Sep 13, 2020  SERMON ARCHIVE

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer, AMEN

The text for our meditation today is the Gospel Lesson for this Sunday, Matthew 18:21-35. There we read these words:

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

We begin in the name of Jesus, AMEN

Dear Christian friends, A mother says to her young son, “Stay out of the street! I will boot your backside into next week if you even go near to that street!”

Why would any mother say such a harsh and threatening thing to her child? Does she give such a command because she hates her child, or because she wishes for her child to live in fear? Of course not! The mother probably loves her child more than she loves her own life, even when she speaks harshly to him. The mother wants so dearly to care for her child and protect her child from all harm, that she lays a heavy law upon the child, spoken in severest terms: “You will regret going near the street!”

There is a good chance the child has no clue what danger and pain awaits him in the street. All he knows is his mother’s law, and since the street seems like such a good place to play, his mother’s law seems harsh and unreasonable—maybe even impossible to keep. The child cries because his mother will not allow him to play in the street, but momma is not the least bit softened or moved by his tears. “Stay out of the street! If a passing car does not kill you, I will!”

Your God has never once spoken a commandment to you that was not for your own personal blessing and benefit—even when He speaks harshly and demandingly. For example: The first and greatest commandment—“You shall have no other gods” —this first commandment is really all about you. Your God commands you to have no other gods because He alone has power to be the sort of God you need in your life. He alone will preserve and protect you eternally, ruling over you in mercy and in love.

Take the third commandment as another example: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” With these Words, God commands and requires you to be devoted to hearing His Word and to be faithful in receiving Holy Communion. God commands your worship, not because He is worried about taking attendance on Sunday morning, but because His Word and His sacraments—ONLY His Word and His Sacraments— continually provide you with divine life, apart from which you shall die.

In the same way, all the commandments of the Second Table are as much about you as they are about your neighbor. “Honor your father and your mother”; “You shall not murder”; “You shall not commit adultery”; These commandments are all about God taking care of your physical body and life. “You shall not steal”; “You shall not bear false witness”; “You shall not covet”. These commandments are all about God taking care of your possessions and reputation until your last hour comes.

God is kind of like a mother that way. In order to preserve and protect her child, so also shall your God lay down the law for you—even laws you may find too difficult and unacceptable. God speaks His laws and He gives you His commands in order to preserve and protect you.

God says to you in today’s Gospel, in very clear terms, YOU SHALL FORGIVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. Not only shall you forgive, but also you shall not cease forgiving. Peter came up and said to [Jesus], “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”

Jesus commanded Peter and He commands you to forgive your neighbor a ridiculous number of times. There were no options for Peter and there are no options for you. Cry, weep, and rant if you wish. Your protests about how your neighbor does not deserve your forgiveness will fall on deaf ears, just as a child’s tears and pleas to momma—that he be allowed to play in the street—will likewise go totally ignored.

Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? [asked the king.] And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also My heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.

Your God has never once spoken a commandment to you that was not for your own personal blessing and benefit. The command that you forgive your neighbor is no exception.

Yes, you have been hurt. Yes, you have been mistreated, disrespected, and perhaps even physically harmed.

None of those things should ever have happened to you. Your God commands you to forgive your neighbor from your heart nevertheless. Nothing has happened to you—nothing ever will happen to you—that your loving God will not set straight for you in the future.

Do not nurse your resentments toward your neighbor. Your anger and resentment will only grow into an incurable infection. Let it go. Think of forgiveness as being like an antibiotic that will prevent your injury from growing worse. Think of your Baptism as washing and healing your wounds, so that they do not require your attention any longer.

Bitterness is a dead end street. The longer your remain bitter toward your neighbor, the more likely you will grow bitter also toward God, since God is the one who allowed that neighbor into your life. “Let all bitterness and wrath… be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you”.

“Forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” That is really the point of forgiving your neighbor, isn’t it? Okay, he or she has done a bad thing and treated you wrongly. How does your neighbor’s small sin against you really stack up against all the many sins you have committed against your God? God forgives you every sin and more, because of His grace and mercy in Christ. When you forgive your neighbor, you are really just proving that you believe you have been forgiven by Jesus, too.

Jesus tells a parable in today’s Gospel. Sometimes the parables are difficult to understand, but not this one.

An indignant king said to his unmerciful, unforgiving servant, Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.

All of your debts to your master have been fully forgiven, so that not even a penny remains. The parable in today’s Gospel ended badly.

Play out today’s parable in your own life, but give it a different ending. Your forgiveness toward your neighbor will mean happiness for your neighbor. Your forgiveness toward your neighbor will also mean happiness for you, both now and in eternity.

Christ is risen.