Proper 19A (Pentecost 16 2023)

Text: “23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.” (Matthew 18:23)

In the truest sense, an individual congregation is nothing more and nothing less than the Kingdom of Heaven in a particular place at a particular time. It is an outpost, if you will, an embassy of the Kingdom of Heaven in a foreign land— this world. We have a constitution and bylaws so that we can be recognized as a public entity— as an organization in this community. But the constitution and bylaws are not the essence of who we are as a congregation. This is, first and foremost, the Kingdom of Heaven here and now. So this parable that our Lord and Master tells us to illustrate what the Kingdom of Heaven is like should interest us.

And what does our Lord compare the Kingdom of Heaven to? “The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants” (Matthew 18:23). I doubt that anyone has ever thought of it in this way, but that is an accurate description of what goes on here. God commands that people be brought to Him so that He can settle accounts. with them.

That’s what was happening when you were baptized, for example. God commanded that you be brought to the waters of baptism. You came to those waters under a tremendous burden of debt on account of your sin. If you had been able to speak at that point, the best you could have asked for was time to repay what you owed— to make up for the debt that you owed on account of your sins. But what could you have possibly done to make up for them? Even if it were possible, somehow, to go over and above what God’s law demands and repay the debt of sin, a thousand lifetimes would not be long enough to repay that debt.

Nevertheless, your Master commanded that you be brought to Him to settle your debt. Even though the best you could have done would have been to ask for more time, your Master forgave your debt instead. Your lord, Himself, paid it, in full, on the cross. The ledger recording your debt to God was washed clean by the blood of Christ. That gift, that grace, was given to you there in the waters of baptism. It was, completely, His gift. It was not based on any merit or worthiness in you. But, as sure as that water touched your head and those words were spoken over you, your debt was forgiven. To paraphrase the old hymn, “[Your] sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!— [Your] sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O, my soul!” Imagine having your home’s mortgage forgiven. Imagine having a new car loan forgiven. Either would be reason to rejoice. And The debt you have been forgiven makes both of those nothing by comparison.

And now, here, your Lord warns against one of the insidious ways that you are deceived and enticed into giving away that gift: by refusing to forgive your brother who sins against you. Do you wish to provoke God’s anger? Do you wish to have God force you to repay your debt in full after all? Then refuse to forgive your neighbor. There are few surer ways to bring God’s wrath upon you than this.

Jesus’ answer to Peter, “not seven times, but seventy seven times,” is a subtle reminder of the way you often respond to those who sin against you. It’s a reference to Genesis 4. You may recall that, after Cain killed Abel, God put a mark on Cain. The mark, itself, was not a punishment, though. The point of the mark was to protect Cain from other sons of Adam and Eve who might wish revenge for their dead brother. The mark God put on Cain indicated that God would take revenge on him. “15 Then the Lord said to [Cain], “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him” (Genesis 4:15). But it wasn’t long before Cain’s descendants took it a step further.

Cain had a great-great-great grandson named Lamech. On one occasion, Lamech declared, “23 I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. 24 If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold”” (Genesis 4:23-24). Lamech would not just take revenge seven times, his revenge would be seventy-seven times!

Now Jesus turns that on its head. When Peter came up and asked Him, “21 Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus seized the chance to turn Lamech’s boast on its head. “22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21-22). As deep as your wrath is, as deep as your desire for vengeance is, your love and grace for your neighbor should be just that deep.

There is no question that your debt has been forgiven. It is entirely His gift to you. At the same time, your Lord implores you to understand and trust that the fear, love, and trust in God can not exist in a heart that is consumed by wrath and a desire for vengeance. How can you hope to hold on to the free gift of God’s grace when you refuse to let go of the debt your neighbor owes you? Do not deceive yourself into thinking that you can. If you refuse the debt that your neighbor owes you, “35 So also [your] heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you [refuse to] forgive your brother from your heart”” (Matthew 18:35).

Could your Lord be any clearer about this? It is hard to imagine how. He has literally taught you to remind yourself of this fact daily by teaching you to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” He has put that daily reminder into your own mouth. If you refuse to forgive your neighbor your own lips accuse you.

The only way to imagine that the gift of God’s grace can dwell in the same heart with wrath and vengeance against your neighbor is to decide that God does not mean what He says.

Now, God knows what He’s asking. God knows what your neighbor has done to you. God knows how half-hearted your neighbor’s apologies really are. God knows how insincere your neighbor’s repentance is. God knows that your neighbor does not deserve to be forgiven. God is perfectly aware of all the reasons that you come up with to justify refusing to forgive the person who has sinned against you. And, still, God commands you to forgive him/her.

And, yes, God knows how large a debt your neighbor owes you for what he/she has done. In fact, God knows the size of that debt even better than you do. He knows the size of that debt because He paid it, in full, on the cross. That’s the crux of the matter— literally and figuratively. Did Jesus suffer and die to pay for the sins of humanity or not? Do you really want to try to convince God that your debt is paid but that your neighbor’s debt isn’t? ...that it can not be?

Still, even when you acknowledge that you should forgive, the question remains: How? How can you forgive what that person did to you? How do you let go of your wrath and your need for vengeance? How can you let go of the debt that your neighbor owes you? How can you let go of the anger— the righteous anger!— that is consuming you?

May I suggest an answer to that question? You let go by continuing to receive God’s grace. Allow the love that He showed you on the cross— the size of the debt you owed Him that was paid in full by His suffering and death there— allow that love and grace to fill your heart until, someday, there is no longer any room for anger, any room for vengeance, any room for hate.

When you consider how large your debt to God was, when you consider what it took for Jesus to pay that debt, when you consider that God has not just forgiven the debt, but given you all the riches of heaven, as well, how can you possibly hold on to your anger for the much smaller debts that others owe you?

When you consider that God has forgiven you— not seven times, not seventy-seven times, not 777 times, not 7,777 times…— but every single time you have sinned against Him, how can you put a limit on the grace you show to those who sin against you?

What begins as an act of obedience to God will even, in time, be transformed by faith into an act of love— love for God and even love for your neighbor who sinned against you. You will be able to echo Joseph’s words to his brothers: “Am I in the place of God? …You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good...” (Genesis 50:19-20).

Every time you pray as He has taught you, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” it’s not only a warning. It’s also an assurance: You have, in fact, been forgiven. Freely. Fully. The price has been paid by the holy, precious blood and the innocent suffering and death of Jesus Christ. In that assurance is contained also the power to forgive your neighbor.

That grace will not magically bring an end to your pain. Sin breaks things. It has ripple effects that you and I can hardly imagine. It leaves deep scars. In many cases, that suffering will continue for years or even more. Forgiveness does not mean that trust is automatically restored. Often, the relationships that are broken by sin can not be repaired. Your suffering may very well continue throughout this life. But now you suffer with the assurance that your Lord suffered for you. The lingering pain may, in time, become a reminder of God’s grace. Even if the wounds never heal in this life, God will bring that work to completion in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6) as He wipes every tear from your eyes.

“23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants” (Matthew 18:23). Thankfully He chooses to settle accounts with you through your Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. And should not you, also, have mercy on your fellow servant, as He has had mercy on you (Matthew 18:33)? That is, after all, part of the essence of who we are.

May God grant it for Jesus’ sake.