Loving God, you stand ready to forgive us because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, your Son. Help us to know in our hearts the reality of that forgiveness and to stand ready to do the same for others; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The following story is shared by William R. White in a book called Stories for the Journey:

In a small midwestern town a woman was caught in the act of adultery. Her pastor visited her and found her brash and unrepentant. When he asked her to repent of her sin she cursed him and told him to leave. A few days later he brought two members of the church council to visit her. She laughed at all of them saying, "What I did was no big deal."

Finally, using Matthew 18:15-18, her case was brought before the members of her congregation who listened to the testimony and weighed it carefully. When everyone had spoken, one of the elders advised, "It is the recommendation of the council that we remove her from our group. We will continue to pray that she repents of her sin and that she will return to full fellowship." The congregation concurred.

In the days that followed her removal, the woman confronted several members of the church on the street and showered them with curses. Many women crossed the street in order to avoid her anger.

During the next few years the pastor frequently saw the woman and spoke to her. She never returned his greeting. Then one day they met quite by accident in a back aisle of the town's largest grocery store. "There is seldom a day that passes when I do not pray for you," the pastor said. The woman began to weep.

Two weeks later, on a Monday morning, the woman entered his study. No longer brassy and bold, she confessed her sin and asked for his guidance. In the weeks ahead the two met frequently for counseling and prayer. Then, one day, she asked, "What must I do to enter into the fellowship of the church again?"

He told her he would bring the issue before the meeting of the whole church. When the congregation gathered the pastor told the people the story. When he finished, nearly a dozen people stood and recounted the tales of their encounters with the woman. The pastor reminded the people that those clashes took place prior to her confession.

Finally, the vote to reclaim her as a member took place. It lost by a substantial margin.

The pastor's face turned ashen when he heard the results. Before the president could adjourn the meeting, the pastor, trembling, stood and addressed the congregation. "Our Lord Jesus tells us that if our sister sins against us 70 times and asks for repentance, we must forgive her. You have chosen to ignore the command of Christ. I have no other choice than to declare that all of you who voted against her reinstatement are hereby placed under church discipline. Until you confess your sin you will not be allowed to eat at the Lord's table. Until this congregation repents, there shall be no absolution. I expect that those who voted for reinstatement will identify themselves."

At the next meeting of the congregation, the woman was restored to membership, by a unanimous vote. [William R. White, Stories for the Journey, Augsburg Publishing House, 1988, pp. 57-58]

In this story, it's not hard to imagine why the members of the congregation would be hesitant to welcome this woman back again. After all, most people have very long memories when they have been wronged. We like to hold onto our grudges. We like to recount to others how we have been wronged - "Do you know what she said to me?!" Yet, shouldn't there have been joy over one lost sheep who had been found? Shouldn't there have been rejoicing over a lost soul who has returned to the fold?

Yes - it is human nature to hold grudges and to keep a record of wrongs. Yet, this is not what God requires of us as members of the body of Christ. In fact, the end of today's gospel is downright scary: "So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart" (Mt. 18:35). This is an idea that doesn't appear just once in the gospels, but several times. We pray it in the Lord's Prayer: "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." We also read in Matthew, chapter 6:

"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Mt. 6:14-15).

The parable that Jesus tells in today's gospel attempts to explain why this would be so and makes the actions of the slave in the parable look absolutely ridiculous. In the parable, the slave owes the king an absolutely unimaginable amount of money. In those days, one talent was equal to more than 15 years' worth of wages for a labourer. That's just one talent, and this person owes 10,000 of them! It's almost like some of the third world countries that owe trillions of dollars in debt - an amount that would be absolutely impossible to repay. And so it is a truly astounding thing when this Gentile king in the parable forgives the entire amount.

However, the response of the slave is anything but thankful. Instead, he goes out and has a fellow slave thrown into prison who owes him a far lesser amount. 100 denarii is still significant - it's 100 days' worth of wages. However, it pales in comparison with the amount that was forgiven by the king.

What this parable does is to put our refusal to forgive a brother or sister in Christ into its proper perspective. God has already announced our forgiveness for an entire lifetime of sinfulness. Our forgiveness of a brother or sister in Christ pales by comparison, no matter what it is that has been done to us. When somebody comes to us who is repentant and asks for our forgiveness, we have absolutely no basis for refusing. In fact, even when somebody is not repentant and isn't asking for forgiveness, an attitude of forgiveness contributes to our own health and well-being.

Perhaps one of our greatest challenges as followers of Jesus is learning how to forgive. One explanation of forgiveness says that forgiveness means "not letting past sinful behaviors (whether my own or what was done to me) determine how I will act and feel in the present." [Stoffregen - http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/matt18x21.htm ]  When we are able to do this we have, indeed, forgiven and have left the sinfulness and its effects behind. This is also what God does for us because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. When we repent and seek God's forgiveness and put our faith in Jesus, God leaves our sins behind and doesn't remember them any more. May the Spirit of Christ continue to work in our hearts, cultivating this same spirit of forgiveness in us. May we, too, be able to forgive our brothers and sisters from the heart. Amen.

Proper 19(A) Matthew 18:21-35
September 11, 2005
St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore
? 2005 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved