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Sermon by Vena Oglesby
The parable in today’s gospel is of the unforgiving servant. And as Peter asked Jesus about forgiving a member of the church I reflected on how children would respond if told this story. I think they would all agree that the servant’s behaviour was unfair. And it certainly wasn’t fair when a man had been let off a massive debt and then immediately demanded that his fellow slave should repay him a much smaller debt. However, he didn’t escape the consequence of his behaviour because all who knew about it reported it. So justice, in a sense, was done. Yet this parable is not really about justice and fairness – but about mercy and forgiveness.
This cautionary story follows on from the passage we heard last Sunday about winning back a fellow Christian who has sinned. It underlines the necessity of repeated, full and frank forgiveness within the Christian community. The contrast between the debt owed to the King by the servant and the debt owed to that servant by his fellow servant is so enormous as to be incomprehensible. And it is clear, that whereas the debt owed to the King could never even begin to be repaid, that owed to the servant could well be repaid, given the same kindness and consideration, shown to him by the king. This makes his treatment of his debtor even more reprehensible. He was dealt with accordingly for his selfish behaviour. What we owe and what is owed to us are two sides of same coin. We cannot separate the way we ourselves have been treated by God, from the way we should treat others. The same mercy and forgiveness we have received, we must extend to others. God’s mercy far outweighs and is far greater than any mercy we shall ever be called upon to show to another.
Our treatment of others should not depend on how they treat us, but on the recognition of how God has treated us. Almighty God through Jesus his Son has forgiven us a lifetime of sins. Jesus through his death on the cross has opened up the way so we can approach God’s throne of grace and mercy for forgiveness. Given that, how can we find it difficult to forgive? Jesus, in replying to Peter’s question, expresses the limitless need of forgiveness as we live together, work, worship and socialise. Forgiveness should be treated as part of our daily living. Whatever our culture, background, social standing we are all sinners saved by grace. If we fail to forgive, our hearts have no room for Jesus.
Peter’s question to Jesus may seem calculating. Is forgiving seven times sufficient? This goes beyond the requirements of the Old Testament. For instance, the prophet Amos and the Book of Job teach that to forgive three times is enough to show mercy. But that was before Jesus and the new age of the kingdom of God. Our forgiveness should be limitless. This must have humbling for Peter to hear - but also a great relief – to know there is no limit to God’s forgiveness and mercy. As our need for forgiveness is more, so is our need to forgive others. Wronging others seems to come naturally to us so we need to employ God’s help to extend to others his mercy. Humility, prayer, careful consideration and love will help forgiveness triumph.
God bless us all. Amen.
The parable in today’s gospel is of the unforgiving servant. And as Peter asked Jesus about forgiving a member of the church I reflected on how children would respond if told this story. I think they would all agree that the servant’s behaviour was unfair. And it certainly wasn’t fair when a man had been let off a massive debt and then immediately demanded that his fellow slave should repay him a much smaller debt. However, he didn’t escape the consequence of his behaviour because all who knew about it reported it. So justice, in a sense, was done. Yet this parable is not really about justice and fairness – but about mercy and forgiveness.
This cautionary story follows on from the passage we heard last Sunday about winning back a fellow Christian who has sinned. It underlines the necessity of repeated, full and frank forgiveness within the Christian community. The contrast between the debt owed to the King by the servant and the debt owed to that servant by his fellow servant is so enormous as to be incomprehensible. And it is clear, that whereas the debt owed to the King could never even begin to be repaid, that owed to the servant could well be repaid, given the same kindness and consideration, shown to him by the king. This makes his treatment of his debtor even more reprehensible. He was dealt with accordingly for his selfish behaviour. What we owe and what is owed to us are two sides of same coin. We cannot separate the way we ourselves have been treated by God, from the way we should treat others. The same mercy and forgiveness we have received, we must extend to others. God’s mercy far outweighs and is far greater than any mercy we shall ever be called upon to show to another.
Our treatment of others should not depend on how they treat us, but on the recognition of how God has treated us. Almighty God through Jesus his Son has forgiven us a lifetime of sins. Jesus through his death on the cross has opened up the way so we can approach God’s throne of grace and mercy for forgiveness. Given that, how can we find it difficult to forgive? Jesus, in replying to Peter’s question, expresses the limitless need of forgiveness as we live together, work, worship and socialise. Forgiveness should be treated as part of our daily living. Whatever our culture, background, social standing we are all sinners saved by grace. If we fail to forgive, our hearts have no room for Jesus.
Peter’s question to Jesus may seem calculating. Is forgiving seven times sufficient? This goes beyond the requirements of the Old Testament. For instance, the prophet Amos and the Book of Job teach that to forgive three times is enough to show mercy. But that was before Jesus and the new age of the kingdom of God. Our forgiveness should be limitless. This must have humbling for Peter to hear - but also a great relief – to know there is no limit to God’s forgiveness and mercy. As our need for forgiveness is more, so is our need to forgive others. Wronging others seems to come naturally to us so we need to employ God’s help to extend to others his mercy. Humility, prayer, careful consideration and love will help forgiveness triumph.
God bless us all. Amen.
