This
is the first of our parables for Lent.
When
we read it, what do we find out about God or Jesus?
Jesus
introduces the story: This story will show you what the kingdom of heaven is
like:
Another
Kingdom of Heaven parable,
A
few weeks ago, we heard a series of parables on the kingdom of heaven is like, and
I summarised the kingdom as:
·
Generous to the point of being extravagant or
wasteful [sower/4 soils]
·
Inclusive, even of enemies [wheat and weeds]
·
growing/useful [mustard seed]
·
hidden/subversive [ yeast]
·
valuable [ treasure]
·
something to seek, and find[pearl]
·
non-judging [fish]
today’s parable:
the
kingdom of heaven is like a king who forgives a debt,
a big debt,
a debt so big the servant could never have paid it back.
a big debt,
a debt so big the servant could never have paid it back.
Various
people have tried calculating how much the debt was, in the translation we
heard this morning it is fifty million silver coins, other translations have
ten thousand talents. it equates to about 150,000 years of wages for a
labourer. I wonder how the person could get into that kind of debt. Even if he
was paid five times as much as a labourer, it is 30,000 years of wages. It is a
ridiculous amount.
the king was merciful.
and we think what a lovely story.
the first servant is forgiven a ridiculously
big debt.
then he refuses to forgive a much
smaller debt.
and he is thrown in prison.
in the Kingdom of Heaven, forgiveness
is received and given.
If
we read it as the king represents God,
the forgiveness of the debt of the first official is what I want to hear;
not only am I and my family not being thrown in prison for being in debt,
but I don’t have to pay back what I owe,
which given the amount is impossible.
the forgiveness of the debt of the first official is what I want to hear;
not only am I and my family not being thrown in prison for being in debt,
but I don’t have to pay back what I owe,
which given the amount is impossible.
But
then when the one who was forgiven doesn’t forgive, the forgiveness is taken back.
That
doesn’t seem like good news to me.
It
does fit with the line in the Lord’s Prayer: forgive us our sins as we forgive
those who sin against us.
The ending
doesn’t fit well with me, it isn’t the way I want, or expect, God to treat me,
or anyone.
What
is forgiveness?
A quote:
“Forgiveness is not saying that what happened was OK,
it’s being able to say within your heart
that you accept what’s happened
and you won’t let it stop you living a life
or seeing humanity in the person who has hurt you.”[i]
“Forgiveness is not saying that what happened was OK,
it’s being able to say within your heart
that you accept what’s happened
and you won’t let it stop you living a life
or seeing humanity in the person who has hurt you.”[i]
A story:
When I was
at college, I struggled with one person on staff. She put students down,
expected us to be able to stop our lives on little notice and do what she
wanted. At times her comments were cruel and hurtful.
After I finished
college, I decided all was well, as I would not ever have to relate to her
again.
About five years
later, I was on a Synod task group, and she was on it as well.
UGH!!!
I wondered
how I could work with this person when I did not want anything to do with her.
I decided I had to forgive her. I had no idea if she was aware of how hurtful her behaviour had been, or even if she remembered some of the things she had said to students. She had not asked for forgiveness.
I chose to forgive
her, so I could be involved in the work of the Synod task group without seething
about her treatment of students.
I didn’t say anything to her about forgiving her, but once I had forgiven her, I was able to work with her without being distracted by resentment.
Is there someone you need to forgive?
If you are ready to forgive, you can write
it on a piece of paper, screw it up and it will be burnt.
When I have offered this before, some
people commented that they wished it was so easy.
often forgiveness is not easy,
but:
forgiveness does not ask you to forget
what happened
forgiveness does not ask that you stay
in an abusive situation
forgiveness does not ask you to pretend
it never happened
forgiveness does mean the behaviour was
acceptable.
forgiveness means not letting the hurt
dominate your life
forgiveness means letting go of the desire
for revenge
forgiveness means freedom for you to be
yourself
when we hurt someone, we need to ask
for forgiveness, and we also need to take responsibility for what we have done.
my experience is that some people don’t
forgive – they hold onto hurts, they let the pain envelop their lives, and they
become bitter.
the other pattern I have noticed is
that some people struggle to accept forgiveness.
I wonder if that is part of what is
happening in this parable.
While the Lord’s prayer says: Forgive
us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Maybe we can only truly forgive, when
we know ourselves forgiven.
Until
we accept forgiveness, from God and ourselves and others
When
we stop holding ourselves hostage to our mistakes
Maybe then, when we can accept the forgiveness
of God, will we be able to accept forgiveness and forgive others.
Forgiveness isn’t like winning the
lottery, though for the first person in this parable it must have seemed like
it.
Forgiveness is part of our lives, and
we live with the consequences of not forgiving.
What does this parable tell us about
the Kingdom of Heaven?
this parable is a warning of what
happens when we don’t forgive others.
when we hold onto hurts,
when we hold onto judgement,
when we hold onto the desire for
revenge,
we are not free to live in the
forgiveness God offers us
when we don’t forgive others, they can
be hurt by that, but so are we.
The person who holds onto the anger and
resentment, is not at peace,
God offers mercy and grace, but we are
expected to do the same.
the
Kingdom of heaven is a Kingdom of forgiveness.
This
lent, who do you need to forgive?
What
do you need to let go of?
