The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost ----- 17 September 2017

Matthew 18:21-35

21 Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. 23 "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; 25 and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. 26 So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' 27 And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, "Pay what you owe.' 29 Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' 30 But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. 31 When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, "You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?' 34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. 35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."

Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

·        Peter is always the man for questions. He’s the one who asks Jesus not to talk about dying or the cross. He is often a sort of spokesman for all the other disciples (including us) when it comes to the issues that are closest to Jesus heart. He’s the one who declares Jesus to be the Messiah and the Son of God, and then tried to talk him out of the idea that Jesus had to die. He’s also the fellow who denied Jesus three times in one evening when things went sour according to his understanding.

·        In any event, Peter seems to think that there is a limit on forgiveness. How does seven times grab you? That seems like enough times. The rest of the world is unforgiving. The Law interpreted by the scribes and Pharisees is quite strict. The Roman Code of civic laws can be just as brutal and worse since it was backed up by the sword. So seven times is generous, isn’t it? (Especially since seven is a ‘perfect’ number.)

·        Jesus says “No. More like seventy-seven times.” (I’ll see your perfect number and raise you by eleven times!) And then a parable.

·        For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.

·        The comparison of the two debts in today’s Gospel reading could be seen as a ridiculous one. In parables, Jesus often went for the absurd and the “over-the-top”, just like "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.”

·        The servant in question was owed 100 “denarii” (a Roman coin) or about 100 days wages for a farm hand at the time and he would not forgive the servant who owed him that sum. In contrast, that same servant in question owed his overlord the sum of 10,000 “talents” or the equivalent of 200,000 years’ wages. I think it is important to note what the Gospel writer actually said, so the talk of “talents” and “denarii,” while archaic is still important. It actually carries more weight than similar examples from our own time.

·        We can see that this exaggeration was done to present a tremendous dramatic effect and to drive home a lesson. After all, it is a parable.

·        The lesson is “Forgiveness… It sounds ridiculous… and I mean it.”

·        The entire parable is not so much a real example of what God is like nor is it a blueprint for what becomes of us. At first hearing, it sounds less like grace and more like a contract.

·        It is, however, an exhortation to forgive as we have been forgiven. The first slave’s debt is so high that it has almost a comic book style to it. “You owe me the equivalent of the Gross National Product of all of North America. Pay it now, cash on the barrelhead!” The contrast with the debt that the slave refused to forgive is even more striking. “You owe me last month’s phone bill. Pay it now!”

·        The real point is the extravagance of the forgiveness given by the high lord contrasted with the stinginess of the slave in question. If the slave with the huge debt had written off the pittance his fellow servant owed, we might say “Aww; nice story; he learned his lesson” and go on about our day. The failure to forgive and the punishment that follows actually makes the story.

·        For Jesus to say So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart is really a back-handed proclamation of grace. The forgiveness of the debt by the high lord is the focus of the whole story.

·        We can be held accountable for the forgiveness we give to each other because we have been forgiven our sins and offenses by God. Forgiveness is not merely the price of living in the Kingdom of God; forgiveness is the very air we breathe in the Kingdom. There is no entry into the Kingdom without it. There is no living in the Kingdom without it! This is all grace and it is grace we have received and can share.

·        We don’t forgive because it is expected of us; we forgive because we’ve been forgiven.

·        Forgiveness is no less tough to give simply because we’ve been forgiven. We all like forgiveness… so long as we’re the ones being forgiven. There are people – and we all know some – who hold grudges and nurse wounds and refuse forgiveness for any reason. Some go so far as to nurture their hurts and their anger. There are things that are so serious as to make forgiveness so difficult that it seems impossible. That is another situation that requires more than having someone tell us to forgive. There are times that only time and distance permit a point of forgiveness. There are times when only time and distance permit a person to carry on.

·        Forgiveness in our lives is nothing less than grace in action, whether it is the realization in faith that we are forgiven our faults, failings, and sins or it is the movement in our spirit to forgive another.

·        How often dare we forgive? (Yes, I said ‘dare’.) Seven times? Seventy-seven times? So often we lose count? Who can say? How often has God forgiven us? Even if we say we out loud that we never really sin, we’re old enough to know better. Even in that, the soul-deep realization of our own sinfulness is a result of grace, for that grace drives us to the One who can forgive, the One who has promised to forgive, whether our debt is a pocketful of small change or 10,000 talents

Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.