“”SPARK-IT”

 Sept. 13, 2020 15h of Pentecost

Matthew 18: 21- 35  (The Message)

21 At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, “Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?”

22 Jesus replied, “Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.

23-25 “The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn’t pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market.

26-27 “The poor wretch threw himself at the king’s feet and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt.

28 “The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, ‘Pay up. Now!’

29-31 “The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ But he wouldn’t do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king.

32-35 “The king summoned the man and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn’t you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?’ The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that’s exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn’t forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy.”

There are times when we have to withhold forgiveness or all we do is enable. 

 

Is it possible the servant was not gracious with his fellow servant because he was forgiven too much too soon and it didn’t work?    It didn’t work because he wasn’t ready for it.  He was still caught in his own selfish, self-centered, self-seeking attitude which prevented him from being gracious no matter how gracious others were to him.  It didn’t work because he was not ready to admit that he was powerless to do anything about his condition and needed the kings mercy, not just a little time to work things out.

We can cheapen the gift of forgiveness when we offer it too quickly or too easily or even too often.  Then it ends up making little if any difference in our lives.  We are called to want to forgive; we cannot always forgive as quickly or easily as we would like.

Forgiveness is not pretending everything is okay when it isn’t.  It is not letting someone walk over you again and again and again, doing nothing about it.  It is not allowing someone to be irresponsible over and over and over again, doing nothing to stop it.  That’s enabling in the language of today - co-dependency - which leads not to life and happiness but more dysfunction and unhappiness.  There are times we cannot forgive and there are times our forgiveness will make no difference, because it cannot connect in a real way with the life of the one we would like to forgive.  This is a bitter reality of forgiveness.

                                      

Yet we are to never give up on forgiveness;  always be ready to forgive when the time comes.  When actions “speak louder then words” and we dare take the risk of forgiveness again.

 

“Forgiveness is love’s toughest work, and love’s biggest risk.  

If you twist it into something it was never meant to be, 

it can make you a doormat or an insufferable manipulator.”  Lewis Smedes

Prayer thoughts for the week:

“Lord, help to forgive even when I don’t want to.”

“…keep me open to forgiveness even when the one I want to forgive doesn’t want my forgiveness.”

“…help me to never give up on forgiveness.”