The Need Of Forgiveness
Response
Say, we bring death to our spirits when we refuse to forgive. So,let's sing this stanza to the tune, "I'm Gonna Sing": "I'm gonna live when the Spirit says live." Sing it several times; sing it as a round, as different age groups.
* OPENING HYMN Majesty # 4
Invitation to the Celebration
In the Name of the vibrant Christ, welcome! What do we need more than anything to give us a refreshing and cleansing way to begin a new day, a day anew? A new relationship, a relationship anew? A new experience, an experience anew? Especially when the day, relationship, experience become broken and alienated? What do we need most when that happens in our home, with close friends, in the church with people we thought were on our side? (Wait a few seconds; ask if anyone wants to respond. If no one responds, invite them to think about forgiveness for a few moments in silence.) My guess is: What we need is forgiveness, the greatest healer of all time.
* INVOCATION AND LORD'S PRAYER Gracious and Holy God, we thank you for creating us as your children, with all its joys, despite its risks. We praise you that you are here with us, and were here long before we arrived today, with love and justice and forgiveness, so that we may draw near to you with childlike openness to receive you. Today, give us some new insights and resolve into forgiveness. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And, forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever. AMEN.
SCRIPTURE READING Exodus 14:19-31
14:19 The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 14:20 It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night. 14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 14:22 The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 14:23 The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. 14:24 At the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. 14:25 He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the Israelites, for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt." 14:26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers." 14:27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea. 14:28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. 14:29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 14:30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 14:31 Israel saw the great work that the LORD did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the LORD and believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.READER
OFFERING Remembering Our Reason For Being The Church
Stewardship Challenge
Stewardship of Forgiveness: "Pride and fear, which keep us from forgiving, are the same pride and fear which keep us from accepting forgiveness; and will you, God, please help us to do something about it? What are we willing to let God do about it, before and after we offer our gifts this morning?"
* DOXOLOGY
* PRAYER OF DEDICATION
CHILDREN'S STORY TIME
CHORAL ANTHEM
PRAYER Facing Up To Ourselves
Introduction to Our Reluctance to Forgive Slowly and deliberately: Where and with whom do we experience our "living off-center"? Between us and someone in the congregation? (Pause.) In our home? (Pause.) In our job or at school? (Pause.) In our neighborhood? (Pause.) Name those persons silently. (Pause.) Notice if we picked someone on whom we lay the blame; or, do we recognize the barrier in ourself? (Pause.) La Rochefoucauld has said, "Almost all your faults are more pardonable than the methods you think up to hide them."
Forgive us, O God, for the wrongs we have done; for the judgment we have rendered about others; for the petty remarks which have sprung to our lips; for the tales we have told which did not build someone up; for the selfish prayers we have spoken to you. Have mercy upon us, and enable us to follow a better way. The Act of Receiving Forgiveness
Only God knows the extent of our dishonesty; for God alone has paid the price for such knowledge. God has done what God can do about the broken relationship; what will we do about it? Forgiveness begins with ourself, not the other.
P: The Word of Christ is Good News!
M: God's love never changes. Against all who oppose God, or ignore God, or patronize God, God expresses love in wrath. In that same love, God took on judgment and death in Jesus the Christ, to bring forgiveness, liberation, and new life.
P: I declare to you who mean business with God, that in the Name of Jesus the Christ, you are forgiven. Do you hear that? Do you believe that? Do you practice that?
* PREPARATIONAL HYMN Bless His Holy Name # 102
SCRIPTURE TEXT Matthew 18:21-35
18:21 Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" 18:22 Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. 18:23 "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 18:24 When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; 18:25 and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. 18:26 So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' 18:27 And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 18:28 But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, 'Pay what you owe.' 18:29 Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' 18:30 But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. 18:31 When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 18:32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 18:33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?' 18:34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. 18:35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."
SERMON The Need Of Forgiveness
From the beginning, it seemed, Ludovicio Gadda was destined for greatness. He was born in a small Italian town, like many of the popes, all from Italy, who have occupied the Chair of Saint Peter since the time of the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century. It seemed that Ludovico was destined for ministry and priesthood from his earliest days. He was ordained and lived a very traditional life as a parish priest. He lived by the canons and doctrines of the Faith. Ludovico was good at what he did. Thus, he was made bishop of the diocese. Later he was moved to a larger metropolitan area and appointed archbishop. Later still he was made a cardinal and finally he was elected Pope. The people in Ludovico's hometown were not that surprised by the course of events.
Upon assuming the Chair of Peter, Ludovico, who took the name of Leo XIV (14), was invested with much power and authority. The power he held was beneficial to some, but it was highly detrimental to others. Like all of us, the Pope had an agenda. He took a course of action; he held certain attitudes and opinions. The problem was that he never reflected on his actions and attitudes. He never considered the possibility that he was hurting others by what he did or thought. His life was out of balance, out of equilibrium, because he thought of himself and little of those around him.
What would it take for him to change? For Ludovico it would be a bout with serious illness. Chest pains landed the Pope in the hospital. Doctors told him he needed heart bypass surgery. The thought of such major surgery placed the Pope in a more reflective mood. He began to think about his life and what he had done. He began to realize that he might have hurt others. He knew that he needed to change, to find healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation. He began to realize that he needed some balance in his life, to think of others as much as he thought of himself. But for Pope Leo XIV it would be too late. His inability to look into his heart and judge himself honestly would prove fatal. He was assassinated by the very people he had hurt before he had the opportunity to change his ways. ///
Morris West's novel Lazarus, the third in his trilogy of stories of faith, describes the tragedy of a life out of balance, a life where equilibrium could not be found. Today's Gospel suggests our need to seek balance in the journey of reconciliation; we must forgive others if we want to be forgiven. Matthew 18:22 The rabbis taught that people should forgive those who offend them—but only three times. Peter, trying to be especially generous, asked Jesus if seven (the “perfect” number) was enough times to forgive someone. But Jesus answered, “Seventy times seven,” meaning that we shouldn’t even keep track of how many times we forgive someone. We should always forgive those who are truly repentant, no matter how many times they ask. Matthew 18:30 In Bible times, serious consequences awaited those who could not pay their debts. A person lending money could seize the borrower who couldn’t pay and force him or his family to work until the debt was paid. The debtor could also be thrown into prison, or his family could be sold into slavery to help pay off the debt. It was hoped that the debtor, while in prison, would sell off his landholdings or that relatives would pay the debt. If not, the debtor could remain in prison for life. Matthew 18:35Because God has forgiven all our sins, we should not withhold forgiveness from others. As we realize how completely Christ has forgiven us, it should produce an attitude of forgiveness toward others. When we don’t forgive others, we are setting ourselves above Christ’s law of love. // Our world is in need of healing. One can pick up the newspaper any day and read all about it on the front page. Such a world condition poses a question for all of us: Can the world, that is, nations, governments, and individuals, recognize when they are out of balance, when error exists, or wrong has been done? History provides positive answers to this question. It took nearly 100 years after the United States gained its independence, but finally in 1863, through the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution, slavery was declared an evil and inherently wrong. It took less time, but I am sure it was equally stressful to the mind, for Germany to admit its complicity in the Holocaust of World War II. The world is in need of healing and reconciliation and so are we as individuals. // Today's Gospel personalizes our need for forgiveness and the challenge we face to forgive others. In the parable the master is, of course, an image for God. God stands ready to forgive the servant, that is, you or me, an infinite amount of times, the proverbial seventy times seven times. There is a catch, a condition, however. We must be ready and willing to forgive our fellow servant, that is, one another. In other words we must be willing to search into our hearts and see if wrong has been done. We must seek balance through knowledge of our strengths and weaknesses as well as our need to forgive and be forgiven. If we find that we are out of balance, we must be forthright and admit our problem; we can no longer make rationalizations. If we cannot forgive others, then the mercy of God, which is always present in infinite measure, will not be effective.
Reconciliation is one of the most important journeys we will ever travel in our life. The road less traveled is absolutely necessary for us to discover God's mercy and our need for healing within our own person and with others. The process of reconciliation initially requires no effort on our part; we need only accept the fact that God loves us and will leave no stone unturned in a diligent search to bring us to our spiritual homes. God only wants the best for His children and thus, like the Hound of Heaven in Francis Thompson's immortal poem, will never cease to search so that His love and mercy can be manifest to us. The parable of the fig tree (Luke 13:6-9) describes God's never-wavering care for us. The gardener asks for more time so the tree may bear fruit. God will give us the second, third, the hundredth chance in life. All God asks is for us to accept His infinite love.
Once we accept God's love and mercy, then the journey of reconciliation continues with our need to seek actively forgiveness of ourselves, others, and God. The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-24) beautifully and powerfully describes these three integral steps. The young prodigal is destitute and is not sure where to turn, but once he is able to forgive himself and make the decision to return home his future becomes bright. The elder son demonstrates the second active step, our need to forgive others and be forgiven, the theme of today's Gospel, in a negative way. His inability to forgive his brother stunts his process of reconciliation. Like the weak link in a chain which when broken destroys the whole, so the elder son's failure to love and forgive keeps him from achieving the reconciliation he needs. An ancient Asian proverb says it well: "Those who cannot forgive others break the bridge over which they themselves must pass."
The third active aspect of reconciliation is reunion with God. The forgiving father in the parable represents God in His ever faithful wait for us to return home. The son is still at a distance when the father spies him and reconciliation then occurs. All the father needs to know is that the son is ready to be forgiven. It is then that reconciliation with God takes place.
Once we have accepted the fact that God loves us and will never stop searching for us, and then move through the three important steps of active reconciliation, there is one more essential move -- to forget the past and continue forward. Isaiah the prophet wrote to the Hebrews, who may have thought because of their exile in Babylon that God had abandoned them: "Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:18-19). Saint John's Gospel has additional confirmation of our need to let go of the past. When Jesus encountered the woman caught in the act of adultery, he did not condemn her, but rather said, "Go your way, and from now on do not sin again" (John 8:11).
I am certain that very few people intentionally hurt others. We do what we do and we hold certain beliefs because we have the conviction that they are correct. I am equally sure, however, that few of us ever take the time to reflect and ask the question: Does error exist in my life; am I doing things in the wrong way? Is my life directed too much in one way; am I out of balance? It is very easy to see when someone wrongs us; we feel it immediately. But how difficult it is for us to see the opposite, the reality that we ourselves at times are in error. When we look into our own hearts and search our own minds, then the process of healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation of which today's Gospel speaks can begin.
The world is in need of healing; it needs to change. Nations and organizations have the task of working for systemic change in our society. We begin by looking to see if God's law has been broken. If it has then we need to rectify it and seek reconciliation. History tells us that this can be done. The ultimate solution to the need for reconciliation in our world, however, is not found outside in the macro; it is found inside in the micro. Paul Hanley Furfey, longtime professor of sociology at The Catholic University of America, a friend of the social justice advocate Dorothy Day, and the principal exponent behind the philosophy of personalism, often commented on the need for world reconciliation. He believed that the papal encyclicals and works of Catholic Action, such as the Catholic Worker movement, do many good things and at times do effect change and healing. But until each person looks into his or her heart and asks if wrong has been done and seeks reconciliation, a permanent solution to the problems of the world will not be found. Let us not wait until is it too late, as did Pope Leo XIV in Morris West's novel. Let us look into our hearts today; let us achieve balance and right any wrongs that exist. Let us seek reconciliation, healing, and forgiveness, and in the process find eternal life as well.
Charge to the Congregation
The only way that we can even begin to think about forgiving some of our choicer enemies is to think about how God must see them, and us. So, in Christ we are free to live! In Christ, we are free to forgive! Therefore, if you know someone who needs your forgiveness, go to him/her today. If you need to ask for forgiveness from someone, go to that person today. If you know someone who no longer believes that forgiveness is even an option, spend some time with that individual. "Is forgiveness only a word lodged somewhere in Webster's Dictionary; or, have we incorporated it deeply into our personal vocabulary?"
* INVITATIONAL HYMN Fairest Lord Jesus # 104
* BENEDICTION Meditation
"Forgiveness means that I will not get even, in word, thought, or deed." And, as George Herbert reflects the New Testament truth, "The person who cannot (will not) forgive breaks the bridge over which he/she must pass."
ORGAN POSTLUDE