Have the Conversation

 

Based on Matthew 22:34-46

            It’s a strange question to ask. Today’s scripture reading marks the end of a section in Matthew’s gospel where Jesus and the religious leaders have a public confrontation. Starting off by questioning Jesus’ authority, they go back and forth. The chief priests and Pharisees try to trap Jesus in questions to make him look bad and diminish him. But Jesus turns it around by asking them questions and telling them stories that forces them to condemn themselves by their own words. We get to the end of the confrontation. Jesus has come out on top in every argument. I guess we would suspect that they are going to ask one last zinger they have been saving up to finish Jesus off. So, what question do they ask? A lawyer among the Pharisees steps forward and asks Jesus, “Which commandment is the greatest?”

            Of all the questions Jesus was asked in this series of confrontations, this one is a softball. How is this a trick question? It is obvious what is the greatest commandment. Everyone knows this. It is the commandment that every pious Jew recites at least once a day. “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is God. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Here in Matthew’s gospel, for some reason, the word “might” is exchanged for “mind.” Maybe that is done to suggest that this is a commandment that calls for the whole person, heart, mind, and soul, is to be engaged in love for God. Everyone knows this is the first and greatest commandment.

            It makes you wonder. Did they think Jesus was going to give some kind of off-the-wall response to such a simple and straightforward question? It makes me wonder if at this point they have just given up. They just throw a question out just to ask one. It’s just a strange question to ask when they are trying to undermine Jesus’ authority.

            But Jesus doesn’t let this easy question go to waste. He gives the answer that everyone already knows. The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all our being. Then Jesus goes further. He says that there is another commandment that is like the first in importance. We are to also love our neighbor as ourselves. Scholars have looked and looked and have yet to find anywhere in Jewish writings where love of God and love of neighbor are connected the way Jesus does it here. What we have in Matthew 22:37-40 is a new teaching that the Pharisees and the crowd had not considered before. They knew the command to love God. They knew the command to love the neighbor as you love yourself. That’s in Leviticus 19:18. But never before had these two commands been connected in this way.

            Specifically, Jesus says that the second commandment of loving your neighbor is like the first commandment of loving God. By “like” is to mean “equivalent to.” The two commands are equal in importance. They are, in fact, two sides of the same coin. To do one, you do the other. To love God, you love your neighbor. To love your neighbor, you love God. They go hand in hand. This is the new teaching that Jesus gives here. This, by the way, is a teaching that gets further development in 1 John 4:20-21:

Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from Jesus is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

           As followers of the way of Jesus, central to that way is to live out this teaching: we love God by loving our neighbor. We love our neighbor by loving God.

            Speaking of love, we affirm that Jesus lived a perfect life of love. Everything he did when he walked the earth was motivated by love for God and love for the world. Jesus is love in the flesh. The way of Jesus is the way of love. I think we all would agree with that.

            Yet, Jesus had rivals. Just because Jesus lived a perfect life of love did not mean that everyone loved him back. As we have seen over the past few weeks, his way of life was seen as a threat to the authority of the chief priests and the Pharisees. Not everyone chose to believe in and follow Jesus. There were those who resisted Jesus and wanted no part of him. The one who is love incarnate had enemies that saw to it that he suffered and died on a cross. Just by observing how people responded to the way of love that Jesus walked, we see that this way of life can be perceived as a threat by some. Not everyone gets it. And the resistance can be extreme.

            So, if Jesus is love incarnate, the one who perfectly loves God and his neighbor, how did Jesus respond to his accusers, the chief priests and Pharisees? He had to respond motivated by love. Jesus loved the chief priests and Pharisees. We must not overlook this. The crowd needed to recognize this. Matthew’s church needed to recognize this. Hopefully the chief priests and Pharisees were able to recognize this. Jesus did not hate anyone. He did not hate them. He loved them. He loved those who publicly called him out and sought to undermine him, and eventually have him killed.

            How did Jesus express love to those chief priests and Pharisees? He did not say, “Hey, let’s agree to disagree” to avoid the confrontation. He didn’t blow them off by saying, “I don’t have time for this. You do you and I’ll do me.” Obviously, he didn’t get his disciples together to wait until the chief priests or the Pharisees were alone so they could beat them up and threaten them. When Jesus was confronted by those chief priests and Pharisees, people whom Jesus loved perfectly, he engaged by asking questions and telling stories that got to the deeper issue. Last week was a great example. The question about paying taxes to Caesar was not really about taxes. The deeper issue was, what is owed to Caesar and what is owed to God. Through his questions and little stories, Jesus was trying to get the chief priests and Pharisees to realize on their own where they were getting things wrong. I will grant you, Jesus called them hypocrites. That goes to show that you can love someone and also call them out. But Jesus was not about trying to humiliate them or to best them in some debate to boost his ego or make him look better before the crowd like this was some kind of blood sport. Jesus responded to his opponents in a way that could potentially convert them, to come to an understanding that Jesus really was the messiah. Jesus was trying to get them to see who he really was so that they too would believe in him and follow his way of life, to become his disciples.

            What can we learn from this when we find ourselves in confrontations with others? We all have people in our lives we have issues with. None of us can get along with everybody. There are various reasons for this. Personalities clash. Jealousy or envy can get in the way. Stereotypes or bad first impressions can set up a roadblock in a relationship. Deeply held beliefs sometimes create what we call irreconcilable differences. There are all kinds of reasons why, as we go along in life, we have confrontations with people and maybe even pick up an enemy or two.

            It’s unrealistic to expect when we find ourselves in a heated discussion or argument that we will be able to come up with the perfect question or have a great story like Jesus could. How many times after an argument with someone and you are replaying the argument in your head and you think to yourself, “Ah! I should have said…” We come up with all kinds of great come-back lines long after the fight is over. Some people have a knack for debate and making good arguments on the fly. But to be able to ask great questions or tell probing stories like Jesus could? We should not expect to be able to do that.

            But what we can do is to engage in the argument. Easier said than done. I for one am wired to avoid conflict. I’m the kind of person who wants to rush to agreement or fall into the “agree to disagree” move that avoids deeper engagement with the issue at hand. Is that always what love requires? This is the issue when we find ourselves in a situation where there is a disagreement or some kind of personal conflict. Love for the person you have the conflict with challenges us to find ways to engage with that person so that there can be some kind of back and forth conversation. Not rushing to agree to disagree. Not blowing it off and saying, “you do you and I’ll do me.” Not calling names or getting verbally or even physically aggressive, obviously. Love challenges us to engage in an attempt to go to the deeper issue.

            Even though we can’t ask great questions in the heat of the argument like Jesus could or tell amazingly rich little stories that leaves everyone pondering the deeper issue, we do have for us a guide on how to engage with those who are against us, whatever that means in the situation. But before getting into that, we need to go back to those commandments: love God, love neighbor. To engage with opponents as Jesus did, the prerequisite is love. Can you honestly say that you love the person you are having a problem with? And, again, love is not a feeling or emotion. Love is an act of the will. Love is to desire the well-being of the other and the willingness to contribute to that well-being. It seems to me that before any of us can engage with our opponents the way Jesus did there has to be a commitment to love. If it’s not there, it becomes too easy to tell each other off or use any other method to avoid the conflict. And even then, it’s hard. Hardly anyone enjoys conflict and most of us try to avoid it by any means necessary, especially toward those we love. The point is that Jesus was committed to loving God and neighbor. Love for God and neighbor was the central motivation of his life. For us to follow the way of Jesus, that commitment to love God and neighbor needs to be there.

            When you are engaged in some kind of confrontation, ask questions. Be curious. I know it had to be so annoying to Jesus’ opponents but almost every time they asked him a question, he would throw it back at them with another question. But that’s how conversations get going. When you get into an argument, try to respond first by asking a question.

            Keep the conversation going by telling stories. Again, they probably won’t be deep and profound like the stories Jesus told. But tell stories about your own life experiences. Tell stories about how you came to hold the opinion you have. Tell your story. Make it personal. Try to get your opponent to tell their story. Telling each other stories, sharing from personal experiences, can take a confrontation to a much deeper level that can draw out something good, even transformative.

            But don’t forget this: even Jesus couldn’t convince the chief priests and Pharisees that he was the messiah. So, it is foolish to think that we can “win” our opponents over to our side or way of seeing things or whatever. It could happen. But don’t feel bad if the two of you walk away still not seeing eye to eye or even still on bad terms. Let’s face it. There are some people we just don’t want to be around. And asking questions of each other and telling our stories isn’t going to change that. There is truth in the old saying that strong fences make good neighbors. That’s just part of the human experience. At some point you and your opponent will have to settle with agreeing to disagree.

            The main thing though is having the conversation. If you get to the point of agreeing to disagree after the conversation; after asking questions and telling stories, then that’s fine. You were engaging from a place of love for your opponent, someone who is loved by God. You honored that person’s dignity as one who bears the image of God. The engagement in conversation motivated by love for God and the person you are having the conversation with, that’s what love requires.

 

What Does God Require?

 

Based on Matthew 22:15-22

            For most of us, the subject of taxes stirs up some emotion. We understand that taxes are necessary to pay for public services that we all need and enjoy. The military who protect us have expenses that need covered. Police and fire fighters and school teachers need paid. Roads aren’t constructed for free. We all get that. But it’s still taxes. It’s a necessary obligation, not something most of us pay with excitement. And when we hear of people or businesses that use current tax laws to get out of paying what we think is their fair share that can tik a lot of us off. What I’m trying to say is, when it comes to taxes, none of us are joyful or excited about the subject. When you get a letter from the IRS, the response is likely that of your stomach getting tied in knots and your blood pressure spiking. More often than not, we find the subject of taxes to be annoying, stressful or sometimes a topic that makes us angry.

            In the days of Jesus and of Matthew’s church, taxes brought a different kind of burden. Judea was a land occupied by Rome. The taxes in those days didn’t just fund public works. It helped to fund the infrastructure of their oppression. When Caesar imposed his power on Judea, any expenses incurred would not come from Caesar’s treasury. It came from the oppressed population. You can imagine how the people disdained the tax because they knew what it was being used for. They despised that symbol of oppression that funded their oppression. As a matter of fact, the uprising that led to the destruction of Jerusalem was sparked in part by the shared disdain for that tax, in the same vein as the Boston Tea Party tax revolt in our own nation’s history.

            It is this hot button issue about paying taxes that the Pharisees present to Jesus. They know that by asking Jesus this question about whether it is lawful or not to pay taxes that it’s going to get the crowd’s attention and that the crowd already shares an opinion about this tax. But the question they ask is particularly tricky. They did not ask, “Is the tax we pay to Caesar fair.” They did not ask, “Is the tax we pay to Caesar right and just.” Instead, they ask, “Is paying the tax to Caesar lawful.” Which law? Roman Law? God’s Law? They don’t specify. That’s part of the trap question.

            To make it more interesting, the Pharisees bring along with them a group of Herodians. Why did they bring them and where did they come from? This is the only time they show up in the gospel of Matthew. The Herodians were a political group that represented the house of Herod to the Roman government. Herod, while not technically a king, was a royal figure that had been placed on that throne by Caesar. Herod’s rule, if you can call it that, was dependent on Caesar. Thus, the Herodians were supportive of the Roman occupation and, by extension, of the Caesar’s tax on the population.

            It wouldn’t take a genius to know this is a trap when the Pharisees bring along the Herodians to ask Jesus a question about taxes. It’s also one of the reasons why Jesus calls out the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. See, the Pharisees as a whole shared the common resentment toward that tax. By no means were they boosters of the Roman occupation. Yet, in this attempt to make Jesus look bad, they bring along with them representatives of a political group that are strong supporters of that very tax they despise. Not only did Jesus see the hypocrisy, surely the crowd did as well. It causes the Pharisees to come across as desperate and even pathetic, trying to use the Herodians to get Jesus to say openly what the Pharisees would not dare to say but actually believed, that this tax representing their oppression is illegitimate.

            We are all amazed at the answer Jesus gives to their question. As usual, when Jesus is asked a question he turns it around and asks the accusers a question. But first he has one of them, or maybe one of the Herodians are carrying one around, the coin that has to be offered once a year by every person in Judea to cover that tax. The coin, worth one denarius, has the engraved image of the Caesar on it. Inscribed on the coin was the phrase “Tiberius Caesar, the divine and august son of Augustus.” For a pious Jew, this coin reeked of blasphemy. If one of the Pharisees was carrying one of those coins around it only heighten the level of their hypocrisy.

            Of course, Jesus doesn’t give a simple “yes” or “no” answer. He never does. Instead, he gives an answer that forces everyone to reflect, ponder and consider the deeper issue involved. However, he indirectly affirms paying the tax. The coin is Caesar’s property. He is entitled to possess his coins. The despised Herodians were certainly satisfied with Jesus’ response. But Jesus also says that we are to give to God what belongs to God. That is a response that the Pharisees would certainly agree with. So, in the end, both groups get a response they could affirm. That’s partly why the Pharisees were amazed at his answer. And disappointed. They surely were hoping that Jesus would say something that would give the impression that paying the tax was wrong, which the Herodians could then take back to their superiors and have Jesus arrested for sedition. Or he could say something that gives the impression that paying the tax is lawful and that would cause the crowd to think a bit less of Jesus. Instead, Jesus responds in a way that forces everyone to ponder their own response. What is owed Caesar? What is owed God?

            Or, better, what belongs to God? The quick response would be that in fact everything belongs to God. God the creator and source of life is the source of all that exists. God’s dominion is over all the heavens and the earth. I can imagine that this is one of the lines of argument that the Pharisees used when they were privately railing against paying that tax. But I wonder if Jesus has something more specific in mind. Caesar had his coin with his image impressed on it. That coin belonged to him. You and I have an image impressed on our souls. That image is God, for as we read in Genesis 1, we are made in the image and likeness of God. Each of us bears the image of God. So, if the coin that carries Caesar’s image belongs to Caesar, then each person who bears the image of God belongs to God. How could a Pharisee argue against that logic? They walk away amazed. And we are left wondering how we go about giving ourselves to God.

            This is the point where we can try to apply this passage to our own context. Again, we don’t pay taxes like Matthew’s church did. We are not under foreign occupation. Although we aren’t excited about paying taxes, we know that our taxes are funding legitimate public services run by a legitimate government ultimately answerable to us through the power of the vote. But also this passage for us is really not about paying taxes. Jesus takes it to a deeper level. Jesus is asking us to reflect on what we give to God. Another way to say it is, in any given moment in our life what does the Lord require from us?

            Our oldest son, Micah, was named after the prophet Micah, who gave an answer to that question. In Micah 6:8 we read, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” In any given situation, what is the just thing to do? What does kindness call for? How am I to express humility before God in this situation? There’s no direct, easy answer. There could be many ways to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly in any given situation.

            Or maybe this teaching that we are to give to God the things that are God’s is pointing to our lives as a whole, our very being as creatures made in the image of God. In any given moment, how can we give ourselves to God in that moment? Consider the present situation we are all dealing with right now with this pandemic. As we live with and cope with this pandemic, how can we give ourselves to God in this pandemic? Could wearing masks, maintaining physical distance, and living our lives without fear of the virus, all ways we can give our lives over to God?

            Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and give to God the things that are God’s. What are those things and how do we give them, how do we give ourselves, to God? That is a discipleship question. And in every given situation we find ourselves in there is no simple yes or no answer. The answer is not always clear or simple. It is a question that requires discernment. And by discernment I mean taking the time to pray, to mull over, to think about, to seek advice, to listen to one’s heart, and even one’s gut, when trying to discern what God is asking, what God is requiring of us in any given moment.

            The good news is that God has given us the Spirit to guide us in these discipleship questions. The other good news is that there is not just one right answer. There are multiple ways we can respond in any situation that is a faithful response to what God requires of us. And even if we goof up in our response, it’s not the end of the world. God is also working with us. God takes our humble efforts and blesses them. In the words of that great songwriter from a few years ago, Keith Green, let’s just keep doing our best and pray that it’s blessed. Jesus takes care of the rest.

            That’s my encouragement for you. As you make your way through life and you find yourself in a situation, sit with the question of what it is God is requiring from you. Pray, reflect, perhaps seek advice. Then make a decision and act on that decision. And as you leave that situation and move on, perhaps you will be amazed at the outcome.

 

Getting Ready for the Party

 

Based on Matthew 22:1-14

             Who doesn’t want to attend a wedding? I have never turned down an invitation. The wedding itself is very touching. But the real fun is the reception afterward. The food and drink, the wedding cake, the toasts, the dancing, throwing rice at the couple as they make their way to the car to drive off for their honeymoon, it’s all fun. Some of the most fun times in my life have been at the weddings of some of my friends from college. I don’t know why anyone would not want to go to a wedding.

            That’s why it is so shocking in this story Jesus tells that the people the king invited to the wedding feast for his own son’s wedding chose not to come. They didn’t even have to attend the wedding. They were refusing to go to the party, where all the free food and drink is and all the fun. Why would they not go? And to top it off, some of those people who were invited beat up and killed the messengers! It is just crazy. When the people heard Jesus tell this story they had to be scratching their heads.

            Then when Jesus gets to the story about the king being enraged and sends in troops to not even kill those people he invited but he also had them burn down their city. Did those guests realize who they were dealing with? Did they think the king was going to just shrug his shoulders or say mean things about them? No, this king had been disrespected in a shocking way. He could not let that stand. So, he sent a message to anyone who heard what happened. He was not to be trifled with. Even if all those guests had their reasons why they didn’t want to go to that wedding banquet, they could have at least made an appearance. Maybe the king’s response was a little over the top. And we don’t know if the wedding banquet was put on hold until the king had his revenge. But at least we can understand why he was upset.

            Now, if we go back and look at the two previous stories Jesus told, I think we all know who those people were and what city got burned down. Again and again, the wicked people represent the chief priests, the elders, and the Pharisees. The servants who went out to invite them to the wedding banquet represent the prophets and maybe even some apostles. The religious leaders reject God’s invitation and kill the prophets. So, God responds by having those religious leaders killed and the city of Jerusalem gets set on fire. The chief priests and elders had multiple opportunities to get it right. They failed and had it coming. No one can blame God for the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem and the disbanding of the priesthood. They brought it on themselves.

            Back to the story. The king has sent out his troops and had his revenge. But he still has this lavish wedding banquet. There is a lot of food and drink just sitting there. Have you ever thrown a party and no one came? It has happened to me a few times. I remember one time where at the church I was serving we decided to have a back to school party for kids in the community. We hired a DJ, did a little advertising, got a bunch of hotdogs and brats. We set it all up outside the church with signs and balloons. And no one came. It was a bit disappointing. The DJ felt bad for us and said if we have another event he would do it for free. We also had a lot of hot dogs and brats we were stuck with. What were we going to do with all that food and drink?

            That may have been the concern of the king in this story. Being this was the wedding banquet for his own son’s wedding, you can imagine how much food and drink had been prepared. This would be the VIP party of the year. The most lavish wedding party possible. It couldn’t just all go to waste. But I also wonder if what was more important for the king was to just have people there. He wanted a full house. He wanted people to celebrate with him the wedding of his son. The food and drink needed to be consumed. But it was the people coming together, dancing, laughing, and having a good time. Surely, that’s what the king wanted most of all.

            So, the king sends more messengers out into the streets to get anyone who they could find and let them know the doors to the palace were open. This closed, VIP party was now open to everyone. You can only imagine how the people in the city felt about the opportunity to attend a royal wedding reception. Especially those who were looked down on in society or who were poor or didn’t fit in, to get to go to that banquet would have meant the world, if just for one night. And so, the wedding hall was filled with guests.

            This part of the story is probably talking about Matthew’s church. I don’t think Matthew’s church was bursting at the seams with people. It’s not like people in those days looked at the church as equivalent to attending a wedding banquet for the king’s son. My guess is that Matthew’s church wasn’t that big at all. But the point is that in Matthew’s church were all kinds of people. It was an open door. Anyone who wanted to be a part of the church were welcome, the good and the bad, the wheat and the weeds, if you remember that parable we looked at several weeks ago. Matthew’s church, just like ours, is open to all who would come. The church is not a secret society. It is not a private club. It is not a walled off enclave where only the wealthy and well connected belong. The church doors are open to all people. And all kinds of people belong to the church. In fact, I looked it up and saw that in 2015, it was estimated that 31% of the world’s population, over 2 billion people, adhere to the Christian faith. The wedding hall is filled, even if the worship space in a lot of our churches still have quite a bit of room for more.

            In most cases, going to weddings means dressing up. I know that’s not always the case. Some weddings can be pretty informal affairs. I have done a quick wedding of an older man and woman in their house with just a few family members looking on. I once did a wedding for a young couple out in the woods, with a best man, a maid of honor, and their black Labrador running around us. But usually people get dressed up. The groomsmen wear tuxes and the bridal party wear matching gowns. And, of course, there is the wedding dress itself, around which the entire wedding is built.

            It takes time and effort to get dressed up for a wedding. Never mind being in the wedding itself. Just being the guest, you need time to get ready. You can’t just throw anything on. You may need to iron your shirt or polish your shoes. You may want to go get a haircut or have your hair styled. You have to give yourself time to get yourself all put together so that you aren’t rushing to the wedding. You may even need to have yourself a little plan on how to get yourself together and looking your best.

            If everyone is expected to get dressed up and someone comes to the wedding wearing ripped up and stained blue jeans and a faded Rush T-shirt, they might stand out. You know people would be looking and wonder what that’s all about. Does this person not have nice clothes? Are they a little off? Are they being maybe a little disrespectful? It just doesn’t seem right to go to a wedding without getting all dressed up if that was the expectation.

            Apparently, there was one person at this wedding banquet the king was holding who didn’t get dressed up. He was not wearing a wedding robe. This obviously grabbed the attention of the king when he scanned the crowd. But this king wasn’t going to let it slide or mutter to somebody about that sloth who came to the party wearing whatever. He confronted the guy, putting him on the spot by asking, “How did you get in here without a wedding robe?” Well, this guy, probably a bit intimidated, didn’t know what to say. So, the king instructed his attendants to bind the man by his hands and his feet, gather him up and throw him out, not just out of the hall, but into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! Yikes!

            Now let’s be honest. That seems to be a pretty harsh response toward someone who wasn’t wearing the right clothes. Then again, we already know this king could be pretty over the top with his response toward those who would disrespect him. Remember how he had all those VIPs killed and their city burned to the ground? This king was not to be trifled with, which this poor guy without the wedding gown discovered. It is pretty harsh.

            But, in this story the wedding robe is not about actual clothing. It is about exchanging an old way of living into a new way of living. To put on the wedding robe is to signal taking off your old clothes, the way you used to live, and to put on a new set of clothes, a new way of life that is patterned after the way of Jesus. That’s one of the points being made in this story. Everyone is invited to the wedding banquet. But you need to make a change before you make your way in to the party.

            In other words, it’s not enough to just show up. Everyone is welcome into the church. But just showing up is not enough. There needs to be a change in how you live your life. See, this is one of the big messages that Jesus has been trying to get across over these three stories we have been reflecting on these past few weeks. God wants everyone to be a part of the kingdom of God. All are welcome. But God also wants everyone in the kingdom to be producing the fruits of that kingdom. What are those fruits? Go back and look at the Sermon on the Mount. Or consider Matthew 25, where Jesus said that when you feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison, you are doing that to him. That’s producing the fruit of the kingdom. Belonging to the kingdom of God, the community of faith, the church, carries with it the expectation that people will change how they live, will behave in ways that are loving, gracious, compassionate, and life-giving. There are expectations that come along with being in the church.

            It can take a long time to get dressed up for a wedding. Maybe it takes our whole lives to get dressed up for this wedding banquet that we have all been invited to attend. You see, I wonder if the wedding banquet in this story may point to something other than just being a part of the church or belonging to the kingdom of God right now. What if the wedding banquet is also about what we will experience in heaven? I wonder if what we are meant to do with our time on earth is to work through the process of getting dressed up for that wedding banquet.

            When we have communion together, near the end of the great thanksgiving, you will often hear these words:

 

By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

 

Could this be what our lives as Christians is about, that the relationship we are nurturing with Christ and with each other as we minister to the needs of the world is all about getting ourselves prepared for that banquet?

            The day will come, we believe, when we will be all gathered together at the heavenly banquet. All of our kin will be there. It will be a day of unspeakable celebration. Until then, this is our time to get ready, to do what we need to do so we can have on our wedding robes.

 

We are the Tenants

 

Based on Matthew 21:33-46

            Last week, we considered one of the questions that Matthew’s church was asking: why is it that the chief priests and elders didn’t get who Jesus is. We considered that the leaders were blinded by their power and could not see, or admit to themselves, that Jesus clearly had divine authority. How else could he work the miracles he did, the healings, and the teachings? It was so obvious, but they could not see it. All they saw in Jesus was a threat that needed eliminated. They misappropriated their authority. They forgot that their authority had been given them by God, that it was not their authority to protect. Power can play tricks on people.

            This week, we are going to see how Matthew takes one of Jesus’ stories to answer another question his church asked: why was the Temple destroyed and Jerusalem wiped off the map. This story of the wicked tenants that Jesus tells, based on a prophecy from Isaiah 5:1-7, helps explain why God allowed the Temple to be destroyed, the chief priests and elders to be killed or otherwise dispersed, and their leadership to be taken away from them.

            Let me give you a quick review of some history that will help us understand better what Matthew, through Jesus, is doing with this story. Around 70 AD there was a rebellion in Jerusalem against Rome. It was the latest in a number of uprisings that had occurred over the years. This one was the final straw. Caesar sent in the military who proceeded to destroy the Temple, heavily damage the city of Jerusalem, and, for good measure, renamed the city Aelia Capitolina which remained a Roman colony until 638 when it was occupied by the Arabs.

            As you can imagine, this was a deep shock to Israel. The Temple was at the center of their religious practice. It was the place where God dwelt. The center of their religion was wiped out. How are they to practice their religion without the Temple? What did this say about their relationship with God? It was incredibly destabilizing for Jews, a time of deep crisis, being forced to rethink how to practice their religion and to worship God. Those who followed Jesus, of course, saw themselves as the new Israel, if you will. The Temple in Jerusalem was no longer needed because those who follow Jesus become temples where the Holy Spirit dwells. But now I’m slipping away from history and getting into theology. Let’s get back to the story of the wicked tenants.

            In this story, it is pretty easy to see who represents who. The landowner, of course, is God. The wicked tenants are the chief priests and elders and, perhaps, the Pharisees who get included later in today’s passage. The servants sent by the landowner are prophets. The son he sends is Jesus. It is significant that the wicked tenants throw the son out of the vineyard and kill him. Jesus was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem. The vineyard, by the way, represents Israel and/or the kingdom of God. The other tenants that the landlord hires represent perhaps the leaders of the church, or maybe all the followers of Jesus.

            The key verse in this story, and maybe one of the most important verses in Matthew, is verse 43: “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.” Why was the Temple destroyed and the chief priests and elders scattered? Why was Jerusalem destroyed and turned into a Roman colony? Because the leaders, the chief priests, the elders, the Pharisees, they all rejected those whom God had sent. They rejected the prophet John. They rejected and even had killed the son of God, Jesus. So, God took the kingdom of God away from them. That is why this terrible thing had happened. Because of the wickedness of the leaders, the Temple was lost.

            But God had not abandoned Israel. The vineyard was not destroyed. Only the wicked tenants had been removed. According to this story, God selected other tenants to care for the vineyard. In other words, God placed those who believed in Jesus and followed the way of Jesus into the vineyard. The tenants in God’s vineyard now, the leaders of Israel, is Matthew’s church. The point that Matthew is making is that Israel still exists. The disciples of Jesus are the other tenants that the landowner leased the vineyard to who will give the produce at harvest time. It is the disciples of Jesus, the church, that produces the fruits of the kingdom.

            For Matthew’s church, comprised mostly of Jews but also a few Gentiles, this would be an encouraging word indeed. It helped them come to grips with the loss of the Temple. It helped them understand that they, as Jewish disciples of Jesus, continued the religion, maintained the relationship between God and the chosen people Israel. The church represented the continuation of God’s covenant with Israel. God did not abandon Israel. God had simply taken away the authority of the chief priests and elders and laid the authority on the apostles. And instead of having a physical Temple in a city, each believer became a temple where God resided.

            So, what about us? To answer that question could open a huge can of worms. You all know how fraught is the history of Judaism and Christianity. Matthew does an excellent job of explaining to 1^st century Jewish Christians why the Temple was destroyed and the priesthood was scattered. That was a critical question that needed answered in those days. But in our context, as a predominantly Gentile Christian tradition in the 21^st century, we don’t share that same question. This story of the wicked tenants doesn’t apply to us or have the same significance as it did for Matthew’s church back in the 1^st century. Any attempt I could try to make to close that distance is too much. It’s too complicated and, frankly a painful story.

            What I want to suggest is that because you and I are followers of Jesus we can identify ourselves as tenants in God’s vineyard. I have talked about this for a couple weeks now. You and I are workers in God’s vineyard, the kingdom of God, which is all around us, not something we only experience when we get to heaven. We are workers in God’s kingdom right now. We are currently tenants, working to produce the fruits of the kingdom, that is, to live righteous lives. Some of us have been working in the vineyard all our lives, some of us later in life, some of us have strayed off the vineyard and then came back, but we are all tenants working in God’s vineyard right now. This is our task.

            On this World Communion Sunday, we are reminded that we work in one small area of God’s vineyard. We work on a global team. If you think about each church as a work team, there are thousands upon thousands of work teams all around the world. We are reminded of that today. We are challenged to be willing to work alongside of and partner with all these other work teams around us in the common work of producing the fruits of the kingdom.

            Let’s keep at it. Having been chosen and called by God to work in God’s vineyard, we work, serving God, offering our lives, our relationships, our jobs, our creative pursuits, our everything, we offer to God. Let us keep working with all who serve God, not judging or pushing aside but partnering, working alongside, each doing our part to produce good fruit.

            A few days ago, I was talking with my spiritual director. We were sharing about these challenging times we are going through as a country. The pandemic, the economy, the election, the civil unrest, it’s overwhelming. It’s impacting everyone. Everyone is dealing with loss, grief, some confusion, some fear, some anger. I said to her that now more than ever we need to practice grace, compassion, gentleness, kindness. In other words, practicing the way of Jesus, producing good fruit of righteousness, is so important for the sake of our society. We all feel the strain. As we are able, we have to do the work, in all our encounters with others day by day, to act in ways that heals and lifts up. The pandemic may have thrown our plans out the window and upended our lives. Uncertainty about what may happen in the months ahead can be a little scary. But we know what we have to do today: live a righteous life, be gentle, be gracious, be compassionate. I feel our society right now depends on us being the best tenants in God’s vineyard that we can be.

 

You Got It

 

Based on Matthew 21:23-32

            “Why don’t they get it?” This is a question that surely was on the minds of many in Matthew’s church. For those who had come to belief in Jesus as the messiah, it seemed so obvious to them. His authoritative teaching, the healings he performed, the miracles, his resurrection: how could anyone not believe that Jesus is the messiah? Sure, it didn’t happen like we thought it would. The messiah didn’t come riding in to lead a revolution, shaking off Rome and establishing Israel again to its rightful place as in the days of King David. But what we thought about the messiah was off base, they realized. If Jesus was not the messiah, who else could he have been? These first followers of Jesus realized that they had to re-think their messianic expectations, so to speak. It was clear in their minds that Jesus was the messiah. The evidence was overwhelming. And yet…not everyone saw it. Especially the chief priests and elders of the people. The Christians in Matthew’s church wanted to know, why is that?

            This confrontation Jesus has with the chief priests and elders of the people helps explain why they, of all people, were unable to acknowledge who Jesus is and to follow him. It centered on a battle over authority. Now, to their credit, the chief priests and the elders were exercising their authority as overseers of what goes on in the Temple. Jesus was teaching on their turf. They were responsible for what went on at the Temple. Jesus had not asked for their permission to teach there. They had not granted him the authority to teach at the Temple. So, when they asked that question, “On whose authority are you teaching these things?”, this is a legitimate question.

            However, this question they asked of Jesus was really a power play. After all, by this point everyone knew who Jesus was, especially the chief priests and the elders. They were putting their positional authority on the line. It was God that had granted authority to the priesthood to oversee and care for the Temple. These chief priests and elders had positional authority that was respected. Even the Roman empire recognized the authority of the chief priests and elders. When they ask Jesus the question of who gave him the authority to teach in the Temple, it was an attempt to publicly humiliate Jesus. By asking that question, the chief priests and elders were making it clear to everyone that they had not granted Jesus permission to teach. Jesus was acting on his own authority. Jesus had ignored their authority as guardians of the Temple. Jesus had disrespected them. They were basically saying publicly, “Who do you think you are?”

            Jesus, of course, would not be bowed or intimidated. The common portrayal of gentle Jesus, meek and mild, does not conform to the portrayal of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew. He wasn’t going to meekly bow before the chief priests and elders and humbly ask for their apology for not seeking their permission first. Then again, why would they expect him to? This is the same man who the day before went into the Temple and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and ran them all out, an event that was surely on the minds of these chief priest and elders as they call Jesus out for his teaching without their permission. What we have here is really a confrontation over authority. Jesus was acting like he owned the place and he wasn’t going to wilt before their question of the source of his authority.

            Jesus throws the question back at them. He says, “I’ll answer that question only if you will answer me this question. Was John’s authority from divine origin or human origin?” Just like Jesus turned over those money changer’s tables the day before he just turned the tables on those chief priests and elders. Now, with everyone watching them, they find themselves on the defensive. What unfolds next reveals how fragile was the authority of these chief priests and elders.

            You heard the back and forth as they argue with each other how to answer this question. If they were honest and trusted in their authority as religious leaders, they would have said what they thought, that what John was doing out there in the wilderness baptizing people was on his own authority. They had to think that because if they acknowledged that John was acting on divine authority then Jesus would question them as to why they didn’t believe him. And they did not believe in what John was doing.

            Alas, they were unwilling to stand on their authority because they were afraid of what the crowd would think. Their problem was that the crowd had made up their own minds about John. They were convinced that John was a prophet. They believed that John’s authority was of divine origin. The chief priests and elders were afraid that if they said what they really thought about John that they would face a backlash from the crowd. They ceded their authority to that of the crowd. So, they sidestepped and said, “We don’t know.” The chief priests and elders were unwilling to state clearly what they thought about John. They ceded their authority, so Jesus refused to answer their question. They humiliated themselves.

            But let’s get back to that first question. Why didn’t they get it? Why was it that the chief priests and elders were unable to acknowledge what was so obvious, that Jesus was acting on divine authority? I wonder if positional authority, and the power wrapped up in that, creates a blind spot. By positional authority, I mean that the chief priests and elders, because of their roles as chief priests and elders, had authority. Because of their position, they had responsibility for what went on at the temple. Their position gave them authority to oversee and manage the temple. That was a powerful, even sacred authority. Anyone who, in their view, undermined their authority would be perceived as a threat. When they looked at Jesus, someone who did not ask for their permission, someone who was doing their job for them when he chased out those money changers, someone who acted like he ran the temple, they saw Jesus as a clear and present danger to their own authority, their own power. They were blinded by that threat. They couldn’t see the miracles and the healings. They couldn’t hear the teachings. They just saw a threat to their power. So, Jesus had to be exposed and, if need be, eliminated.

            The crowd, on the other hand, were unhindered by positional authority. They had no power to protect. So, they were in an easier position to judge by their own eyes and ears. They saw Jesus heal people and work miracles. They heard his teaching. He clearly was acting from divine authority. There was no other explanation. When you have no power to protect, it’s a lot easier to make a judgment about authority. It’s much easier to call it like you see it when you are not in a position of authority like those chief priests and elders were. So, why was it that that the chief priests and elders failed to acknowledge and follow Jesus as the messiah? Because they were blinded by their positional authority and could not tolerate any threat to the power they clung to. It was too bad. Of course, let’s not forget that the crowd that was all in with Jesus, a few days later, cried out for his crucifixion. Crowds can be very fickle. What the crowd thinks is not something you can take on good authority.

            The question that the Christians in Matthew’s church asked back then could be asked today. Why is it that not everyone believes in Jesus? You may recall a few weeks back I mentioned the book Mere Christianity written by C. S. Lewis that makes a brilliant case for the truth of Jesus as the messiah. But the truth is that clever arguments and testimonies of life changing transformation will not convince everyone that Jesus is the messiah. It just won’t. Do people refuse to believe because they are invested in another set of beliefs? Sure. Do people refuse to believe because they have been victimized and hurt by the church, by those who call themselves Christians but did not walk the walk? Unfortunately, it is true that many people have been turned off to any possible openness to Jesus because of the words and actions of his purported followers. That’s to the church’s shame for failing to always be a good and faithful witness to the gospel. There are a lot of reasons why people choose not to follow Jesus.

            But that’s not you. You and I have decided to follow Jesus. And as that old song goes, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.” You and I are on that road. You and I are working in the vineyard, like we talked about last week. And sometimes people question our faith. I still remember this time back in my seminary days when I was having a drink at this bar not far from the seminary. I got into a conversation with one of the bartenders and I don’t remember exactly how the conversation went. But at some point I shared that I was a divinity student at the seminary and that triggered a reaction in this bartender who looked me right in the eye and said to me, “You don’t know ­­­­____ from shinola.” You can fill in the blank. He walked away and another bartender who overheard this apologized on his behalf. I can only guess that he had a negative view toward religious people, perhaps from some bad experiences with them. Sometimes we have our own doubts and questions. Some of us get hurt by the church, by other Christians, and it makes us question what we truly believe. Nothing wrong with that. Doubts and questions, working through hurts and disappointments, are part of the discipleship journey. That’s how we grow and mature in our discipleship. Our faith shouldn’t remain at the level of what we believed when we were kids. Life has a way of forcing us to deal with deeper questions of faith, hope and love. Acknowledging and working through those questions and doubts is part of the path toward wisdom.

            What I am saying is that even though not everyone will get it and even though we have our questions and doubts and struggles in our faith, don’t let that stop you from staying committed to the way of Jesus. You have responded to the invitation of Jesus to follow him. You have said yes. Stay on the journey. Keep working at it day by day to be faithful, to trust in the promises we have in Christ Jesus, to live your life after the example of Jesus, walking in his ways. Keep at it, even when people question your faith or challenge you, make fun of you, dismiss you, or whatever negative response we may get from people from time to time. Just keep at it. Be the best witness of Jesus that you can be. Who knows, maybe those who say “no” to Jesus now will change their minds one day and join you and me in the master’s vineyard.

 

We All Receive the Same

 

Based on Matthew 20:1-16

             Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule? It is shorthand for a common experience in all kinds of organizations. The rule is that 20% of the people in a group do 80% of the work. That’s not scientifically accurate. But I think we would agree that in many organizations, especially if you are one of those 20% who put in the work, that this feels right. It seems like only a handful of people do the work and everyone else is along for the ride. There are reasons for this. Some people are naturally more active and need to stay busy. Some are more dedicated to the cause. Some have more time or have the skills needed to do the work. We shouldn’t assume that everyone else in the organization don’t care or are lazy. I think most people are spread out too thin and are doing the best they can. But, whatever the reasons, it does seem like most of the work of an organization falls on a small number of people.

            In this parable that we heard today, the landowner of the vineyard was not going to settle for the 80/20 rule. He was bound and determined to get as many people as possible in his vineyard and doing the work that needed doing that day. He wouldn’t settle for the early risers who gathered at the marketplace at the crack of dawn to be hired for the day. He kept going back all through the day to see who else was standing around waiting to get hired. The landowner wanted all available to come work for him. He didn’t want anyone standing around waiting to get hired. Even near the end of the day, and there were still some folks that had not been hired, this landowner would take them on, even if that meant they would be doing nothing more than standing around at the vineyard, this landowner wanted them.

            A basic rule of justice is equal pay for equal work. Another basic rule is that a person should be paid an honest wage for an honest day’s work. In those days, an honest wage for a day laborer was one denarius. When the landowner hired those workers at the beginning of the work day for one denarius, that was a fair wage. One denarius was just enough to feed a typical family for that day. We could call it these days a minimum living wage. It was just enough to keep the laborer’s family out of poverty. It was a fair and honest wage.

            What does not seem fair in this story is that those who only worked one hour got paid the same as those who worked all day. We would assume that those who worked would get paid based on the hours they worked. If you worked half a day, you should expect to be paid half a denarius, for example. For those hired at the eleventh hour, it is fair for them to be grateful to receive whatever little bit they got. I don’t know what the unit of money that would be. Certainly, nobody expected the workers last hired to get paid a full day’s wage. But if that is how it is going to be, we can understand why those who worked all day would expect to get paid more. That only seems right. So, they grumble about it. We probably would too.

            I think we would agree that the landowner is generous. He is generous in two ways. First, he is generous because he paid those workers who were only there for one hour a full day’s wage. Second, he kept going back to hire more workers. We don’t know exactly what all those workers were doing. Was it harvest time? Did the landowner really need all those workers? Maybe they all had something to do. But I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them were standing around waiting for something to do. The point is that this landowner would take anyone available and he paid each one of them a denarius. That is generous. But those who were hired on first may not have seen that generosity. They were probably thinking to themselves, “if this landowner is so generous with his money, how about giving us a bit extra?” It just doesn’t seem right that everyone gets paid the same. Remember that basic rule of justice, equal pay for equal work?

            It’s true. In this story, the landowner does not follow the rule of equal pay for equal work. But that doesn’t mean that the landowner was not a good man or was unjust. Look at it this way. Day laborers depended on getting hired and getting paid a denarius to feed their families and make ends meet. If someone isn’t hired, then the family will go without. They didn’t have food stamps back then. The landowner knows this. Every time he would go back to the marketplace and look around, he would see people waiting to be hired who had a responsibility to care for their families. He took it upon himself to hire them on so that they would have the dignity of earning their denarius and be able to provide for their families. That is just. And what about those who stood around all day and never got hired? We can imagine they were not hired because they did not appear to be able to do the work that was required. Maybe they had some kind of disability. Maybe they were too old…or too young. Whatever the reason, these people who had been passed over all day long also had families to care for. It was right and just that the landowner hired them as well. And, again, he gave them the dignity of earning that denarius. He didn’t just give them a denarius and send them on their way. He said, “You also go into the vineyard.” Even if it meant they would be standing around, they would be at the job site. They were included. This right here is what I believe is a big part of why Jesus told this story. Everyone is invited. Everyone is wanted. Everyone belongs.

            The temptation here is to take this parable and use it as a blueprint for how to run a just economy. Those who advocate for a living wage, or looking to the government as the employee of last resort to make sure that everyone has the dignity of work, would point to this parable as justification for their economic policy. But this parable is not intended to be about economics. Jesus told this story to describe the kingdom of God. This story is about the goodness of God and about the eternal life that God offers to all.

            Some of us grew up in the church. We can’t remember when we didn’t know about Jesus. We consider ourselves to have been Christians our whole lives. Others of us accepted that call to follow Jesus later in our lives. Maybe it was in high school or college, or a bit later in life. Some of us don’t give our lives to Jesus until we are well into our senior years. It is not unheard of for people in their 70s and 80s to get baptized. Maybe you have heard stories of death bed confessions. When a person is lying there contemplating the reality of death and confronting head on their demise, they decide they need to get right with God and they ask God to forgive them as they accept the promise of resurrection. That promise of resurrection, of salvation from the power of sin and death, that is what we receive as believers in Jesus Christ. Everyone receives eternal life, whether you put your faith in Jesus when you were 3 or 93, it makes no difference. The gift is the same for everybody. For some that is a word of comfort and for others that’s a warning against being presumptuous of God’s grace.

            Peter seemed to need that warning. Bless his heart. He was always opening his mouth that gave Jesus an opportunity to teach a lesson about faith and humility. Just before this parable, Jesus had been in conversation with a man who was eager to know what he needed to do to have eternal life. He was doing all the right things. So, Jesus said all he had to do was sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor and then follow him. That was this man’s limit. He had a lot of wealth. The cost was too much. He couldn’t do all the things to achieve salvation on his own strength. He walked away. Peter had to point out to everyone that he and the disciples did that. “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Oh, Peter. That sounds like those eager day laborers who were out there first thing in the morning so they could get hired and earn that money. They were all in. Jesus told this parable to let Peter know that he and the rest of the disciples will receive much more than they sacrificed and will inherit eternal life. But so will that man who hung on the cross next to Jesus, who asked, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And Jesus said, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” The one who comes to Jesus just before their last breath will receive eternal life just the same as Peter and the rest, who bore the burden of the day and the scorching heat of being a follower of Jesus in this old world.

            Some of us hear the invitation from God early in our lives to work for God, to give ourselves to God as a follower of Jesus. Others of us hear and respond to that call later in life. Some of us near the end of our lives. And some of us never respond in this life. What then? No one knows. But we do know that God is merciful. We do know that Jesus died for everyone, not just for some. The point I’m making is this: be careful about presuming you can earn extra benefits from God. We joke sometimes when someone in the church goes above and beyond and we will say, “Martha, you just earned another star in your crown.” That’s kind of bad theology. Those who dedicate their lives to Jesus and struggle with their discipleship their whole lives ought not to anticipate earning more of whatever or be placed on some higher level in heaven above those people who barely showed up for church. Let’s just do the work. We have responded to God’s invitation to live our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. We are working in the vineyard. It is our task to bear the burden and the scorching heat of these times. But we do this work with confidence, knowing that at the end of our day, when the sun sets on our lives, we will hear the master call each of us forward to receive our eternal reward. And what we will receive in the life to come will be more than enough.

Forgiveness is Medicine

 

Based on Matthew 18:21-35

             This week concludes a series of teachings from Matthew 18, Jesus’ instructions he gave his disciples about how to relate with each other in community. For Matthew’s church, as well as our own, we have for us wise and helpful instructions on how to maintain a healthy community. Like any relationship, it takes work and intentionality to keep relationships strong and healthy. What a gift that we have these guidelines from the scriptures that give us a tangible process of how to keep our relationships healthy but also a reminder of the necessary values that undergird healthy relationships in community.

            Before jumping into this week’s scripture, let’s have a quick reminder of last week’s teaching on how to hold church members accountable when they do something offensive. We recall that three step process, moving to the next level if the person who committed the offense refuses to listen. If, after the three levels of accountability demonstrate the offender won’t listen to anyone, then the relationship with the community shifts. They are no longer like family and are now to be treated like an outsider, like a tax collector or Gentile. And, as we recalled how Jesus was often criticized for eating with Gentiles and tax collectors, this means when someone leaves the church that doesn’t mean we break off relationship. The other part of last week’s teaching that is critical to keep in mind is that for this process of accountability to work there have to be some values in place. We have to love each other like family. If someone is like a brother or sister to you, that means you trust them, respect them, want what is best for them, are invested in their growth. These values have to be in place before we can have the courage and take the responsibility to hold each other accountable. If we lack these values then healthy accountability can’t happen. We either won’t care about holding each other accountable or we will fragment as a community and fall apart.

            Today, we add one more value necessary for healthy community life. It is the value of forgiveness. As family, who love, trust and respect one another, we must forgive each other when we mess up. Holding on to grudges, withholding forgiveness, is like acid that eats away at the bonds of love that hold us together. It is so important in order to keep relationships strong that forgiveness take place. We are going to talk about forgiveness this morning.

            Peter sets this teaching up by asking Jesus a question as he wraps up his instruction on how to deal with conflict in the church. Peter wants to know how often we are to forgive someone. Why Peter suggests seven times as the possible limit we don’t know. But we can guess that Peter is attempting to sound generous, that forgiving one person seven times goes beyond what can be expected. This question Peter asks is also found in Luke 17:4 but there is a glaring difference between these two versions. In Luke 17:4 Jesus is teaching about forgiveness. He says, “If the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.” The big difference in this teaching in Luke and Peter’s question in Matthew is that when Peter asks the question he says nothing about the offender saying “I repent.” Maybe Peter implied that, but I think it is significant that this is left out.

            Do you remember last week I pointed out that when an offender is pulled off to the side to be talked to privately, all the offender has to do is listen? They don’t have to ask for forgiveness. They don’t even have to agree they did anything wrong. All they have to do is listen. Listening is not the same thing as agreeing. If you trust, respect and love one another however you will listen to each other, and that is the most important thing when dealing with conflict. What about forgiveness? Peter presents the question without specifically asking if the person who offended has to first ask to be forgiven. Jesus goes on to say that we are to forgive the person not up to seven times but seventy-seven times. Actually, it is limitless. As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 13, love keeps no record of wrongs. People who love one another don’t keep track of how many times they forgive the person they love. That’s kind of silly, honestly. But I think the most important point is that forgiveness is to be offered whether the offender asks for it or not. The following parable underscores this point.

            We go to this parable of the two servants. Both servants are being held accountable for the debt they owed. Notice that both of them ask for patience as they attempt to pay off the debt. Neither of them asked to have their debt forgiven. That’s an important point that underscores that whole process of accountability we talked about last week. The king out of pity forgave the first servant the debt that he could never pay. He could not. It was an unrealistic amount he owed. For perspective, it would take a common laborer fifteen years to earn one talent. To earn 10,000 talents would take one person 150,000 years. This is a ridiculous number meant to make the point that there was absolutely no way this servant could repay that debt. Even if the king did sell him and his family into slavery as well as all his possessions, that would barely make a dent in this massive debt. Yet, the servant asks for patience, knowing full well he would never be able to pay it back. So, the king forgives the whole debt. What an amazing act of generosity. And, again, the forgiveness was offered out of pity, not because the debtor asked for the debt to be forgiven.

            Then, being mindful of the incredible amount of debt that this servant had been forgiven, we are shocked when he fails to forgive the debt a fellow servant owed him. One day of common labor equaled one denarius in payment. This servant owed 100 denarii. It is still a significant amount but payable. They could work something out, some kind of payment plan. It would take time but that debt could be repaid. It is nothing in comparison to 10,000 talents of debt. Yet, the servant throws the fellow servant into debtor’s prison until the whole debt is paid. He had the right to do that. But wow, that was pretty harsh, especially when you consider how much he had been forgiven.

            And that is the core point of the story, which is underscored in verse 35, the moral of the story, where Jesus says that we are to forgive each other from the heart. I think forgiveness from the heart means the forgiveness is sincere. But I also think Jesus says it has to be from the heart because when forgiveness is withheld, that’s where the corrosive acid of unforgiveness does its work, on our hearts. I am convinced that forgiveness is critical medicine to heal the hurt inflicted on our hearts when we have been hurt by someone else. That’s why it doesn’t even matter that much if the offender asks to be forgiven first or even acknowledges they did something wrong. It’s not really about them. Forgiveness is necessary for our own healing. That’s why it is to be offered regardless and as many times as needed.

            A spirit of forgiveness is a necessary value for the health of a community. Forgiveness is medicine. It helps to heal the hurt in our hearts. It helps to heal the relational bonds that hold a family together. A community in which forgiveness is not freely offered is a community quickly headed for destruction because unforgiveness will absolutely obliterate a community. For our own heart health and for the health of the community as a whole, forgiveness must be offered to those who mess up.

            But there is one thing so important to keep in mind. Forgiveness is not the same as permissiveness. I could see how this parable of the two servants can give the impression that forgiveness means letting someone off the hook. The first servant got his massive debt forgiven. He didn’t have to pay it. Here’s the problem. If forgiveness means a “get out of jail free” card, then people can get the attitude that they can do whatever they want to each other and there won’t be any consequence because they will be forgiven. That’s not the kind of forgiveness that Jesus is talking about. I mean, it is true that when a debt is forgiven that you don’t have to pay it back. But when we forgive each other from the heart this has to do with heart healing and with keeping relational bonds strong.

            What I am trying to say is that we can forgive someone and hold them accountable for what they did. If someone offends you, you want to forgive that person from the heart as Jesus directs, but you also want to pull them aside privately and talk about what they did, which also Jesus directs. Forgiveness does not short circuit the accountability process. In fact, forgiveness is the lubricant that helps make the process work. Accountability without forgiveness can quickly lead to bitterness. Healthy accountability requires forgiveness.

            Please hear me, I am not saying this is easy. I’m not going to start naming examples of how people hurt each other in ways that makes forgiveness hard, if not impossible. Each situation is different and the intensity of the pain or betrayal can vary. Some people are not as easily offended as others. Some people have an unbelievable capacity to forgive while others struggle with forgiving others their whole lives. Sometimes we are in a good head space and we are able to forgive easily while other times when we are tired or stressed forgiveness is much harder to achieve. Sometimes forgiving someone is easy and sometimes it’s hard. Forgiving one person over and over for the same thing gets frustrating. Still, forgiveness is the medicine for healing. We offer forgiveness to those who sin against us, not only because of that line in the Lord’s Prayer, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” but because forgiveness is necessary for our own healing. It is a process. It can take time. And some offenses are so great, the hurt so deep, that forgiveness just isn’t going to happen. Withholding forgiveness, however, should be the exception and not the rule, unless we are bound and determined to have a bitter heart, weigh ourselves down with grudges, and rip apart the ties that bind us together. I for one have no desire to be a part of a community where forgiveness is not freely offered, even as I am held accountable for the times I screw up.

            I think this parable also gives us some insight into what can help us be more forgiving. The first servant was forgiven a lot. It was an incredible act of mercy given to him. Anyone who has been under the weight of debt who has had that weight lifted knows what it feels like. If we consider how often God forgives us for the ways we fall short, the ways we offend God by our actions or inactions, the things we say or fail to say, I mean, I’m pretty sure that God is regularly forgiving me for things I didn’t even know I did. That’s often the case in our relationships. How many times have you offended someone and didn’t even know you did it? How many times has someone hurt you and they seem completely oblivious to what they did? Yet God forgives us. We recall how Jesus shed his blood on the cross for the sake of the sins of the whole world for all time. All sin has been covered by the blood of the Lamb. The incalculable amount of sin each of us have committed and will commit in the future has already been covered by the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross. In Christ we are forgiven. To the extent that we can marvel at and deeply appreciate how much we have been forgiven, the grace that has been given to us by God’s mercy, the easier it is to forgive others, whom God has already forgiven. Easier, I said. I haven’t even talked about the struggle of forgiving ourselves. That would be a whole other sermon. I just want to end it here by reminding us again of the values needed for healthy community life which we find in Matthew 18. The values that maintain healthy community are familial love, loving each other as brothers and sisters, the values of trust and respect for each other, and the value of forgiveness. Love, trust, respect, forgiveness: these are the values that undergird a healthy practice of accountability, that provides healing to our wounded hearts, and that keeps a church together.