Rev. Teri Peterson
PCOP
Before and After
Matthew 18.15-35
22 February 2015, Lent 1, NL1-25
‘If another member of the church sins
against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the
member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened
to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed
by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to
them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the
church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. Truly I tell
you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose
on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree
on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in
heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’
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?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you,
seventy-seven times.
‘For this reason the kingdom of heaven
may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When
he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to
him; 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. So the
slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will
pay you everything.” And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released
him and forgave him the debt. 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.” Then his fellow-slave fell down and
pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” But he refused;
then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. 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. Then his lord
summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt
because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your
fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his lord handed him over to
be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will
also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your
heart.’
There’s nothing quite like beginning the season of Lent with
what feels like Extreme Forgiveness Makeover. We began just a few days ago with
Ash Wednesday, confessing the many ways we have fallen short and missed the
mark, and hearing yet again that we are finite beings in the midst of God’s
infinite love. And now today we have this: a completely outrageous story in
answer to what seems like a perfectly good question.
In Jesus story, the slave owes a massive debt to the king.
And I mean massive. When Jesus said “ten thousand talents” it’s likely the
disciples gasped in disbelief, because that is roughly equivalent to a
gazillion dollars. One Talent was about 16 years wages, so Ten Thousand Talents
is the income from 160,000 years of ten hour work days, six days a week—before
spending anything on housing, food, clothes, or taxes.
Or, in other words, a gazillion dollars.
Jesus knew this number was ridiculous. It is so much money,
no one could possibly have any hope of paying it. Many of us know the
hopelessness that comes with a pile of debt, and the frustration that
accompanies the monthly statement on the student loan or mortgage that never
seems to get any smaller. More and more people in our nation, especially young
people, are trapped in a cycle that seems impossible to get out of—the
education required to get a job that pays the bills creates unsustainable bills
itself. And many nations are similarly trapped, with the costs of building an
infrastructure or managing poverty and disease leaving them beholden to
wealthier countries at rates that boggle the mind. Debt is a fact of life for
many of us, or at least something we are used to hearing about in very large
numbers. It is so common that we forget there is a measure of injustice in
allowing or perpetuating a system in which some people can become so indebted
that it becomes a prison or even torture.
And this debt that the slave owes is well beyond even the
most unjust student loans or even the amount owed to the World Bank. This is
something that can’t even be imagined.
And that is how
much the king forgives.
If the disciples gasped in disbelief on hearing the amount
of money at first, by now they’ve passed out in shock. To be forgiven in such a
way was unbelievable.
And this, says Jesus, is what the kingdom of God is like.
More than we can ask, more than we can imagine, more than we can ever expect or
deserve—God’s mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. 160,000 years of work,
and more, all the way from In The Beginning to Amen.
I am not sure if it’s possible to convey the enormity of what
has happened in Jesus’ parable—it is so big, so ridiculous, so life changing,
so…I don’t even have enough superlatives.
But that’s okay, because it’s that last one that matters.
Before, the man was carrying a heavy load. At any moment, judgment could come
and payment could be demanded. He had to work constantly to try to catch up,
and he probably didn’t treat himself or others well. Before, he was on his own,
looking out for himself, even while being little more than a cog in the
empire’s machine. Before, his life was dominated by money and by how people and
situations could benefit him. Then he encounters the king and his gracious
mercy, and…what happens after?
This is the question. When we have encountered the king and
his gracious mercy, when we have experienced the steadfast love of the Lord,
then what? What happens after?
The slave goes out from the king’s office and, whistling his
jaunty tune, continues the same story he’d been living before. His experience
of grace does not translate into gratitude. He is not able to turn the mercy he
has received into mercy he can share—he continues instead to work only for
himself, to hoard what he has, and to insist others pay up too, no free lunches
here. If the forgiveness is in his heart, it doesn’t show in his actions. Nothing
has changed.
What about us? We receive incredible forgiveness, we sing
about the love of God, we hear God’s word, we pray and we listen…and when we go
out, has anything changed? Does it show? Are we transformed by the gift of
grace, or are we still imprisoned even though the debt is forgiven?
Just as unpayable debt is no longer shocking to us, I wonder
if grace is also no longer amazing to us. Perhaps we are indeed imprisoned, by
our own familiarity. We have become so comfortable with bending things to fit
our economic story that we cannot see how God’s generosity requires turning
over a whole new chapter.
The servant’s punishment was, in many ways, of his own
making. He left an encounter with divine grace and continued to walk the same
old path, and that is a torturous prison. What difference does grace make in
our lives? How can people tell we have experienced this extravagant mercy? Even
though the king has offered us a new page, a fresh start, it is difficult to imagine
a new story.
We could be forgiven for not loving the outline Jesus gives
of this new way of life. He says that we, who have experienced the generosity
of God’s mercy, are to make different decisions, treat people differently,
change the script and keep loving beyond reasonable limits. If we’re keeping
score, we’re not offering the kind of forgiveness we have experienced.
Please note that forgiveness does not mean accepting bad
behavior. While we are not to hold on to our resentment, nowhere does Jesus
tell us to be nice at all costs, to be careful not to make anyone upset, or to
insist on surface calm and uniformity. Instead he shows us how conflict can be
an opportunity to grow in grace. Speak directly to one another, not about one
another. If the person is still crossing boundaries, stirring the pot, hurting
others, or refusing to even listen to other perspectives, then Jesus says we
are to treat them like a Gentile or tax collector. Before we jump to the horror
of excommunicating people, remember who Jesus hung out with and loved: tax
collectors, sinners, and Gentiles. It is okay for us to trust Jesus’ love for those
people whose behavior says that they have chosen not to live within the
covenant community, for us to care for them as people made in God’s image—and
yet not continue to treat them as if
they are still committed to our communal life, with all the vulnerability,
trust, and power that entails. To do so is unfair to the person and hurtful to
the community.
This is a hard thing for those of us who want everyone to be
happy, and yet it is the new story we are offered by God’s grace. This new
story is not bound by the scarcity and fear that comes with poor boundaries and
brushed-aside disagreement, but is instead a story of practice, of care, of
hospitality, and of abundance. Because we have received so much, we are able to
work toward a community where all can experience this mercy and love. Because
we have been found and fed, we are able to follow even when the path seems
hard. When we come face to face with all God has done for us, we can go out
like the unforgiving servant, unable to integrate this new reality into our
everyday lives, or we can go out the way Jesus teaches, changed by his love and
ready to do the hard work of creating a community that shows the world what the
kingdom of God looks like.
The season of Lent is often described as a season of
repentance. To repent means to turn around and go a different way—to encounter
grace beyond belief and let it change the course of our lives. This is an
ongoing process not confined to these 40 days, of course. But this is a season
when we walk this journey together with more attention than we might otherwise.
This is a season when we encourage one another and hold one another accountable
to the new path Christ has laid before us. This is a season when we don’t just
encounter God’s amazing grace, but we anticipate it—we prepare, we look
forward, we share, and most importantly, we stand out in front, transformed by
the love we have known, ready to offer it to others, to pay it forward, to live
in gratitude.
May it be so. Amen.
