16 Pentecost: How Many Times to Forgive

As we make our way through Matthew’s Gospel,
Hearing snippets of the story every week,
We hear some things that might make us uncomfortable.

Last week,
There was a story about dealing with conflict.
This week, about forgiveness,
And without spoiling it,
I’ll say that next week is going to be about money.

The parable that we hear from Jesus today is not a story of sweet comfort:
It actually challenges us in a very tender way:
Acknowledging the reality of the trouble we have with forgiveness.

The story has two scenes:
First, inside the throne room of a powerful king;

Second, just outside in a palace corridor.

But there’s not just two scenes.
This story also tells of two worlds:
The world as we know it,
And the world as God WANTS it.

The throne room changes in a moment.
From the world as we know it,
To the world as God wants it.

But the palace corridor:
The second scene:
Starts out as the world as we know it,
And fails to become the world as God wants it.

The first scene,
The throne room:
The world as we know it,

Shows us a boss.
Who is reviewing accounts.

And somebody:
A slave:
Owes him big time.
REALLY big time.

No way can this guy pay back what he owes.
He’s in too deep.
He owes too much.

So the boss man orders him to be sold.
Along with his wife,
His children.
And all of his possessions.

And hearing his sentence, the slave drops to his knees.
He weeps, and wails, crying out for mercy.

He makes a promise he knows he can’t keep, begging his boss,
“Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.”

And as so often happens with a story that Jesus tells,
Something unexpected happens.

Out of nowhere,
All of a sudden,
The King released the slave,
And forgave him the debt.

The world as we know it--
Becomes the world as God wants it.
Where debts are forgiven,
And mercy is extended.

And what happens next to this forgiven slave?
When we enter scene two,
In the palace corridor,

It’s pretty clear that he’s missed to point.
He can’t see the world as God wants it.

He’s not even outside the BUILDING:
He’s in the palace corridor,
When he runs into somebody who owes him something.
He grabs the guy by the collar,
And tries to shake the money out of him.

This second debtor does his own pleading for mercy.
Using almost the same words,
He makes a promise he knows he can’t keep, begging his fellow slave,
“Have patience with me, and I will pay you.”

You’d think it would be a no-brainer:
For the forgiven debtor to remember that just a few MOMENTS ago:
He was granted the same mercy and forgiveness.
You’d think that mercy received would result in mercy given.

But that doesn’t happen.
The forgiven man refuses to show mercy.
He refuses to forgive.

He boots his fellow slave into the nearest prison.
And the world remains the world as we know it,
With no move toward the world as God wants it.

It took the forgiven slave mere minutes,
To forget the blessing,
The possibility,
The potential:
Of the world as God wants it.

And here we get to the crux of the matter.
Here we get to the heart of why forgiveness is hard.
Because we too forget.
In a matter of mere minutes:
That we are forgiven.

We forget. That we are Sinners: who are forgiven.
Debtors: Who are let off the hook.
Slaves: Who are freed in mercy.

And we have a choice.
The choice to remain in the world as we know it:
Or to strive for the world as God wants it.

This choice is the most beautiful part.
And it’s also the hardest part.

We get to choose.

We can be like the freed slave:
taking our forgiveness and blessing:
And then forget all about it.

Or we can be like the boss-king:
Taking our forgiveness and blessing:

And using it to continue to forgive and bless.

We get to choose.

And no matter which one we choose:
We’re STILL blessed and forgiven.

Whichever way we go:
Whether we are content in the world as we know it,
Or we strive for the world as God wants it.

God has already blessed and forgiven.
What you do with it,
Is up to you.

It’s the beauty,
But also the hard part of forgiveness.

Forgiveness is not easy.

It’s costly.
It’s not sweet and sentimental.
Forgiveness is hard work.

And even though we have a choice,
Jesus is pretty clear that if we’re going to follow him:
We must forgive.

Because if we’re going to follow Jesus,
We should strive for the world as God wants it.

At the end of the story, the boss king finds out that the slave took his mercy and
forgiveness,
And forgot all about it.
Returning to the world as we know it.

The boss king handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt.
And Jesus,
In a really uncomfortable moment says,

“so my heavenly father will also do to every one of you,
If you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

The one who forgives,
Ushers in the world as God wants it.

The one who doesn’t forgive,
Lives in the world as we know it.
A world that we very well know can be filled with the torturous pain of
vengeance.

It’s easy to live in the world as we know it,
And to forget that we’re forgiven.
To forget to forgive.

And that’s why we gather here.
Where we confess our sins,
And hear that we are already forgiven.

We gather here in this throne room,
And present to God,
Our selves, our souls, and bodies.
And when we come to the table together,
We see a brief glimpse of that world as God wants it.

And then the time comes to leave this throne room,
And go out into the world as we know it.
Where we will certainly meet someone who needs our mercy.

And will we remember?
Will we remember the possibility,
The potential,
And the blessing of the world as God wants it?

Here lies the beauty.
And here lies the challenge.

Amen.