how many times we have forgiven someone, we are not
really forgiving him or her at all, but simply postponing revenge. What Jesus
is saying with his 70x7 answer is, don’t think about counting; just do it.
AMEN+
No comments:
Post a Comment