Our son Matthew is baptized Sunday. ================================================================= In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit
Two weeks ago we heard Jesus tell the parable of the wedding feast. A man tried to enter the feast without the wedding garment of repentance. He was cast into the outer darkness. So it will be with us when we refuse to wear the wedding garment of repentance. Last week we heard Jesus heal the nobleman’s son with six words, go your way; your son lives. The nobleman’s faith was strengthened when Jesus said those words rather than following the nobleman home and performing a visible sign. So it is with us each week as Jesus strengthens our faith through the Word spoken and the Word with bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper.
Repentance and faith are vital to our life in Christ. There is one part still missing: forgiveness. When we repent of our sin and believe in Jesus Christ, we receive God’s forgiveness. As God forgives us, so we forgive our neighbor when he or she sins against us. We pray for our forgiveness and our neighbor’s forgiveness when we pray the Lord’s Prayer: forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Forgiveness isn’t as easy as it should be, especially when someone’s sin against us or our sin against someone leaves a bitter aftertaste. When we go, hat in hand, to apologize and ask for forgiveness, we hope and pray that our neighbor will forgive us. We long to hear him or her say, “You are forgiven”. When he or she forgives us, we take a deep breath and rejoice in that forgiveness.
But what happens when the shoe is on the other foot? That’s what the parable of the unmerciful servant is all about. Jesus shows us what happens when a Christian person refuses to live out what he or she prays: forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
A 10,000 talent debt is approximately 60 million denarii, and that’s a conservative estimate. One denarii is one day’s wage. Not even Methuselah, who lived 969 years, would be able to pay the debt. When the servant’s debt came due, he begged not to be sold to pay the debt. He says the most foolish thing: have patience with me, and I will pay you all. He could work every second of every day from now until you die and still not come close to paying in full the debt owed.
We sometimes beg God for patience when it comes to sin. We enjoy some sins more than others. When the Law begins to work repentance, we try to cut deals with God. We ask God to give us a couple of days to enjoy our pet sin then we will quit cold turkey and repent. We read the Bible more. We pray like we’ve never prayed before. We promise to go to Divine Service every week. We do whatever it takes to make everything right with God except what God wants us to do: stop sinning and return to Him.
We make bargains with God because we think His forgiveness is a “get out of hell free” card. We got that card when we were baptized. We think that card gives us license to live however we please. When the Law is applied to work repentance, we whip out our “get out of hell free” card and expect a free pass. After all, we’re a baptized child of God. We know we’re forgiven. God will overlook our living together outside of wedlock. God will overlook our addictions that paralyze us from doing what needs to be done. God will overlook all of our imperfections and love us anyway.
We believe God forgives all our sins, and He does because of His Son Jesus. But what about forgiving our neighbor? His or her debt is pocket change compared to our debt. They have the same line we had toward God, have patience with me, and I will pay you all. There is no patience. There is anger.
The hand that goes around the neck of the fellow servant looks a lot like our hand. We know we are supposed to forgive our neighbor as we were forgiven. We will forgive them, but we probably won’t forget about it. We’ll keep a record of all their misdeeds and remind them about how many times they have hurt us. When the number of transgressions gets too high, we will withhold forgiveness once and for all. That ought to make them steam a little while. Maybe they will learn not to cross us for once and for all.
Take the hand that throttles our neighbor’s neck, make a fish, and beat the breast in contrition. The standard default answer of a Christian is not “I will pay you back” but “Christ has paid all my debt.” Thanks be to God that He took pity upon us when we thought we could make everything good through our own efforts. Instead of letting us try to pay the debt in full, He forgives our debt. Our heavenly Father literally has amnesia concerning our sin. He doesn’t remember there ever was a debt. All He sees is His Son’s blood and righteousness covering and cleansing us from all sin.
Because the Father forgives and forgets our debt, we too forgive those who our indebted to us. Forgiving our neighbor means we also have amnesia concerning their trespasses against us. It’s hard to forget. Satan will be there to remind us to hold that sin against our neighbor. God will help us to forget because that’s what a child of God does. A child of God imitates their Lord Jesus Christ. They pardon enemies, pray for those who persecute them, even shed blood for those who hate them. It is a greater thing to forgive our neighbor the trespasses he or she has committed against us than to remit them a sum of money. When we forgive our neighbor’s sins, we imitate God (Chrysostom).
Matthew Lowell Juhl is in debt way over his head. He’s only eight days old but his debt continues to climb higher than the National Debt. God forgives His debt today through water, Word, and Spirit in Holy Baptism. Matthew owes His heavenly Father nothing because Christ’s blood covers him and makes him blameless. As he grows in years he will be taught how to forgive others just as His heavenly Father forgives him. He will be taught not to treat forgiveness as a license to sin thinking he has a free pass out of hell. He is an unworthy servant made worthy of eternal life because of Jesus Christ.
Blessed Martin Luther was right on the money when he wrote on a scrap of paper found on his person when he died, “We are all beggars. This is true.” We can beg all we want, but our begging to bargain with God falls on deaf ears. Instead we beg for mercy knowing Jesus sits at the mercy seat of God, ready and willing to take our sins away and give us a sure and certain hope of an eternal future with Him in heaven. Psalm 147 says, the Lord heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. God’s proper work is forgiveness. He sends Jesus to ransom you from the bitter pains of death. His proper work of forgiveness is how He loves you, so you may love one another as He first loved you.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit -- Rev. David M. Juhl Our Savior Evangelical-Lutheran Church Momence, IL http://oselcmomence.googlepages.com ___________________________________________________________________________ 'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_ _attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as for quoting or use in a congregational setting _with_or_without_attribution_. Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list. Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster. Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/> For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at: Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
