Matthew 18 21-35 (Scholia)

Dear children of Our Redeemer,

The holy ground upon which we stand in the Church and walk with the Lord is that of hallowed forgiveness. Jesus told His disciples about the desire that He has that all should stand upon such sanctified soil cleansed from the cursed earth that cries out for vengeance and to the Rock upon which His Church is built; that all should stand forgiven - from the infants, littlest of ones who believe in Him, to the one who has strayed from the congregation and brought back, to the one brother who has sinned against another and, in love, is confronted in order that forgiveness may be extended and received. Then Jesus proclaimed His gracious Presence among such people who stand on this holy ground, that where two or three are gathered together in His Name, there He is in the midst of them ... just as we are gathered together here, in His Name. The Lord is with us because He has promised it.

But wait a moment! Let's go back to that one brother. You know the one I speak of, don't you? He's the obstinate guy who always is doing the same thing, the young member of the congregation who always acts the same impulsive way, the Christian woman in that pew over there who speaks the same gossipy words - and usually it's something he does or she says against me. I mean, if that person came to me asking for forgiveness for every time he sinned against me, well, I tell you that he would be coming to me many times. What am I supposed to do with someone like that?

We don't really know what thoughts were going through Peter's head on the day when the events of the Gospel Reading for today took place. What we do know is the question he asked the Savior, as well as the answer he received. Please listen to the first part of Matthew 18:21-35 now and the rest of that Holy Writ during the course of this sermon, under the theme:

When Your Brother Begs Your Pardon ...

Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

Thus far the Word of the Lord our God.

You are probably able to understand the perspective of Peter's question and might re-formulate it as follows:

"Look Jesus, I am a patient guy and, as your follower, I would be expected to be patient with the transgressions of my brother who sins against me. I suppose my patience would last up to seven times. Is that what You had in mind, Lord?"

"Jesus, I am merciful and, as a Christian, I would be more than willing to be merciful to someone who begs me for mercy and pleads me not to do what he or she really deserve to have done to them. I could probably extend myself and be merciful to such a person for, say, up to seven times. You wouldn't expect more than that, would You, Lord?"

"Behold me, Jesus, I am not a condemning sort of fellow. For that person who continually comes to me seeking me to stay my hand of condemnation, I believe I have the resolve to pardon a handful of times, perhaps the inner resolve of even seven times. Pardon me, Lord, but You wouldn't expect more than that from me, right?"

Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

What? Did you hear what Jesus said? Seventy times seven! That's really quite impossible. My patience would not bear it; my merciful heart could not give it; my pardon would have been withdrawn long before seventy times seven.

But Jesus said it and he knows that Peter wondered about the answer given to him. Listen, for Jesus speaks to Peter and to you.

Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, "Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all." Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.

That seems pretty clear. A king comes to a debtor to settle accounts. The debtor owes him an absolute fortune who is also very much unable to pay it. Under the law, the master declares the debtor bankrupt and orders him to be sold along with his family and possessions, and the payment be made. The servant pleads with the king to have mercy and to be patient, and, that the servant will make the entire payment. The master knows that servant will never, ever be able to pay back the huge fortune of ten thousand talents that he owes. So, moved with compassion for this man who pleads for him to have mercy and to be patient, the king suddenly, unexpectedly, mercifully and graciously frees the debtor and cancels out everything that the man owed!

Imagine, it dear people, it would be like owing a billion dollars plus interest that accumulates by compounding daily. You know you can't ever pay it, but you still promise and you still try. Suddenly, you are released from paying back even a penny of it. What a burden lifted from your shoulders. Now you have a future lived without bondage and burden. What freedom. You could go out and be about the activities of your day knowing that your debt had been canceled. What would you do? Jesus continued with His account ...

But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, "Pay me what you owe!"So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you all." And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, "You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?" And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

This also appears quite clear. That one who had such a great debt canceled found a man who owed him some three month's worth of wages. The recently freed man throttled his debtor and demanded to be paid in full. His fellow servant was not able to do this, and besought him, pleading for mercy and patience, and promising to pay everything owed. The first man was neither willing to wait nor of a particular persuasion to cancel the small debt. So, he had his fellow servant cast into prison.

The master heard about this and confronted the first man, railing against him. He had canceled the fortune that this man owed and this man did not have the care or compassion to do the very same thing to his fellow servant who owed him a small sum. As a result, the king delivered the ungrateful man to the torturers.

But dearly beloved of God, this is not a Jesus-story about the collection of money owed or the tearing up of financial promissary notes. This is about sins against God and the forgiveness that He has given and the forgiveness that He expects you to announce to others. Jesus concluded by saying, So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.

But right here, dear Christian, right here is where so many people get this wrong. They think that we are dealing primarily with an "offering-of-forgiveness" problem when the real problem is one of the "receiving-of-forgiveness." Too many people think that Jesus has just given us a little pep talk in order that we might be more merciful to others, more patient with others, and offering more personal forgiveness to others. The basic problem of the debtor who owed so much was not one of offering of forgiveness. Rather, he never did not understand the first part -- he never understood the receiving of the gracious gift of God's complete forgiveness.

Now, if this story that Jesus told means that I am supposed to try to be more forgiving than what I was, I am still not to the point where I have understood the forgiveness God has declared to me. I might be able, by personal perseverance and struggle to forgive my brother three score and ten, or by reason of strength, four score. But I am still not to the point of perfection where I am expected to be and my debt is now greater than what it was before I made another personal attempt to be a forgiving guy. So I try again, trying to forgive from my heart and soul. Things only get worse from that garbage dump called my heart and the debt compounds. Oh wretched man that I am, Who will deliver me?

Thanks be to God Who gives us the victory through Christ Jesus our Lord. Let's get this "receiving-of-forgiveness" straight and the "offering-of-forgiveness" will immediately follow. The mercy that God in Christ had for you when He passed over your sins and laid them on the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, is the same mercy that He had for that brother of yours who continually sins against you and comes asking for forgiveness. The patience that the Lord had, and has, for you when He endured the stripes that were due to you, is the same patience that Jesus had, and has, for the brother who has hurt you with his transgressions and comes asking for forgiveness. The forgiveness that the Incarnate Son of God earned for you on Calvary's cross and guaranteed in His Easter Resurrection, is the same forgiveness earned for your brother and which you are called to announce to the one who comes to you seeking such a proclamation of the Gospel. Your brother's pardon is the same as your pardon.

So, who are you and who is that pastor of yours to summon from your heart forgiveness of a single sin? The only basis for your being to forgive another is the Word of the Lord concerning your forgiveness. You don't say, "Because I am a good woman, a patient person, a merciful guy, I announce my forgiveness to you." Rather, you say, "In the Name of Jesus, I forgive you." As a member of the priesthood of all believers this is part of the Good News that you are called to share with others, especially those who sin against you and come seeking forgiveness.

Once again, this really is nothing new. You have been aware of this for as long as we have been privileged to be in the presence of the Lord and follow the liturgy of His Church. Perhaps for as many Sundays as seventy times seven, you have heard these Gospel words announced by your pastor.

"Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost."

The pastor in Bo Giertz' Hammer of God sums up the joy of knowing that this is all God's doing and how marvelous it is for us. The pastor said it like this:

"In the first place, I myself see light where formerely [sic] I saw only darkness. There is light in my heart, and light over the congregation. Before, I was in despair over my people at Fröjerum and at their impenitence. I see now that this was because I kept thinking that everything depended on what we should do, for when I saw so little of true repentance and victory over sin, helplessness crept into my heart. I counted and summed up all that they did, and not the smallest percentage of the debt was paid. But now I see that which is done, and I see that the whole debt is paid. Now, therefore, I go about my duties as might a prison warden who carries in his pocket a letter of pardon for all his criminals. Do you wonder that I am happy? Now I see everything in the sun's light. If God has done so much already, surely there is hope for what remains" [page 124].

Amen.