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09/14/2008
18th Sunday after Pentecost 2008
by Fr. Jeff
This morning we find ourselves back in St. Matthew's fourth great discourse- on Ecclesiology...or how to be the Church.
Last week we learned how to settle disputes in the community of the Church...and this week Matthew focuses on the Church as the House of Forgiveness.
I love the way this parable begins. Peter asks Jesus, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?"
Peter is a zealot. He tests and tries Our Lord over and over again. And with this question...Peter thinks he is again pushing the boundaries of faith...he thinks that he is in fact willing to do way more than what is asked- no one should ever have to forgive that much...
I imagine him thinking that Jesus will reply. "Well Peter, that's way more than necessary...that's way more than asked...I'm proud of you."
I can picture the shock on the face of Peter when Jesus replies, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times." Or Seventy times seven...forgive an infinite amount.
This, of course, is unheard of. To forgive and forgive again, over and over with out end. Peter's countenance sinks.
Jesus ends this section of the discourse with these words, "So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."
Which, put bluntly, translates: If you do not forgive others, or if you cannot forgive others, then prepare yourself for Hell.
If you cannot find it in your heart to forgive others...prepare yourself for an eternity of torment.
If you do not forgive others, you yourself will not be forgiven.
To the modern person of faith...this seems all wrong. God doesn't work this way.
To the modern believer, faith- or a relationship with Jesus- comes about individually, and it is not intertwined with others.
That is to say...a person of faith comes to know Jesus, wants to know more about Jesus, believes in Jesus first, and then that person finds a group of people who share similar ideas.
So faith itself lies in the heart of the believer, and that faith is lived out in a community of individuals.
So, in that way, forgiveness is a secondary business.
But the words of Jesus this morning push that idea. Or rather, the words of Jesus this morning shatter that notion of individual faith.
The was Jesus presents the idea, faith is held by the Church...by the community...and people share in that deposit of faith when they share in the life of the community...when they participate in the life of the Church.
So faith is not held by the individual...faith is participated in when one lives within the Church
So, then, the question begs, if you cannot reconcile with others, can you not reconcile with God?
Matthew's Gospel says no, you cannot. If you cannot forgive others, God will not forgive you and you cannot truly live within the faith of the Church.
Starting on a base level...what happens to a person when they cannot forgive someone who has wronged them...someone who has trespassed against them?
They end up with as a shell of a person...eaten away with bitterness and hatred and remorse.
Through the act of holding a grudge, holding bitterness in their heart...a person dies inside...dies to goodness, dies to God and dies to the community.
So, in that sense, if a person cannot forgive, then a person cannot live to God or live within a community...because they do not have the ability because of the bitterness and hatred they hold.
Faith, as I said earlier, is not something held by the individual. It is something held by the Church...something someone participates in as a member of the Body of Christ.
And if one cannot participate in the community because of bitterness and hatred, then that person cannot have faith- at least according to Jesus' words recorded in Matthew's Gospel.
When the Apostles asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Our Lord gave them the prayer we know as the Lord's Prayer. The prayer contains a very few articles:
We are told to pray for the Kingdom of God to come.
We are told to pray for the Will of God to be done.
We are told to ask for our daily bread...or for your immediate needs.
And we ask for forgiveness of our Trespasses, or Our Sins...as we forgive the trespasses or sins of others.
So, Jesus teaches us in this prayer what is essential to our very lives. The Kingdom and Will of God...the sustenance that God provides us...and forgiveness from God and our forgiveness of others.
God's forgiveness goes hand in hand with our forgiveness of others.
To hold a grudge is to walk the road to perdition. So, then, how do we forgive others?
If y'all are anything like me, some times it is very hard to forgive others...and sometimes it seems impossible to forgive others.
And if it seems that way...that's probably because it is impossible...at least on our own accord.
Some of us might have had heinous and horrid things done to us...others of us might have been humiliated by others. And still others might have been ruined by the deeds of men.
And so, our pain and anguish might run so deep, that we cannot find forgiveness...not only can we not find it, but we do not want to find it.
But, we must. And to do so- we must pray for Grace and strength...we must pray for Mercy...we must pray that God will give us the things we need to forgive the sins done against us.
We must constantly hold those who have done us wrong in prayer. We must constantly offer those people to God. We must, without fail ask God to help us forgive them for what they have done.
To help us in that venture...we must prayerfully think on what God has forgiven us. For we too, have committed heinous acts against Our Lord. We have denied Him, mocked Him, forgotten about Him, even turned against Him in our own lives.
The finest example of this is Peter. Peter, who was said to be closest to Jesus...who was said to be the leader of the followers of Christ...Peter denied Jesus Christ three times, when Jesus needed Him most.
In fact, Peter's last act before Our Lord's Crucifixion was to deny knowing Him.
Peter was forgiven. We are forgiven. And we must forgive others.
Faith is not an individual proposition. Faith is held in community. And to live in that community, we must forgive others- or we will not be forgiven.
So pray...pray for your enemies and for those who have done you wrong. Pray that you may show them mercy as Our Father in Heaven each and every one of us Mercy upon Mercy upon Mercy.
Peter is a zealot. He tests and tries Our Lord over and over again. And with this question...Peter thinks he is again pushing the boundaries of faith...he thinks that he is in fact willing to do way more than what is asked- no one should ever have to forgive that much...
I imagine him thinking that Jesus will reply. "Well Peter, that's way more than necessary...that's way more than asked...I'm proud of you."
I can picture the shock on the face of Peter when Jesus replies, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times." Or Seventy times seven...forgive an infinite amount.
This, of course, is unheard of. To forgive and forgive again, over and over with out end. Peter's countenance sinks.
Jesus ends this section of the discourse with these words, "So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."
Which, put bluntly, translates: If you do not forgive others, or if you cannot forgive others, then prepare yourself for Hell.
If you cannot find it in your heart to forgive others...prepare yourself for an eternity of torment.
If you do not forgive others, you yourself will not be forgiven.
To the modern person of faith...this seems all wrong. God doesn't work this way.
To the modern believer, faith- or a relationship with Jesus- comes about individually, and it is not intertwined with others.
That is to say...a person of faith comes to know Jesus, wants to know more about Jesus, believes in Jesus first, and then that person finds a group of people who share similar ideas.
So faith itself lies in the heart of the believer, and that faith is lived out in a community of individuals.
So, in that way, forgiveness is a secondary business.
But the words of Jesus this morning push that idea. Or rather, the words of Jesus this morning shatter that notion of individual faith.
The was Jesus presents the idea, faith is held by the Church...by the community...and people share in that deposit of faith when they share in the life of the community...when they participate in the life of the Church.
So faith is not held by the individual...faith is participated in when one lives within the Church
So, then, the question begs, if you cannot reconcile with others, can you not reconcile with God?
Matthew's Gospel says no, you cannot. If you cannot forgive others, God will not forgive you and you cannot truly live within the faith of the Church.
Starting on a base level...what happens to a person when they cannot forgive someone who has wronged them...someone who has trespassed against them?
They end up with as a shell of a person...eaten away with bitterness and hatred and remorse.
Through the act of holding a grudge, holding bitterness in their heart...a person dies inside...dies to goodness, dies to God and dies to the community.
So, in that sense, if a person cannot forgive, then a person cannot live to God or live within a community...because they do not have the ability because of the bitterness and hatred they hold.
Faith, as I said earlier, is not something held by the individual. It is something held by the Church...something someone participates in as a member of the Body of Christ.
And if one cannot participate in the community because of bitterness and hatred, then that person cannot have faith- at least according to Jesus' words recorded in Matthew's Gospel.
When the Apostles asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Our Lord gave them the prayer we know as the Lord's Prayer. The prayer contains a very few articles:
We are told to pray for the Kingdom of God to come.
We are told to pray for the Will of God to be done.
We are told to ask for our daily bread...or for your immediate needs.
And we ask for forgiveness of our Trespasses, or Our Sins...as we forgive the trespasses or sins of others.
So, Jesus teaches us in this prayer what is essential to our very lives. The Kingdom and Will of God...the sustenance that God provides us...and forgiveness from God and our forgiveness of others.
God's forgiveness goes hand in hand with our forgiveness of others.
To hold a grudge is to walk the road to perdition. So, then, how do we forgive others?
If y'all are anything like me, some times it is very hard to forgive others...and sometimes it seems impossible to forgive others.
And if it seems that way...that's probably because it is impossible...at least on our own accord.
Some of us might have had heinous and horrid things done to us...others of us might have been humiliated by others. And still others might have been ruined by the deeds of men.
And so, our pain and anguish might run so deep, that we cannot find forgiveness...not only can we not find it, but we do not want to find it.
But, we must. And to do so- we must pray for Grace and strength...we must pray for Mercy...we must pray that God will give us the things we need to forgive the sins done against us.
We must constantly hold those who have done us wrong in prayer. We must constantly offer those people to God. We must, without fail ask God to help us forgive them for what they have done.
To help us in that venture...we must prayerfully think on what God has forgiven us. For we too, have committed heinous acts against Our Lord. We have denied Him, mocked Him, forgotten about Him, even turned against Him in our own lives.
The finest example of this is Peter. Peter, who was said to be closest to Jesus...who was said to be the leader of the followers of Christ...Peter denied Jesus Christ three times, when Jesus needed Him most.
In fact, Peter's last act before Our Lord's Crucifixion was to deny knowing Him.
Peter was forgiven. We are forgiven. And we must forgive others.
Faith is not an individual proposition. Faith is held in community. And to live in that community, we must forgive others- or we will not be forgiven.
So pray...pray for your enemies and for those who have done you wrong. Pray that you may show them mercy as Our Father in Heaven each and every one of us Mercy upon Mercy upon Mercy.
