I.Theme – Forgiveness, the basis for reconciliation.
"The Unforgiving Servant – 1973. Jesus MAFA. JESUS MAFA is a response to the New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa. Each of the readings were selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Genesis 50:15-21
Psalm – Psalm 103:(1-7), 8-13 Page 733, BCP
Epistle –Romans 14:1-12
Gospel – Matthew 18:21-35
There are two interwoven themes:
•The power and importance of story and the role of story in developing identity
•The recurring Biblical theme of forgiveness and the related theme of resisting our tendency to judgment.
Both themes have intertwined in and through them God’s presence, always available and always working in and through the life of an individual and the life of a group of people.
The other connecting thread is that of healing or becoming whole as Christians. This way of looking at healing embraces both our formation as Christians, the building up of our identity in faith; and challenges us to allow ourselves to be reformed through forgiveness.
Genesis looks at forgiveness from the victim. The Gospel looking at forgiveness in terms of grace.
The story of Joseph in Genesis 50: 15-21 describes a very human situation with which most of us can identify. It deals with guilt of Joseph’s brothers in their treatment of him, selling him into slavery. Joseph father may have prevented Joseph from getting even. But now the father was dead That thought of getting even consumed them, even more than the loss of their father. They tell Joseph that Jacob’s dying wish was that he forgive them. We do not know if that is true. At least, it shows how desperate they were to use every device they knew to persuade Joseph to forgive.
The family that has known disruption, favoritism, hostility, and deceit all through the book of Genesis may finally get its act together. There is hope for reconciliation after this forgiveness. One marvels at the graciousness of Joseph who is actually able to forgive after all of this.
As a response to the first lesson from Genesis 50, these verses from Psalm 103 could provide hymn texts for Joseph and for Joseph’s brothers. Verses 1-7 would be the song of pious Joseph who suffered deep wrong at the hands of his envious brothers and had ample reason to question God’s sovereignty
Instead, the singer remembers "all God’s benefits": forgiveness of sin (pride for Joseph), deliverance from the grave (the pit and then slavery); crowing with mercy (not to mention the literal "crown" of Pharaoh); and vindication — to the point that Joseph can find God’s hand at work in the evil deeds of his brothers.
Verses 8-13 would be the song of Joseph’s thankful brothers when they hear Joseph’s words of pardon. Joseph’s forgiveness bears witness to the God who is full of compassion and slow to anger and who does not deal with us according to our sins or repay us according to our iniquities. And as Joseph draws his father and brothers west toward Egypt, the memory of their sins is blown as far to the east as can be imagined.
Romans gives some practical examples of forgiveness of others and ourselves. Here it is more of a group conflict. Differences in lifestyle, however, were the attitudes that were dividing the church. Paul’s commands toward both groups make it pretty clear that the "strong" were despising the "weak," while the "weak" were judging or condemning the "strong. God judges; we shouldn’t. Each Christian is answerable to “the Lord” and should not be criticized.
Paul’s goal for the church is presented in his benediction in Romans 15:5-6, that instead of using our words to despise or judge others in our fellowship, we glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ "with one voice!"
The Matthew story is all about forgiveness from the perspective of those who give it. Jesus sets before us an ideal, namely that we be forgiving as God is forgiving. Yet, at the same time we are reminded that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is not the good person who is good at forgiving, but the sinner whose sin is forgiven.
This is the story of the unmerciful servant. The king forgives a servant who owes him more than could be repaid in a lifetime. However, in turn the servant fails to forgive other who owes much less to the servant. He fails to imitate the forgiveness of the king. When the king hears about this, he retracts his forgiveness and has the first slave tortured – probably for ever.
Two key thoughts.
1. Forgiveness in this parable is both an extravagant and a precious thing.
2. Forgiveness in the Gospel of Matthew is not only relational it is reciprocal and reliant. When teaching his disciples to pray Jesus would have us say, "Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). It is a change in attitude. Members of the community must treat one another as God has treated each of them. However, it does not mean that the sin involved is forgotten or overlooked.
II. Summary
Old Testament – Genesis 50:15-21
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph should bear a grudge against us and pay us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!” (Genesis 50:15).
We cannot fully appreciate the feelings of Joseph’s brothers without recalling the past. For a long time feelings of jealousy and hatred had been growing like a cancer in the souls of Jacob’s “other” sons (cf. 37:2-4). More than once they must have considered a plan to eliminate Joseph, but one thing always prevented it—Jacob. Sometime, somehow, an occasion would arise when Jacob would not be present and then they could get rid of Joseph. The golden opportunity came when Jacob sent Joseph to them, many miles from home, far from the protection he had afforded to his favorite son (cf. 37:12ff.)
Now, years later, they were still plagued with guilt about their treatment of Joseph (cf. 42:21-22). They had not yet fathomed Joseph’s forgiveness, even though 17 years had evidenced nothing but grace. But, they reasoned, that was a time when Jacob still lived. Would Joseph not hesitate to retaliate with his father present even as they had waited for an opportune moment away from their father to eliminate Joseph? Now Jacob was gone for good. Joseph was free to do with them as he pleased. That thought consumed them, even more than the loss of their father. This fear prompted a plan which they hoped would soften Joseph’s anger.
So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father charged before he died, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, “Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him (Genesis 50:16-18).
A message was conveyed to Joseph, perhaps through Benjamin. Joseph was told that Jacob had yet another charge not yet made known, to which Joseph was urged to submit. Before his death Jacob had requested that Joseph forgive his other sons for their sins. Having sent this message ahead, perhaps by Benjamin, the brothers appeared before Joseph. Humbly they fell before Joseph pledging their obedience and submission (verse 18). They now volunteered to do the very thing which Joseph had predicted (37:5-9) and which they had sought to avoid (37:19-20).
Joseph’s response is a model for all who would respond in a godly way to ungodly persecution:
But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them (Genesis 50:19-21).
3 themes
1. Forgiveness: Joseph’s brothers are terrified now that their father Jacob has died. They are well aware of their sin committed against their brother Joseph. From a human perspective, they expect that he will get even with them, that he will seek revenge. Up to now he was inhibited by his desire not to bring any more grief to his father. Now their father is gone and thereis nothing to hold back Joseph from punishing them. They tell Joseph that Jacob’s dying wish was that he forgive them. We do not know if that is true. At least, it shows how desperate they were to use every device they knew to persuade Joseph to forgive.
Their hopes are fulfilled. Joseph forgives them. The family that has known disruption, favoritism, hostility, and deceit all through the book of Genesis may finally get its act together.
There is hope for reconciliation. One marvels at the graciousness of Joseph who is actually able to forgive after all of this.
2. Suffering for others: Because Joseph had to bear the suffering of slavery in Egypt, he was in the right place at the right time to save many people from famine. What looked like a hopeless life of slavery in a foreign land turned out to be a way in which many people were saved. Joseph’s suffering had some meaning after all, though he could not see that until he got to the end of the story. Likewise, with enough hindsight, we may find that our suffering, at least in part, has had some benefit for self or others.
3. God’s will and human sin: Since the story had a happy ending, one might be tempted to say that it was all God’s will. God needed Joseph in Egypt to plan for the famine. Did God persuade the brothers to sell him as a slave in order to accomplish God’s purposes? Or did the brothers do it on their own, committing a sinful act against their own brother? The Joseph story attempts to say that both are true. The brothers really did sin. It is never nice to sell your brother as if he were a commodity.
Yet God was at work in all of this, even in the sins that humans commit. God is always working toward the good, even when what we do is wrong, hateful, evil.
God does not cause us to sin. Neither does God leave us alone to bear the results of our wrongdoing.
Even what seems a disaster, a terrible experience of suffering, can be redeemed by a loving God and changed into something good. This we also know in a deeply profound way in the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Vengeance belongs to God, not man. Joseph would not consider usurping a prerogative which belonged only to God. Furthermore, while their attitudes and actions were evil, the result was intended by God for the good of all. How could Joseph be angry when good had come of their sin through God’s providence? Instead, Joseph returned kindness for cruelty . The kindness Joseph had shown while his father was alive would continue he reassured them.
Psalm – Psalm 103:(1-7), 8-13 Page 733, BCP
Psalm 103 is classified as an individual hymn of thanksgiving, a psalm in which a single voice praises God for goodness to or on behalf of that individual, usually for deliverance from some trying situation.
“Bless the Lord my soul.” These words phrase the beginning and end of this psalm of blessing. Unlike Christian blessings which ask God to shower his people with gifts, Jewish blessing exalt God in heaven for his power, his providence, and his covenant concern (steadfast love and care). Jewish blessings praise God for gifts received in the past (covenants to Abraham, Moses, and David) and in the future (guaranteed by his faithfulness
Psalm 103 also solicits our blessing (thanks) for God’s character. God is slow to anger and then even when angered, God does not hold a grudge or consider our sins when dealing with us. In God’s atlas, our sins are as distant from us as east is from west (and no, it is not a globe, they do not meet again on the other side!).
The psalmist gives thanks to God for recovery from illness in vv. 1-5. He speaks to his very self (“soul”), reminding himself not to forget God’s healing power, both in curing diseases and in forgiving sin. God fills one’s life with godliness and gives renewed vigor.
God forgives iniquity, heals diseases, redeems from the Pit (a reference to death), crowns with steadfast love and mercy, satisfies with good, and works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed (verses 3-6).
Verse 6 contains pme of the most provocative phrase in the psalm and it relates to this question of limited perspective: "You provide vindication …" Vindication has many layers of connotation; it can be a simple synonym for justice, deliverance, or vengeance. But at a deeper level vindication occurs when a point of view, belief, or action that has been condemned, dismissed, or undervalued is shown finally to be true — sometimes by the endorsement of some authority; sometimes by a surprising unfolding of ev ents
After recalling God’s care during the Exodus, he tells of God’s qualities in all times (v. 8), expanding on them in vv. 9-18. Verses 7 and 8 recall the time of the Wilderness Wanderings, when Israel repeatedly grumbled against and rejected God’s goodness, but God continued to provide for and guide them. Verse 8 brings to the mind of the hearer the golden calf incident in Exodus 32-34, which culminated in God’s self-declaration in Exodus 34:5-7: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
God is slow to anger and is only angry for a time (v. 9). He is lenient when we go against him (v. 10). He loves greatly those who hold him in awe (“fear”, v. 11). He is infinitely forgiving (v. 12); he is like a “father” (v. 13) in his mercy.
The word translated “merciful” in Exodus 34:6 and Psalm 103:4 and 8 is particularly interesting. It is derived from the Hebrew verbal root raham, whose noun form rehem means “womb.” God’s compassion is tied closely to the concept of “womb love,” the love a mother feels for her yet-to-be-born child..
Epistle – Romans 14:1-12
Recent work on Paul’s letter to the Romans suggests that this discussion was occasioned by tensions in Rome between Gentile Christians who were liberal in their attitude toward the law and Jewish Christians who were scrupulous about legal observances; they were the strong and the weak, respectively. Paul urges mutual toleration. The strong in particular should respect the scruples of the weak.
Paul writes about two kinds of Christians:
• those who being “weak in faith” concern themselves with details and added practices (rather than the main objective) and
• the strong who concentrate on God’s purposes.
The “weak” are to be welcomed as full members of the community “for God has welcomed them” (v. 3). The particular practices (of piety) mentioned are not eating meat (“eat only vegetables”, v. 2), fasting regularly (vv. 5-6) and abstaining from “wine” (v. 21).
In Roman society, it was considered ill-mannered to “pass judgement” (v. 4) on the conduct of another master’s servant; he was answerable to his “own lord” or master.
The fundamental principle here is that no Christian exists by himself or herself, but only in relation to the Lord (the risen and exaltedKyrios, that is, Christ), and therefore in relation to other Church members, who are equally related to the Kyrios.
Paul says that if both sides are doing their action "for the Lord," then both positions are valid and must be respected (14:6).
Each Christian is answerable to “the Lord” and should not be criticized. One’s own conviction (v. 5) before God is what matters. Living (and dying) for God is our objective (v. 8); we should not judge; God will judge our conduct at the end of time: “each of us will be accountable to God” (v. 12).
Indeed, the theme that God will finally judge is not just an idea that keeps us from taking revenge, as we see in Romans 12:19. God’s judgment is also a powerful idea that keeps me from judging or despising those who live out their Christian convictions in ways different from how I live (14:4, 10-12). Jesus said, "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged" (Matthew 7:1). Paul is applying Jesus’ words to differences within the church. His goal for our church is presented in his benediction in Romans 15:5-6, that instead of using our words to despise or judge others in our fellowship, we glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ "with one voice!"
Gospel – Matthew 18:21-35
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
Last week we reflected on sin as an interpersonal offense, something that divides members of the Christian community. When the sinner refuses to admit the sin, he or she is thrown out of community. When the sinner admits the sin, the community’s forgiveness reinstates him or her to membership. Reconciliation (“forgiveness from the heart,” v. 35) presumes and is based upon forgiveness.
Forgiveness at the time of Jesus
At the time of Jesus, forgiveness was about restoring a right relationship. This means that both parties understood that there was in fact a proper and right way to be in relationship – and that this "rightness" was what God desired for them – neither of them had the authority or power to decide what was right – both of them were accountable to God to act as God desired them to act toward the other.
First-century Mediterranean peasants understood sin, that is, interpersonal transgressions, after the fashion of debts. When one of them broke the relationship they created a debt: they now owed the other a payment of some kind to make amends, to show remorse, to compensate for the damage done to the relationship.
But then as now, often the debt owed for breaking a relationship was beyond any possible material gift. Then, as now, the only solution, the only means to restore the relationship was for mercy to be shown; for the debt to be forgiven.
But notice. It is not the behavior that is forgiven. It is not even the other that is forgiven. It is the debt that is forgiven. And what forgiveness does is this: it transfers the obligation and responsibility to pay the debt to the obligations and responsibilities of the right relationship
Today’s reading proposes two ideas. Central to each is how “members of the church are to behave toward each other. The first idea in Jesus’ reply to Peter’s question is that disciples of Jesus must forgive one another always (“seventy times seven”), without limit. The second idea, found in the parable, is the communal dimension of forgiveness
When the Lord answers Peter’s question, how often we should forgive, he says, “not seven times but seventy times seven times.” Jesus is not recommending a mathematics of reconciliation. He is using the extreme numbers to suggest the unbridgeable chasm between a forgiving and an unforgiving universe.
The story-line of the parable is straight-forward. There are three episodes. The story is unique to Matthew:
• a king decides to “settle accounts with his slaves” one of them owes “ten thousand talents”. A "talent" was equal to 6,000 denarii; and a denarius is the coin used to pay for one day’s labor. So one talent is approximately 20 years of labour. Which makes the slave’s debt about 200,000 years of labor. So when the slave falls on his knees and begs for "patience" from his master, he is making an impossible request he, of course, is unable to pay, so (as Mosaic law permitted) he and his family are to be sold; when he seeks forgiveness of the loan, the king grants it. (v. 27);
The king is sensitive to his honorable reputation. If he deals harshly with a servant of his own household, his subjects will judge him to be shameless, a man without honor. So the king decides to act in “mercy” and forgive the debt. He gains more honor by this decision than he would by insisting on receiving full payment of the debt.
• In behavior that is both shocking and sad, the forgiven slave turns toward a fellow slave in the same household and refuses to forgive a much smaller debt. He refuses to imitate the merciful behavior of the king-patron. This slave then demands payment of a loan of three month’s wages (“a hundred denarii”, v. 28) from a fellow slave, and when forgiveness is sought, refuses to grant it (v. 30);
It is strange that a servant would owe such a massive amount as 10,000 talents, an amount that could never be repayable in one lifetime, since 1 talent was the equivalent of 15-20 years of daily wages. The absurd amount highlights how tremendously grateful the first servant should be to the king for the forgiveness of such a massive debt. The monumental amount the first servant owed the king also is meant to contrast with the relatively modest amount that the second servant owes the first servant. The amount is 100 denarii. A denarius is the equivalent of one day’s wages, so this is certainly an amount that can be repaid in a timely fashion
• When the king hears about this, he retracts his forgiveness and has the first slave tortured – probably for ever (v. 34).
In v. 35, Jesus identifies the figures in the parable: the king is God, the first slave any Christian, and the second slave any other person. Jesus makes a point in each of the episodes:
• God loves us so much that he will forgive any sin, however grievous;
• it is absurd to live in a way contrary to God’s love and mercy; and
• those who accept forgiveness from God but fail to forgive others likewise will be punished eternally.
2 Key Points
1. Forgiveness in this parable is both an extravagant and a precious thing. The king in our parable is owed 10,000 talents, or about 150,000 years worth of income, which works out to more than 3,000 financial life sentences
Matthew 18 reminds us of a core Christian conviction: Forgiveness is something we live, something we embody, every moment. But that only stands to reason. After all, the very foundation on which our identity as Christians is built is nothing less than the death and resurrection of Jesus and the flood of gracious forgiveness which that grand sacrifice unleashed. “Forgiven” is who and what we just are.
Forgiveness is more like the clothes on your back. You don’t generally walk around the house naked and you surely never leave the house without some kind of attire covering you. Forgiveness is more like that: it goes with you, accompanies you, and is needed by you everywhere you go.
Forgiveness must become a practice — a commitment — that is to be sustained and renewed each day throughout our lives. It is not a single action, feeling or thought. Forgiveness must become an embodied way of life in an ever-deepening friendship with God and with others. Peter asks how generous he should be, yet he is still asking about limits. He’s thinking quantitatively while Jesus answers qualitatively — with the offer of limitless forgiveness. This is what God is like.
2. Forgiveness in the Gospel of Matthew is not only relational it is reciprocal and reliant. When teaching his disciples to pray Jesus would have us say, "Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). This fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer is echoed in the lesson of this parable about the kingdom, reflecting it back in reverse. We ought to forgive as our King has forgiven us, Jesus says
Someone once said that the scariest word in the entire New Testament is that tiny little word "as" in the Lord’s Prayer: "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." That vital connection between God’s abiding forgiveness of us and of our in turn forgiving others tells us that we must forgive.
The reason God expects us to forgive as a result of our being forgiven is the same reason you can expect to be wet after diving into a lake: water is wet and when you immerse yourself in it, you get wet. So also with forgiving grace: grace is magnetic and beautiful. When God immerses you in grace and saves your life eternally by it, you will be dripping with grace yourself. You will be full of grace and truth and so spread it to others. God forgives us daily. We forgive others daily. Forgiveness is our lifestyle. It’s our habit.
Jesus is calling us to give up calculating offenses and forgivenesses; and instead to have a forgiving heart; a forgiven heart; a heart for forgiveness This is a shift of ATTITUDE.
This is a case of Jesus wanting us to forgive the sinner but not the sin. "Yes, I forgive YOU, but not the violence. For the relationship to continue, the violence must stop. And even if the relationship does not continue, my heart will be in a state of forgiveness, not fear / anger / resentment / etc."
III. Articles for this week in WorkingPreacher:
Old Testament – Genesis 50:15-21
Psalm – Psalm 103:[1-7] 8-13
Epistle – Romans 14:1-12
Gospel – Matthew 18:21-35