TCC Flash - Weekly News

Almost ten years ago at the church I was leading I had worked hard on a sermon series about stewardship.  Just before the worship service in which I would preach the first sermon, I met a lady visiting the church for the first time.  Overjoyed to have her visit, I talked with her for a few minutes and thanked her for joining us for worship.  Then I got to hear why she was checking out the church.

Apparently, she was looking for a new church home because all her previous pastor did was "talk about money" amongst a list of other grievances.  I can hear her like it was yesterday.  She said, "I'll never forgive him or the church.  All they did was beg for money hand over fist.  I'm praying for a new start today in a church that doesn't talk about money."  And here I was about to preach three sermons about giving and stewardship.  Did she come back?  I think you know the answer.

Sometimes I wonder if we humans keep an Excel spreadsheet of times we have been hurt.  Maybe not literally but in our head.  It probably has the names of those that have hurt us and all the things they did.   The sad thing is you and I may be on someone's list too.  If we are not careful, the hurts can overwhelm the joys.  This leads us to maybe being defensive, building walls, and finding ways not to forgive those that have hurt us.  It's like the spreadsheet gets bigger and bigger. 

In Matthew 18:21-35, Peter was bold enough to ask Jesus about forgiveness.  Should I forgive seven times?  Jesus said seventy-seven times.  Then He tells a parable about a servant that begged his king to forgive him for a massive debt.  Basically, Jesus equated it to a massive amount...ten thousand bags of gold!  There is no way that kind of debt could be paid back.  The king, in his great mercy, forgave ALL the debt.  Jesus compared this to "the kingdom of heaven."  

The servant, however, wasn't like the king.  He would not forgive the debt of another servant who owed him a hundred silver coins.  The servant who could not pay was thrown into prison.  The king heard about this and was not happy.  Let's just say it was not a happy ending for the guy who was relieved of the debt of ten thousand bags of gold.

Jesus was telling Peter that you can't forgive like "the law" he was taught growing up.  Keeping count like a team against its rival is not going to work.  Having a spreadsheet tally isn't going to work either.  If he did, the past would always be like a prison holding him captive.  You will always remember what happened and the hurt, but forgiveness changes what is coming our way.  It also helps in how we look at the past.  It doesn't have to be a prison anymore.  This is what happens in the kingdom of God.  

Let me leave you with these wonderful words of wisdom from Rev. Dr. David Lose.  He beautifully connects the parable and what Jesus did on the cross together:

"But please let me be clear: if we want to avoid hearing this parable (Matthew 18:21-35) as saying that we should allow people to treat us badly, we also want to avoid commanding people, let alone threatening them, that they have to forgive. Forgiveness, like love, cannot be commanded or forced. But we can pray for it, for the ability to forgive those – alive or dead – who have hurt us, even if we have distanced ourselves from them for good reason. And we can pray that we forgive ourselves some of our own regrets, mistakes, and hurts, and even the inability to forgive others. And we can pray that we are able to accept the forgiveness of others when it is extended. And above all, we can pray that God keeps bringing us to church week in and week out so that we hear of God’s intention and promise to forgive us and to form and fashion us into a community of love and forgiveness, a community, that is, that sees in Jesus’ cross the token of God’s pledge to forgive all and in Jesus’ resurrection the always present possibility of an open future."

In Christ,

Rev. Baxter