MATTHEW’s GOSPEL chap 18 verses 21-35
and LUKE 17: 3b-5
Sermon: Forgive as we have been forgiven.
Q.1 How many times have WE sinned?
Answer 1 something like countless times.
Q.2 How many times has God forgiven US?
Answer 2 probably also – countless times,
but once for every time we have asked Him to,
asking Him in Jesus’ name.
Q.3 How many times have people sinned against US?
Answer 3 probably also – countless times.
Q.4 How many times have we forgiven THEM?
Answer 4 should also be countless times,
and ideally once for every time they sinned against us.
This is certainly what Jesus seems to be teaching in today’s Gospel reading.
God takes our sins away as far as the East is from the West
according to Psalm 103,
and He cleanses us from ALL unrighteousness
according to 1st John chapter 1,
and there is no Scripture that seems to suggest
that He holds grudges against US,
so WE should try not to hold grudges against others.
Whatever people do to us, we should take it in our stride.
We should try to let God bring some good out of it,
remembering that two wrongs don’t make a right,
and that if we retaliate against someone who hurts us,
we end up being no better than them.
We all know this is a good theory,
and we all know it is hard to practice it, but that's what God wants.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said "love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you,
do not retaliate when you are attacked,
give to those who ask of you,
do not judge, and forgive, so that God will forgive you".
These words are well known
and most people around the world,
whether Christians or members of other world religions
and even atheists and agnostics
identify with them, and say this is good advice
and if everyone in the world lived by these teachings,
the world would be a better place.
But it's not easy: let's be honest.
One of the many wonderful things about Jesus
is that he did not only “preach” forgiveness, he “practised it”.
Jesus forgave the people who hated him so much
that they shouted “Crucify him, crucify him”,
and he forgave the Romans who executed him by nailing him to a cross.
When I was an RE teacher I used to get pupils to read the story
of Corrie Ten Boom.
Her family in Holland was tortured during WW2 because they sheltered Jews.
Her father and sister were killed by the Gestapo,
but at the end of the war Corrie was able to forgive the Germans.
Romanian Lutheran pastor Richard Wurmbrand
was able to forgive the Communists
who pulled out his fingernails, toenails and teeth.
Mother Teresa was able to forgive the Hindus in Calcutta
who threw insults and dead animals at her
when she first set up her hospice,
believing she only wanted to force Christianity on vulnerable Hindus.
Can WE forgive those who bully us?
Abuse us?
Can we forgive the person who stole our promotion,
or stole our money,
or made us miserable and unhappy?
According to our human nature – NO,
but according to our super-natural nature,
with the help and grace of God –
the answer should be YES,
and not only once;
and not only seven times,
because Jesus did not mean that after someone has sinned against us
eight times, then we can punch them!.
Some people say it’s hard to be a Christian today;
getting out of bed to come to a church on a Sunday morning;
giving some of our hard earned wage or pension in the Offering;
saying Prayers on a regular basis;
reading a portion of the Bible every day.
Doing these things DOES seem to be too hard
for the majority of people in the UK today.
I heard on the radio last week that only 3% of parents
think religion is important to the lives and futures of their children,
and only about 7% of the population will be in a Church this morning.
Personally I think going to Church,
putting money in the Offering,
reading the Bible and saying Prayers
are, in fact, the easiest things about being a Christian;
it is practising what we preach that is hard to do,
being nice to those who are nasty;
forgiving those who have sinned against us.
It is easy to read Luke chapter 17 verse 4
but even the apostles found Jesus’ teaching difficult to put into practice.
Notice their words in verse 5:
‘The apostles said to the Lord,
“Increase our faith!”.’
We really need faith to be like Jesus,
and behave like Jesus,
in the workplace, in the classroom, in the factory, in the hospital, in the shops;
to be like Jesus when faced by bullies and critics
and especially by hostile neighbours or family members.
It IS hard to forgive and forget.
Forgiving those who have gone out of their way to be hurtful – is hard,
and forgetting all about it – is even harder.
It goes against our human nature, for we are what CS Lewis calls humanity
in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”,
the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve.
What the Bible and Martin Luther calls – sinners, fallen ones.
I don’t know about you,
but the words in the Lord’s Prayer:
“Father, forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us”
really prick my conscience
and remind me about what a hypocrite I am.
O how I want God to forgive ME,
I am really sorry for MY sins against Him
and MY sins against other people,
and I am really sorry, really repentant, really remorseful.
I say "Lord, I am REALLY sorry, you MUST forgive ME",
I sincerely and heartily repent;
but when it comes to others I ask questions like:
"Why should I forgive them?"
and "Why should God forgive them?"
People like murders, child molesters, terrorists, dictators!
We think they should not be forgiven; but that we should!
But does the Bible say there are degrees or levels of sin, or just sin?
I think I have mentioned before that in the East,
the Orthodox Churches have churches dedicated to St Judas Iscariot.
We don’t in the West.
As far as I know not one Roman Catholic or Protestant church congregation or building
is dedicated to Judas Iscariot,
who, to us, was the evil disciple,
the one who fiddled money from the gifts people gave to Jesus,
the betrayer, who for 30 pieces of silver, had Jesus arrested,
and tortured, and killed.
But the gospels do record that Judas was filled with remorse;
regret for what he had done;
and how he tried to break the contract he had made with the Chief Priests,
even returning the 30 pieces of silver.
The Orthodox take this as Scriptural evidence that he had repented,
and that if so, Jesus’ words in Luke 17 verse 4
mean that Judas would be forgiven,
and therefore would go to Heaven when he died,
even by his own hand;
because God’s grace and the blood of Jesus covers even the worst of sins.
I don't know about you,
but I confess that I can relate to those apostles in Luke 17 verse 5
who asked Jesus for the help to forgive others,
because we all need forgiveness.
But if Jesus could forgive Judas,
and if he could forgive the Chief Priests and Romans
just before he died on the cross,
when he prayed "Father forgive them",
then that's what God expects US to do,
because WE have sinned,
and WE have been forgiven.
With God's help we have to try to be like Jesus;
fighting against "The Dark Side" that is in us all, our sinful human nature;
and the key to being able to do it
is to remember how much WE have sinned against God,
and to appreciate how often HE has forgiven US.
Until the Great Day when we will all be judged,
we will continue to be sons of Adam and daughters of Eve,
sinners and fallen people,
people who will never get it exactly right,
people who will never be able to emulate Jesus 100%.
But the message of the Gospel is that God loves us
in spite of our faults and failings,
and washes us clean of every sin, whether ‘large’ or ‘small’,
and the Gospels also promise that the Holy Spirit is there to help us
to follow the example of Jesus,
to do the Good that God wants us to do
even if that means forgiving someone who sins against us
as often as SEVEN times in only ONE day.
Thank God for forgiving us;
and for helping us to forgive others.
This is our duty
and this is one way that we can be see to be following Jesus
and witnessing for the Kingdom.
In Jesus' name.
Amen and .............................................
