Pastor Mark Nieting
Every generation, it seems, has unforgettable moments. There was “The Redcoats are Coming,” followed by “Remember the Maine”, then “Remember Pearl Harbor,” and most recently the events of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93, which we collectively remember as:“9-11”. Events like these produce vivid and deep memories. The images are burned onto our psyches both nationally and individually. For some time afterwards, the divergent energies of our country blend back together into a national purpose, a unified sense of horror, grief and the will to respond.
We all know where we were and we all know what we were doing when “9-11” happened. We were impacted, challenged, and changed in those few short, horrible hours. We KNOW what happened that day and we know what responses our nation has carried out since. But for us as individuals…..especially as Christians, questions remain. What do we DO with all this emotionally….and spiritually? How do we process this? Those of us in the military may be called upon to take action to restore order and justice in the world….but on a personal level things are far different. We are called to forgive.
It is “God-Thing” that all three Scripture lessons in our Lectionary for this Sunday focus on the topic of judging and forgiving. God never passes up a “teachable moment,” and 9-11 was certainly one of those. Let’s look at each lesson.
Genesis 50 is the story of Joseph forgiving his brothers who had sold him into slavery. Remember his words? “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” They may not have been Joseph’s thoughts while he was looking up from the bottom of the well or when he was in prison in Egypt, but God moved him to forgiveness.
In Romans 14, Paul instructs us that it is God who judges; that one day, all of us will be called upon to give an account of our thoughts, words and deeds to God. Until then, Paul urges us, we are to do what we can to live in peace.
Finally, the Gospel for this Sunday is the very well known challenge Jesus offers us by way of the disciple Peter in Matthew 18. After He taught the disciples about forgiving their enemies, Peter asked the question that most of us probably ask from time to time: how many times do we HAVE to forgive? Most Pharisees taught that forgiveness was to be extended MAYBE three times, so it’s no wonder that Peter thought his magnanimous offer of seven times would earn him a pat on the back from Jesus.
Peter didn’t get a pat on the back. Instead, Jesus “upped Peter” from forgiving his “neighbor” SEVEN times to SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN TIMES. In other words, “keep on forgiving,” On the surface that might sound just as absurd today as it must have to Peter. Forgive an enemy? Forgive him 490 times? Forgive a terrorist? A jihadist? 490 times? How do we forgive men who drove airplanes into buildings and erased the lives of thousands of our fellow Americans, even friends and family members? How do we forgive someone who’s already dead? How do we forgive someone who has inflicted so much hurt on people we love……or even someone who has hurt US terribly…..and, importantly, do we have to?
There we have it: two questions that form the core of the message this morning and throughout our lives as Christians: #1: Do we have to forgive? And, given that we know the answer from the words of Jesus’ own prayer, ‘forgive us our sins AS we forgive those who sin against us,’ #2: HOW? How do we DO IT?
Before we address those issues, let’s back up to something even more basic: just exactly what IS forgiveness? We say it all the time and we receive it regularly, but given what Jesus says about how extravagant we are to BE in extending it, let’s be clear what forgiveness is. The Greek word ‘forgive’(aphiami) is used 142 times in the New Testament. It can be translated ‘to let go, to release, to send off, to hurl away, to divorce, and even to abandon.’ It’s has forms as both a VERB….indicating an ACTION that one takes, and a NOUN…..indicative of a condition one can have.
Forgiveness is far more than a “nice thing to do,” like when we tell two fighting boys to “shake hands and make up!” It’s deep, it’s powerful, it’s deliberate, and it’s real. It’s a GUT-WRENCHING WILLFUL act of dismissal, where we RIP away from us, we RELEASE from inside us even the deepest debts owed to us and the deepest hurts done to us and even the most unforgivable atrocities we can ever imagine. It’s not easy; it’s something we can’t fake. It’s hard. Ask the father of the Prodigal Son. Ask the Master who forgave the debt of Millions. Ask Jesus.
Let me be perfectly clear. Forgiving someone for what they have done to us doesn’t mean we declare that what has been done is acceptable. It’s not an application of political correctness that says anything and everything goes. It doesn’t mean we condone the sins. It’s not an invitation to repetition.
Forgiveness doesn’t let the offender(s) off the hook…the truth is, forgiveness isn’t even ABOUT them! It’s about US! My forgiveness of those who hijacked those planes, of those who killed my fellow Americans doesn’t bring them absolution before God. It doesn’t release their guilt………it releases ME! It releases me from the joylessness that comes from a desire to hang onto a grudge, to turn bitter, or to seek revenge. Forgiveness is necessary because of what it does for US. If it has a salutary effect on the offender, fine…..and God can work with that through His Holy Spirit. But it’s all about what it does for us!
Jesus calls us to forgive, and keep on forgiving…….forgiving till it HURTS, because that’s exactly what He does for us. No one ever said forgiveness is easy……but it is necessary! Our forgiveness is a participation in God’s larger act of forgiveness…..something that we need on a daily basis.
The late Pope John Paul II forgave his would-be assassin, but he didn’t lobby for his release from prison, which did finally happen. Ronald Reagan did the same. We can forgive someone who steals from us, but when they’re caught, we aren’t obligated to let them keep the money…..or let them steal from us again! We are, however, obligated to forgive them!
Dear friends, I HAVE heard a lot of Christian people who are struggling with the very issue of forgiveness when the hurt is personal or when it touches a certain sensitive chord inside us, say things like this: “There are a lot of things I can and I will forgive, but NOT this, or not that. THAT……. I can’t bring myself to forgive! ” Sometimes it’s accompanied by a rather vehement wish of where we want that person to spend eternity…..you know what I mean, don’t you? I’m asking you right now to examine your heart honestly; have you ever said, thought, or felt anything like that? Do you still hold those feelings even today?
This is what happens when we go down that very dangerous road of being unforgiving. It’s then that we apply our own judgment to the situation and to the person needing our forgiveness. It’s then that we have shifted from being a “mutually forgiven sinner” into our own version of judge, jury and executioner. It’s then, and you’re not going to like this, that we join the ranks of the Pharisees. It’s then that these words of Jesus sting us: “If you do not forgive men their sins, then your Father will not forgive your sins!” (Mt 6:14) That is serious business, friends!
Using the parable of the prodigal son as an illustration, it’s then that we have moved from being the forgiven son of the forgiving father into the unforgiving older brother who looks down his nose at his brother who has returned and whom the FATHER has already forgiven! It’s then that we continue to condemn our “sinful little brother” AND our father for offering him forgiveness when we refuse. And because of his unwillingness to forgive, he cuts himself off from his father’s love….and misses the entire party!
Jesus illustrates His lesson in another parable: the unmerciful servant. This servant is forgiven an almost UNIMAGINABLE debt simply by pleading for mercy…….and then, almost immediately, he refuses to forgive one of his coworker an amount almost miniscule by comparison. He experiences forgiveness…..but can’t bring himself to share it! The resulting actions by the Master leave no room for equivocation: if we do not forgive, we are not forgiven. Do you see any wiggle room? I don’t, because it’s not there!
God knows, and I don’t say this lightly, that from our perspective there are certain sins that seem so much more horrible, so much more “personal” that we truly DO struggle to forgive, and I think it would be fair to say that (almost) everyone in this room has struggled…..or continues to struggle….to forgive SOMETHING!
Some of us have been abused in various and many ways. Some of us have been betrayed. Some of us have been abandoned by those we love. Some of us have experienced far more than anyone should…….and our sinful, and yes, selfish human nature demands JUSTICE! It’s then that Jesus’ words in the Lord’s Prayer call out to us: forgive us AS we forgive others!
That’s when God reminds us over and over again that WE are ALL sinners. The playing field is perfectly level at the foot of the cross. There is no sin….save the rejection of the Holy Spirit’s work within us….that is not forgivable by our dear Lord Jesus……no matter how terrible, no matter how uncivilized, no matter how brutal. Where there is repentance, there is grace! It’s grace I need, because I am a sinner. It’s grace you need, because you are a sinner. It’s grace every human being needs, because we all “chief of sinners.” And the true JOY of the Christian faith is that we can offer the forgiveness of Christ to others, knowing that we too will receive it from Him!
Amen!
