Tawa Baptist

Redemption

Scripture: Genesis 42:1-24

Video Link: https://youtu.be/uimjqLmyGj8

Structure:

  • Introduction 
  • Redemption is God’s initiative
  • Redemption requires our participation
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

In the game of monopoly there is one card no one wants to be dealt and that is the Go to jail card. Getting sent to jail takes you out of the game so you can’t trade and you can’t pass Go and collect $200.

But at least the rules provide opportunities for redemption. To be released from jail and restored to the game, you must either throw a double or hand in a get out of jail free card.

This morning we continue our sermon series in the life of Joseph focusing on Genesis chapter 42, verses 1-24. The next three chapters of the story show how God used Joseph to redeem his brothers; to release them from the prison they were in and restore their relationships.

To set the scene, famine has spread over the known world and people everywhere are at risk of starving. From Genesis 42, verse 1, we read…

1 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” 2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”  3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. 5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also. 6 Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.” 8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.  9 Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” 10 “No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.” 12 “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” 13 But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.” 14 Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies! 15 And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 And he put them all in custody for three days. 18 On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do. 21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come upon us.” 22 Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.” 23 They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter. 24 He turned away from them and began to weep, but then turned back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s Word for us.

In this reading, we see God’s hand at work to redeem Joseph’s brothers. Two things we note here. Redemption happens at God’s initiative and redemption requires our participation. Let’s begin by considering God’s initiative in redeeming Joseph’s brothers.  

Redemption is God’s initiative:

If you get caught in a rip while swimming in the surf, there’s not a lot you can do. The best advice is to go with the current and not fight against it. Otherwise, you might end up exhausting yourself and going under.

In a situation like that, when you are relatively powerless to save yourself, you are dependent on the initiative of the surf life savers to come to your rescue in an IRB.

Likewise, if you are seriously injured or sick in some way, you are dependent on the initiative of the doctors to heal you.

Or if you are lost in the bush with a broken leg, you need land search and rescue to find you and bring you out.    

It’s similar with the redemption of our souls. We cannot save ourselves. Our redemption happens at God’s initiative.

One of the intriguing things about Joseph’s reconciliation with his family is that he does not initiate it himself. Joseph waits over 20 years before encountering his brothers again. And when he does finally meet them, it is not his doing nor is it his brothers’ doing. It is God’s doing. The Lord brings them together, at the right time, through a famine.

For more than seven years Joseph has been the second most powerful man in all of Egypt, next to Pharaoh. Joseph could have gone back to Canaan to find his family and confront his brothers. Joseph could have exacted his revenge if he wanted to. But he doesn’t.

In fact, far from nursing any resentment, Joseph has let the matter go. He has forgiven the past. As we heard last week, in Genesis 41, Joseph named his first-born Manasseh saying, ‘It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household’.

It’s interesting the way Joseph acknowledges God’s initiative here in making him forget his troubles. Joseph is able to forgive the past because God (by his grace) has enabled Joseph to let go of the hurt.

Joseph needed those 20 plus years, not only to rise to a position of power in Egypt where he could help his family, but also to allow God toheal him personally. To make him strong enough and wise enough to play a part in the redemption of his brothers.

Joseph may have forgotten the troubles of his past, but his brothers have not. They live with the burden of their guilt every day.

At the beginning of Joseph’s story, his brothers treated him badly. They sold him into slavery and added to their wrong by covering up what they had done so their father thought Joseph had been killed by a wild animal.

By committing this sin and lying about it, Joseph’s brothers put themselves in a jail of sorts. Not an actual jail, with concrete walls and iron bars. But rather the mental and spiritual prison created by guilt and deceit. They had been incarcerated in their minds for over twenty years.

As Walter Brueggemann puts it…

The brothers have no room in which to act, no energy for imagination and no possibility of freedom. They are bound by the power of an unforgiven past, immobilized by guilt and driven by anxiety. [1]

That is a truly awful place to be. Perhaps some of you here understand all too well what this is like. The brothers are trapped in their minds and their spirit suffers for it. But God wants to redeem them, just as he wants to redeem you.

There are two aspects to God’s redemption; two arms if you like. Release and restoration. God’s redemption releases and restores.

That is why Jesus came. Jesus came at God’s initiative to redeem creation. Jesus releases humanity from sin and guilt, superstition and fear and all that robs us of life and corrodes our spirit.

At the same time Jesus restores us to right relationship with God and each other so we can love courageously and enjoy abundant life.

The deeds Jesus performed; healing the sick, casting out demons, forgiving sins, restoring sight to the blind, raising people from the dead and so on, are signs of God’s redemption.

As Christians, we believe our redemption will be fully realized when Jesus returns in glory. It’s been a long wait though, 2000 years in fact.

Because redemption is God’s initiative, it happens in God’s time, not ours. Our part is to be ready when God provides the opportunity. For redemption doesn’t happen to us automatically. Redemption requires our participation.

The thing is redemption may not feel all that pleasant at first. The road to redemption can be a bit bumpy. The early stages of our redemption may feel like a trial or a punishment, as it did for Joseph’s brothers.

Redemption requires our participation:

Many people believe the way to test whether a diamond is real or fake is to run it across a piece of glass. If the diamond is real, it will cut the glass, and if it’s fake, it won’t.

Apparently, this test is a myth. It’s just something they do in the movies. In real life, dragging a diamond across a piece of glass damages both the diamond and the glass.

However, there are other tests you can carry out to determine whether a diamond is real or not.

If the gem is unmounted, then try placing it over printed words. If you can clearly read through the stone, it’s not a diamond. Diamonds refract so much light you cannot see any lines or letters through them.

Or you could do the fog test. Just put the diamond in front of your mouth and breathe on it. If it stays fogged for 2-4 seconds, it’s a fake. A true diamond will disperse the heat instantaneously so by the time you look at it, it has already cleared up.

Just as we might know the true character of a diamond by testing it, so too Joseph seeks to know the true character of his brothers by testing them. Redemption tests for truth, because without truth there is no freedom and no peace.

At their father’s prompting, the brothers go to Egypt to buy grain.

And when they get there, they bow down before Joseph. As a boy of 17, Joseph was powerless to stop his brothers. Now, as a man in his 30’s, the tables have turned and the brothers are at Joseph’s mercy.

Remember the dream God gave Joseph, all those years before, when his brothers’ sheaves of grain bowed to his. This is the beginning of the fulfilment of the dream.

We know this but Joseph’s brothers don’t. Verses 7 & 8 tell us that as soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but they did not recognize him.

It is little wonder that Joseph’s brothers did not recognize him. Firstly, it had been over 20 years since they had last seen Joseph and they thought Joseph was dead anyway, so they were not expecting to see him.

Secondly, Joseph was speaking to them through an interpreter and thirdly, Joseph looked like an Egyptian. He was clean shaven and dressed in clothes foreign to the bearded Hebrews.

Why then does Joseph accuse his brothers of being spies? He knows full well they pose no threat to Egypt’s security.

Well, Joseph is testing his brothers’ character. He needs to know whether they have changed their ways. It’s one thing to forgive someone, but it’s another thing entirely to learn to trust them again. Forgiveness is a gift. Trust is earned.

Forgiveness is letting go of our hurt and anger, so that we no longer seek to get even with the person who has wronged us. Forgiveness releases us. Forgiveness is one of the ways we participate in our own redemption. If we don’t forgive, we end up with the other person living rent free in our head.

It is always necessary to forgive others, but it may not always be wise to trust them. Trust is precious and needs to be offered with discernment. Don’t put your pearls before swine, is what Jesus said.  

Some people think that reconciliation is the same as forgiveness. It’s not. Forgiveness is a necessary step in the process of reconciliation, but there is more to reconciliation than forgiving someone.

Reconciliation goes beyond forgiveness and seeks to restore the relationship fully by rebuilding trust. And for trust to be rebuilt, the truth must be faced. Joseph has forgiven his brothers. He just doesn’t know if he can trust them yet.

Joseph tests his brothers by speaking harshly and accusing them of being spies. And the brothers defend themselves against this accusation by explaining that they were twelve brothers from one father. But one of their brothers is at home and the other is no more.

This serves as proof because, if they were spies, their father would not risk ten of his sons. He would have sent just one or two.

Joseph pounces on the knowledge that one son (Benjamin) is still at home, saying, “It is just as I told you: You are spies! And this is how you will be tested… you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here…”

Joseph’s test involves subjecting his brothers to a small taste of their own medicine. Just as Joseph’s brothers had thrown Joseph into a pit and sold him into slavery, Joseph throws them in jail for three days. This is not revenge. This is sowing the seeds of understanding.  

Joseph does not enjoy it. As God’s agent of redemption, Joseph must put his brothers in a situation where they experience what it is like to be powerless and vulnerable.

Joseph wants to see if they have learned empathy and care for each other. Joseph needs to know whether his brothers are ready and willing to participate in their own redemption. Are they truly repentant in other words.

On the third day, Joseph releases his brothers from prison. The third day has special significance in the Christian imagination. The third day is the day of Jesus’ resurrection, a day of redemption. A day of release from death and restoration to eternal life.

Joseph says to his brothers, ‘If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back to your starving households. But you must bring your youngest brother to me…’

This shows us Joseph is not being vindicative or vengeful. Joseph knows it has taken the brothers a week or so to travel from Canaan to Egypt and it will take a week to get back. He does not want his family to suffer. 

Joseph’s test works. The ten brothers say to one another, in verse 21…

“Surely we are being punished for our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come upon us.”

This verse marks a significant turning point in the brothers’ redemption. They face the truth of what they have done, making an honest confession of their guilt. They accept what is happening to them as just punishment. Little do they know that God is not punishing them. God is redeeming them.

In verse 22 Reuben says, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.”

At this Joseph turns aside to weep. When the brothers own up to their crime against him (albeit unwittingly), Joseph does not gloat. He weeps. These are not tears of bitterness and grief. These are tears of healing and release. Tears of redemption. 

Joseph weeps because, without knowing it, his brothers have shown him they have a conscience and they feel remorse for what they have done. The brothers have taken the first difficult step of participating in their own redemption.

Of course, it is one thing to admit wrongdoing. It is another thing entirely to translate those feelings of remorse into a change in behaviour.

As much as Joseph wants to reveal his true identity, he knows the test cannot end here. The brothers must return to Egypt with Benjamin. Benjamin is Joseph’s only full-blooded brother and Joseph wants to see if they will look after him.  

Simeon alone is made to stay behind as a hostage. Simeon is the second eldest and probably the most disliked and cruel of all the brothers. If they return for Simeon, then this will prove they care for one another.  

Conclusion:

I’m not sure what redemption you crave. I don’t know what holds your mind captive. But I am sure God wants to release you and restore you. He redeemed Joseph’s brothers, so he can redeem anyone.  

In first John chapter 1, verse 9, the apostle writes…

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

With the knowledge that God is gracious and wants to redeem, I invite you to pray this simple prayer with me now…

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

May God release you to walk in paths of righteousness and restore you to fruitfulness in his purpose. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • What is redemption? Discuss / reflect on the two arms of God’s redemption.
  • What does God do to redeem Joseph’s family? How do Joseph’s brothers participate in their own redemption?
  • What is forgiveness. How is forgiveness different from reconciliation? 
  • Why does Joseph speak harshly to his brothers and accuse them of spying? Why does Joseph weep in verse 24?
  • Can you remember a time in your life when you were powerless to save yourself? What happened? How was your life redeemed? What role did God have in your redemption? What did you need to do? How did you feel (before, during and after)?
  • What redemption do you crave? Make some time this week to talk with God about this. What do you need to be set free and restored? 

[1] Walter Brueggemann, Genesis, page 337. 

Tawa Baptist

For-giving

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35

Title: Forgiving

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Forgiveness is letting go
  • God’s forgiveness is unlimited but not unconditional
  • Forgiving from the heart
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good blood flow helps to heal wounds

–         Without healthy blood flow a wound will take ages to heal or may even get worse

–         Generally speaking things that improve blood flow include…

o   Putting a heat pack on the wound area

o   Elevating the wound to reduce swelling (because swelling restricts blood flow)

o   And appropriate levels of exercise to aid circulation

o   Looking after your heart also helps with blood flow – restricted arteries or poor blood pressure can impede blood flow and prolong the healing process

A ‘readiness to forgive’ is to the soul what good blood flow is to the body

–         Forgiveness, like blood flow, heals wounds

–         Without forgiveness the healing process can’t happen and our soul turns septic

 

Today we continue our series on well-being and care of the soul, using the acronym: HEALING.

–         Each letter represents a word which, when properly applied, is life giving to the human soul…

–         Hope Energy Appreciation Lament Inter-dependence Nurture & Giving

–         Last week we looked at giving – this morning we continue the focus on giving with special reference to for-giving

 

Forgiveness is letting go:

As I mentioned earlier in the service, forgiveness is about letting go

–         Letting go of our hurt and letting go of our desire to get even

–         With forgiveness we don’t insist on our rights – we give up our rights in order to set the other person free from their obligation to us

–         Forgiveness is a choice to refuse replaying the injury in our mind

–         It is a choice not to remind the other person of what they have done – not to hold anything over them

 

Forgiveness is an act of faith

–         When we forgive others we are trusting God to make things right, as opposed to taking matters into our own hands.

–         Likewise, when we seek forgiveness we are trusting in God’s mercy, not in our own rightness.

 

Forgiveness is similar to grieving

–         With both grieving and forgiveness we have lost something and we are coming to terms with that loss in a way that allows us to move forward

–         If the loss is significant then our forgiveness may require some lament

–         For example, we may have to give honest expression to our anger before we can forgive, before we can let the other person go free

 

To illustrate how God’s forgiveness works Jesus tells a parable to his disciples in Matthew 18

–         In the context of Matthew 18, Jesus has just been talking about how his followers are to relate with each other, and in particular how they are to restore broken relationships. From Matthew 18, verse 21, we read…

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master had compassion on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

 May God’s Spirit illuminate this reading for us

 

God’s forgiveness is unlimited but not unconditional:

This parable shows us that while God’s forgiveness is unlimited, it is not unconditional

Someone once said, ‘It doesn’t matter how much milk you spill so long as you don’t lose the cow.’

–         I guess the point is that mistakes are bound to happen – milk is going to get spilt – but, as long as we still have the cow we can always get some more. With the cow, our milk supply is unlimited

One way of understanding Jesus’ parable here is that God gives us the cow of grace – or unlimited forgiveness

–         But in order for us to keep the cow we must share the milk of forgiveness with others – if we don’t share the forgiveness then we forfeit the cow

–         While God’s forgiveness is unlimited, it is not unconditional

The standard Jewish teaching of the day recommended that you forgive someone 3 times

–         So when Peter suggested the upper limit for forgiveness might be 7 times, he was going well beyond the norm but still missing the point really

–         Because forgiveness, by definition, requires us to not keep score at all

–         Maintaining a ledger of wrong doing is the opposite of forgiveness

So, when Jesus said to Peter, ‘Not seven times, but seventy seven times’

–         He did not literally mean 77 times (or 490 times as some translations say)

–         He meant that we should not be counting

–         Our forgiveness of others should be unlimited

–         Martin Luther King summed it up well when he said…

–         Forgiveness is an attitude, not an occasional act

 

Jesus illustrates how God’s forgiveness works by telling a story about the kingdom of heaven

–         In Jesus’ parable the king wants to settle accounts with his servants

–         One of his servants is brought in who owes him 10,000 talents

–         Now a talent in Jesus’ time was not a special ability that one might possess like singing or drawing

–         A talent was a measure of weight – the largest measure of weight they had (in this case probably of silver)

–         What’s more 10,000 was the largest increment or number they used

–         So when Jesus says the servant owed 10,000 talents he does not mean for us to try and calculate the exact sum of silver or gold this may represent

–         Jesus is quoting a figure which was at the limit of what anyone in that culture could imagine

–         It was a figure many times greater than the GDP of Galilee – which means it would be impossible for the servant to repay the king

At first the king orders his servant to be sold as a slave (along with his wife & kids and all his property)

–         This in itself would not cover the debt – it was simply a way of the king preventing further losses and recouping what he could

–         Now, under the circumstances this was quite a merciful thing for the king to do – he could have ordered the servant’s head to be cut off or had him thrown in jail, but he doesn’t

Interestingly, the servant does not want to work for anyone else

–         The servant realises how good he has it with the king and wants to stay under the king’s care and protection – so he begs for mercy by saying…

–         Be patient with me and I will pay you everything

Now this is a lie told by a man in desperation

–         There is no way the servant could repay the entire debt – not even if he was given several lifetimes – it is impossible

–         The servant wants the king’s grace but he is unwilling to fully accept the truth of what he has done

–         Forgiveness doesn’t work unless we honestly take in what has happened

–         It’s the truth about ourselves that sets us free to forgive others

–         Truth is to forgiveness what sanding is to painting or what digging is to laying foundations – without truth, forgiveness doesn’t stick

The king knows that his servant can’t repay him but he has compassion on him and forgives the debt altogether – forgiveness is letting go of getting even

–         Forgiveness is also an act of faith

–         The king is trusting his servant to learn from his mistakes and not repeat the sorts of behaviour that got him into debt in the first place

–         He is also trusting his servant to pay it forward and forgive others

As soon as the servant is out of the king’s presence he finds a fellow servant who owes him a hundred denarii (equivalent to about 3 months wages for a labourer at that time) – nothing by comparison to 10,000 talents of silver

–         He grabs his fellow servant by the throat and says…

–         Pay back what you owe me

–         But when this fellow servant begs for mercy the first servant refuses and instead throws his co-worker into debtors’ prison

The unforgiving servant’s behaviour is the opposite of the king’s behaviour

–         The king was not violent but the unforgiving servant is

–         The king had compassion but the unforgiving servant is obtuse

–         The king did not insist on his rights whereas the unforgiving servant demands justice

–         The king released his servant but this same man who was released throws his fellow servant in prison

The other staff see all this and they are very upset

–         So they go to the king and intercede for the poor bloke who has been thrown in prison

–         The fact that they go to the king suggests they are used to the king listening and acting justly – they trust the king to do the right thing

When the king hears what the unforgiving servant has done he is outraged

–         He tells the servant some home truths and sends the man to jail to be tortured until he should pay back the whole amount

–         That’s a frightening thought when you consider that the unforgiving servant had no way of repaying the debt and no friends to bail him out

–         It might leave us with some rather discomforting thoughts about God

–         The same God who welcomes the prodigal

–         The same God who goes looking for the lost sheep

–         The same God who shows mercy and forgives generously

–         Is the same God who executes justice and punishes the hypocrite

To be clear God is not volatile or capricious – he is not prone to lashing out in random acts of rage. A couple of things to bear in mind about this situation…

Firstly, hyperbole or exaggeration are the hall-marks of this parable and the unforgiving servant himself is presented as an extreme example

–         He is certainly not representative of every servant of the king

Secondly, the king in this parable is simply giving the servant what he asked for

–         He had demanded justice for himself from his fellow servant

–         And so this is exactly what the king gives him

–         Measure for measure the king treated the unforgiving servant as he had treated others

I believe that God is just and merciful – he wouldn’t punish anyone beyond what they deserve

–         This being so the worst we can expect from God is justice and the best we can expect is mercy – either way, the choice is ours

–         Through faith in Jesus, God offers his mercy and his forgiveness to everyone – all we have to do is accept his mercy and pay it forward

–         But, if we insist on justice for ourselves, then that’s what God will give us

When we consider our own experience the imprisonment and torture in this parable equate to the mental & emotional anguish that un-forgiveness creates for the individual

–         Holding a grudge is like letting someone live rent free in your head

–         Or, as Malachy McCourt puts it, “Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die”

When we fail to forgive others, when we insist on justice for ourselves,

–         When we keep a record of wrongs,

–         When we hold onto the bricks of hurt & resentment, we lose the cow of forgiveness

–         We make ourselves a prisoner to all sorts of tormenting thoughts & fears

–         In short, we cut ourselves off from God’s mercy

Thomas Fuller once said, “He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.”

–         Our forgiveness, our freedom, is conditional on us forgiving others

–         When we forgive others we maintain the bridge that God has built for us through Christ

 

Forgiving from the heart:

After talking about the punishment of the unforgiving servant Jesus concludes his parable (in verse 35) by saying…

–         “That is how my Father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart”

What does it mean to forgive your brother or your sister from your heart?

–         Well it means to forgive genuinely, authentically, from deep within yourself

–         It is not a superficial, passive aggressive, phoney kind of forgiveness

–         It’s not saying, ‘May God forgive you’, and then fantasying about beating that person up

–         It is the kind of forgiveness that sets us free on the inside

A couple of weeks ago I was crossing the road when some random guy I didn’t recognise yelled out from across the street calling me an obscene name

–         I did nothing to provoke him, I was just walking across the road

–         At the time I felt shocked and didn’t really know what to do so I carried on walking and, silently in my head, asked God to forgive him

Afterwards though it started to bother me – why did he call me that name?

–         Despite having asked God to forgive him there was a part of me that wanted to do violent things to him

–         It was exhausting trying to stop my mind from going down that track

Perhaps if I said the words, ‘I forgive you’, out loud a few times, maybe that would work

–         But it didn’t. If anything that just made it worse – it only made me think about it more

–         He wasn’t sorry – he wasn’t even there to hear my forgiveness

–         So that night I tried to distract myself by watching some junk TV, but that didn’t work either, there was always something to remind me of the injury to my pride

Eventually I remembered what had worked for me in the past when I was struggling to let something go

–         The problem was, I kept thinking about my innocence and that made me hungry for justice

–         What I needed to think about was my guilt so that I would be hungry for mercy

I was upset about this guy taking my name in vain, blaspheming my name, and I couldn’t let it go because (sub-consciously) it reminded me of the times when I’ve taken God’s name in vain

–         This guy was showing me a mirror – I was that man

–         You see, while I’ve never done anything against the guy who yelled abuse at me, I have at times abused God’s name

–         The truth is I have behaved in ways that have made God appear obscene to others and yet God has forgiven me for that

–         Me taking God’s name in vain is far worse than that guy taking my name in vain – and once I realised that I stopped thinking about my injury and I forgave the guy from my heart – I was able to let it go, without Netflix

–         The things that bother us most about other people are often the things that bother us most about ourselves

 

Ideally forgiveness leads to restoration of right relationship

–         In fact reconciliation is not possible without forgiveness

–         However, forgiveness is possible without reconciliation

–         Forgiveness is always necessary but full reconciliation and restoration of relationship is not always wise

–         I don’t know the guy who yelled at me and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to know me either, so I don’t have to try and be his friend

Of course the example I’ve given is a relatively small thing – it’s not the same as being physically or sexually abused by someone you know

–         Forgiveness of that magnitude usually requires a process of grieving & lament, not to mention a fair dollop of God’s grace

Jesus’ call to forgive others is not a call to be used as a doormat or a punching bag.

–         If someone commits a serious criminal offence against you then it is okay to take that to the police – forgiveness doesn’t mean turning a blind eye

–         Wherever possible we should seek to restore damaged relationships but if the person you need to forgive is not willing to change,

–         If they continue to behave in abusive ways

–         If they simply cannot be trusted then you do not need to remain in relationship with them

–         You do need to forgive them (to let go of the hurt) in order to find healing, but you don’t need to try and be their friend

–         Better to call them by their proper name – your enemy

–         As a last resort Matthew 18 also allows for the ex-communication of the unrepentant

Forgiveness is not an excuse for us to dodge our responsibilities

–         If we do wrong then we should apologise to the one we have offended

–         If we can repay our debts, then we must

–         If we can put things right, then we should do that

–         If we commit a crime then we have to face the courts and take our punishment

–         God’s mercy does not erase his justice, it supports his justice

–         God’s mercy supports us to do the right thing

Conclusion:

God’s forgiveness is unlimited but it is not unconditional

–         God will forgive us generously when we call on him

–         But we forfeit his forgiveness if we refuse to forgive others

–         As Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, they will be shown mercy”

 

Let us pray a prayer of confession…

 Loving Father, our sin is too much for us to bear but Your forgiveness is greater than our sin.

Forgive us for our anxious thoughts and failure to trust you. Calm the waters of our soul.

Forgive us for our words which have wounded like shrapnel or sown weeds in other people’s hearts. Make our speech gracious and true.

Forgive us for the pride that blinds us to our own faults. Remove the plank from our mind’s eye.

Forgive us for the times we have dragged your name through the mud. Help us to reflect your image clearly.

Forgive us for the violence we imagine, provoke and express. Make us a channel of your peace.

Forgive us for our unceasing consumption which is destroying this planet. Satisfy our desires in Christ and restore the earth.

Forgive us for denying your grace by insisting on our own innocence. Make us aware of our need for your mercy.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Set us free to serve you with clean hands and a pure heart. Amen.

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    What is forgiveness?

–         What might forgiveness look like in practice – both mentally and relationally?

–         How is forgiveness an act of faith?

–         In what ways is forgiveness like grieving?

3.)    How does Jesus’ response to Peter and the parable in Matthew 18 convey the idea that God’s forgiveness is unlimited?

–         How does the parable convey the idea that God’s forgiveness in not unconditional?

4.)    What does the parable show us about God’s character?

5.)    Why is truth (esp. the truth about ourselves) necessary for forgiveness to stick?

6.)    What is the consequence, in your experience, of failing to forgive?

–         How does this fit with the consequence for the unforgiving servant in Jesus’ parable?

7.)     What does it mean to forgive from your heart?

–         How might we forgive from our heart?

–         Why does insisting on our innocence get in the way of forgiving?

8.)    How is forgiveness different from reconciliation?

–         How does forgiveness relate to reconciliation?

–         When is it appropriate to seek reconciliation with someone?

–         When is it not appropriate to seek reconciliation with someone?

9.)    Is there someone you need to forgive?

–         Is there someone you need to seek forgiveness from?