Taking Responsibility

Taking responsibility

Luke 17:1 – 4

Rabbi Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz

Luke 17:1 Now He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come,

but woe to one through whom they come! 2 “It is better for him if a millstone is

hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of

these little ones to sin. 3 “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if

he repents, forgive him. 4 “And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns

to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Starting at the beginning of chapter 17 of the Gospel of Luke, verses 1 through 4, we

have a short narrative in which Jesus basically tells us that we must forgive people who

sin against us. He also asks us to be careful that we do not create what are called

stumbling blocks—things that prevent other people from seeing the love of Christ.

This is one of those passages that I have heard preached so many times in churches.

I’ve used it myself, and yet I rarely see any real change I people occur.

As I studied this passage in preparation for this message, I began to wonder, why don’t

we see forgiveness in our churches? Over a decade ago, a district secretary once said to

me that she felt the most unforgiving people were in the church. I can attest to that

after more than 25 years as a pastor. If I made a mistake, I was often told—either

directly or indirectly—that I would have to do ten things perfectly before people would

forgive me for that one mistake. That doesn’t sound anything like what Jesus says here

in Luke 17 or anywhere else in Scripture.

What Jesus is really saying is that if someone sins against you, you are to forgive them

immediately. In fact, Christian interpretation has taken this passage, along with the

“seventy times seven” passage in Matthew, and concluded that we are to forgive a

person continually, no matter how many times they sin against us. Now, there are some

cautions we can look at. One of them comes from rabbinical teaching: if someone

cheats you in business—which is considered a sin—you stop doing business with them.

However, you still forgive them for cheating you. Forgiveness does not always mean

continued relationship in the same way.

In the church, people do not forgive one another. That much is clear. Just look at the

number of denominations within Christianity. There are now over 1,000, especially

when you include independent churches. There may even be more, because the book I

read that mentioned this was over 15 years old.

Instead of forgiving one another, people separate and go their ways. So I began to

ponder why this simple message from Jesus is so often ignored. We are supposed to be

the religion of forgiveness. That does not mean we become doormats and let people

walk all over us. We do have to stand up for ourselves—but we are to do so in a loving,

caring, and forgiving way.

Then, as I was putting this message together, something struck me. The reason we don’t

forgive one another is that none of us wants to take responsibility for our actions. All I

hear is that it’s always someone else’s fault.

Allow me to share a couple of stories that illustrate this. There was a woman who went

through a McDonald’s drive-thru and bought herself a cup of hot coffee. While sitting

in her car, she decided to place the cup between her legs. She was wearing a short dress

and nylons. As she pulled out of the drive-thru, she squeezed her legs together, which

forced the coffee up and out of the cup, spilling it onto her and severely burning her

private areas.

She later sued McDonald’s for what I believe was around $1.8 million—though I could

be wrong on the exact amount—and she won. The jury decided that McDonald’s made

the coffee too hot and therefore bore responsibility for her injuries. The woman refused

to accept responsibility for her actions, even though placing hot coffee between her legs

was clearly a poor decision. What made no sense to me was that a jury awarded her that

kind of money.

I also remember a story about a woman who went into a furniture store with her

toddler. There was a sign on the door stating that parents were responsible for their

children. Despite this, she allowed her child to run freely around the store. While

looking at furniture, she tripped over her child, fell, and broke her leg. She then sued

the furniture store—and won. I don’t remember how much money she received, but I