Forgiven Forgivers

It was early Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, just before 6:00 a.m. in the morning in Los Angeles. My wife had just arrived at work and immediately called me. She told me to turn on the television and there was such urgency in her voice I knew something was terribly wrong. It sounded like she was saying that a plane hit the World Trade Center in New York. I ran downstairs, turned the set on and was horrified at what I saw. One of the Twin Towers was ablaze. It hadn't just been hit by a plane, but by a jetliner. People were standing on the street, gazing towards the sky, wondering what was going to go on next and then, another plane hit as I watched. Over the course of the next few hours, terror was unleashed on the United States. Terrorists had targeted the World Trade Center and the Pentagon with jetliners full of innocent victims to wreak havoc with America and to inflict economic, emotional, and psychological damage on the country, hoping to throw it and even the whole western world into turmoil.

That day is still burned in my memory. It was especially compelling to me and to my family, since we had just recently moved from New York to our new assignment in Irvine, CA. Our work in New York with Life's Journey Ministries and Church For All Nations, had included Bible studies on Wall Street on Tuesday mornings, Bible studies that were going on that very day. And many of my friends and my parishioners worked in the area around the trade center. New York as a city, you've got to understand, was always a noisy and busy place, nothing ever remained still. But, I'm told, that that day, it was eerily quiet. It became still, like never before as terror silenced the hustle and bustle of normal life, as terror made us all wonder if tomorrow would actually come.

Well, in our lesson for today, Jesus is instructing Peter about the most important element in His kingdom, forgiveness. On a day like September 11th, one wonders if that's what we should be talking about. Forgiveness? No, how about justice? Forgiveness? Isn't that just avoiding the real problems, Jesus? As Christians, we know very clearly what the Bible teaches. It teaches both justice and mercy. Human beings are sinful, evil by nature and they can only be saved by God's gracious work in Jesus Christ. God's forgiveness for this real world is one that is just, paid for by Jesus alone, and it is merciful, graciously offered by Him for all on His terms alone. So, even on September 11th, God's ultimate answer to this world's problems is His grace, His merciful love, and yes, His undeserved forgiveness. What the world needs now, is just what the world has always needed, "Forgiven Forgivers in action for the sake of others."

"Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'"

If there is one thing about forgiveness, life, and salvation from Jesus for this world; it's concrete, it's down to earth, it takes sin and evil head-on, it's not trite. It is not banal.

So, when I thought about words like forgiveness, mercy, and love, I was reminded of the fact that people have their own opinions about what those things might mean. I remembered that Coca Cola commercial back in the 1970s, it was kind of a flower child view of love and mercy. Do you remember the tune? Do you remember the lyrics?

"I'd like to buy the world a home, and furnish it with love, Grow apple trees and honey bees, and snow white turtle doves.

"(Chorus) I'd like to teach the world to sing, In perfect harmony, I'd like to buy the world a Coke, And keep it company, That's the real thing." The real thing (not crosses, not resurrection, Coke!)

Or, do you remember the Beatles song, "All You Need Is Love"?

"Love, Love, Love. Love, Love, Love.

"There's nothing you can do that can't be done. Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.

"Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game. It's easy.

"Nothing you can make that can't be made. No one you can save that can't be saved.

Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time. It's easy.

"All you need is love...Love is all you need."

These songs seem almost silly when you think about the gaping hole that was left at Ground Zero, the thousands of lives lost needlessly, the brave firefighters who gave their lives to try and rescue the innocent. So, how can you talk about forgiveness and love, Pastor Seltz, on a day like today?

Well, first understand, I'm not talking about the love of Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and I don't think that Coke is the real thing. Forgiveness, justly earned by Jesus on the cross, mercifully poured out to all by the power of His resurrection and received only by Grace through faith in Jesus. And yes, practiced by forgiven sinners, receivers of His mercy, towards others, that still remains the only hope for people in this world.

In fact, important things like "God's love, God's forgiveness, and mercy" are more needed today than ever before.

Now, that's not to say that we don't need soldiers to protect us from terrorists, or police to protect law-abiding citizens from the bad guys. These things too are blessings from God. It's just that they're not God's ultimate solution for this world. If all that were necessary for eternal, abundant life and salvation in this sinful world, were stronger armies, then we'd be at peace today because we have forceful strength like never before. Such things are sadly needed, because there are people who will only be stopped through fear and coercion. But such force isn't the ultimate solution. It never was meant to be.

Sin is too powerful even for our greatest warriors. It's to strong even for our nicest songs. Sin lives in every human heart, and we are powerless to root it out for ourselves. God's grace in Jesus is what is needed for human hearts. Forgiven forgivers are extensions of His Grace so that others might be changed by the power of God's love. That's what Jesus is talking about today.

"Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?' And, Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'"

People tend to know that love, and forgiveness, and mercy are very important things. What would the world be like without these things, without people who live by these truths. It would be a brutal, merciless, dark world. So we know that such things are necessary, really needed. But the question remains, "How do we put such things into practice faithfully, the way that God Himself desires." Peter is at least trying to figure this out in our lesson for today. He comes to Jesus and asks, "Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? How does 7 times sound?"

But, Peter came to Jesus asking a religious question. "How much forgiving should I do to please God?" He, like many of us, knew that love, and forgiveness, and mercy were important things, necessary things. But his question implies that "He has the power to put this into action." "Jesus, just tell me what I need to do, to do it right, and I'll take care of it."

But, Jesus didn't give him a religious answer, or a law and order solution, or even a solution that was pie in the sky. The kind of love and forgiveness this world needs is way beyond the capacity of our best efforts. Jesus is trying to help him understand that life, and salvation, and forgiveness were God's powerful gifts to overcome the sin and evil of this world, that our relationship with God, our fresh start with him, it's the key to it all. Jesus is trying to show Him what a graced life looks like!

Let me say it another way. Tell me if you agree. Incredibly, the hardest thing in life is to receive God's forgiveness as a total gift. Why? Because you are admitting your absolute failure before God; that you are absolutely in need before Him. Even this is by the power of God's Spirit alone. The second hardest thing is to forgive people who have sinned against you. I think that Jesus is pointing out all of this in the story that He tells.

He spoke of a man who owed the king a great debt. The debt was to be repaid, but it was well beyond the debtor's capacity to even start. He not only owed the king a tremendous debt (some calculate it to be $4 trillion in today's currency), but that money was also owed to society, the society that the king managed for the sake of all. To forgive such a debt meant that the king himself would have to pay that debt off because there were people dependent on those resources being collected and put to use.

Let me try to personalize it for you. Add up all the debts that you owe. Say you have a mortgage, school loans, credit card debts, car payments, as well as the bills you need to pay just to live and work in your community. Have that number in mind? Now multiple it by 100, or even by 1000. Now if that doesn't depress you, I don't know what will. Then say, though, the bank calls all these loans due today. What do you do? Well, you meet with the bankers and you plead with them. You know that you can't pay, but you tell them anyway that you will pay them back in full if they are merciful and they just give you more time. But they explain that the money is needed, all of it, right now, so you are to pay in full. But then, just at that very moment, someone comes in and not only mercifully gives you more time, they announce to you that your debt, all of it, has been repaid and you are free, really free, to go.

Well, I can tell you all of life would suddenly change for me! I mean, singing and dancing down the street with the new found joy that you now have because your new life of debt-free living has just begun. Well, say then, that you run into a guy who owes you $100. How many times do you forgive such a meaningless debt, now that you have been resourced with millions? How many times do you mercifully give the guy more time to pay off a debt that he actually can repay? Or, more pointedly, what kind of person receives an unlimited payoff of all of his or her debts and then has a person who owes them a few bucks arrested and thrown in jail as a welcher?

That's the point. How one receives God's mercy is how one shares it! When people finally take their relationship with God seriously on His terms, when they see how totally deserving of condemnation and judgment they are, and then receive His undeserved kindness and forgiveness, that changes sinful hearts, that empowers us to forgive friends and enemies as often as needed.

Peter was asking a religious question. "How many times do I have to forgive my brother" and Jesus gave him a grace answer made possible only by His cross and resurrection. You see, Christianity is not about religious deeds as much as it is about a relationship of Grace with God, accomplished by God, and resourced by God in your life of deeds for others.

"Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'How many times shall I forgive my brother?' ..... And Jesus tells him, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'"

If receiving such gracious forgiveness is the hardest thing in life, then sharing it would be number two. Those who believe in Jesus know that faith is a gift of God, empowered by His Spirit, and they also know that the Life of Faith is beyond our natural capacity as well. The Christian life is also empowered by His Holy Spirit, nourished by His Spirit-filled word. So Jesus' answer of "77 times forgiveness," you know, the "77 times forgiveness challenge," it shouldn't shock us. He's saying, "Do it the way I do it for you!"

We forgive others out of the resource of God's forgiveness for us. We join a fellowship of forgiven forgivers to practice sharing what we have received. Only God's gracious forgiveness is His eternal solution for sinful humanity. Only His Grace received as a gift can soften arrogant hearts. God's justice may keep evil at bay; but God's Grace can overcome sin and even reconcile enemies as friends. Undeserved forgiveness, both received and shared, is the power of God for life and salvation, now and forever.

Albert Tomei is a justice of the New York State Supreme Court. A young defendant was convicted in Judge Tomei's court of gunning down another person execution style. The murderer had a bad record, was no stranger to the system, and only stared in anger as the jury returned its guilty verdict. (The community was safe from him now.)

The victim's family, though, had attended every day of the two-week trial. On the day of sentencing, the victim's mother and grandmother addressed the court. When they spoke, neither addressed the jury. Both spoke directly to the murderer. They both forgave him.

"You broke the Golden Rule" they said,--"loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind. You broke the law--loving your neighbor as yourself. I am your neighbor," the older of the two women told him, "so you have my address. If you want to write, I'll write you back. I sat in this trial for two weeks, and for the last sixteen months I tried to hate you. But you know what? I could not hate you. I feel sorry for you because you made a wrong choice." She wanted him to know that there was mercy for him, too.

Judge Tomei writes: "For the first time since the trial began, the defendant's eyes lost their laser force and appeared to surrender to a life force that only this mother and grandmother could generate: nurturing, unconditional love. After the grandmother finished," he said, "I looked at the defendant. His head was hanging low. There was no more swagger, no more stare. The destructive and evil forces within him collapsed helplessly before this remarkable display of humaneness and mercy."

That grandmother didn't reject the temporal justice of the moment, but she pointed this young man to something even greater, God's mercy. She unleashed a power that finally challenged this boy to see what his life still might be before God Himself.

In our lesson for today, Peter asks a religious question about Jesus' Kingdom. Jesus responds with an answer that can only flow from God's grace received and shared. He's not just saying "do it infinitely." He's trying to tell Peter, and us as well, that the joy of receiving and forgiving is always rooted and always resourced in the life of grace that one has from God as His Gift through Jesus. Sharing such gracious forgiveness is putting to work what you and I have received!

If it's speaking the truth to others, then you do it out of God's love for you. If it's mercifully hanging in there with a friend, you do it as Christ, the "One Who is with you always," the One Who does that with you. And if it is forgiving those who repent of what they have done to you, you do it as one who receives such forgiveness daily from a Lord Who didn't deserve our rebellion or sinfulness and yet abundantly shares that forgiveness and fresh start with us as if it were the first time.

Forgive others the way that God in Christ forgives you. Love others as Jesus loves you. That's the message for all who really want to know if there is a solution to the sin and evil in this world.This is mercy and grace in action, not some religious discussion of who of us is better than another. This forgiveness, received by faith and shared in undeserved love, this is God's ultimate solution for the world, accomplished through the justice of Christ's cross and empowered by the gift of the New Life that comes only through Christ's resurrection.

So on a day like September 11th, we're reminded that sometimes force must be used to keep all hell from breaking loose in this world. I'm thankful that Bin Laden is no more; that Al Qaeda is on the run. I'm thankful when criminals are unsure of themselves because there are temporal consequences for their actions. But, that still is not the solution to the evil and sin in every human heart. God's final solution is a gracious and merciful one, one that doesn't merely prevent evil, but creates, and motivates, and resources new life for all who believe. It's not romantic. It's not idealized. There is satisfied justice and real mercy at its core. This real-world solution calls sinners to faith in Christ and it dispatches Forgiven Forgivers to serve others in Jesus' Name. I pray that you are resourced for the work that He has for you to do today and always, and may there be peace in our land on this infamous day as well. Amen.