15th Sunday of Pentecost (Year A)
Sunday, September 17, 2017
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was
you.”
– Lewis B. Smedes
“God created us for love, for union, for forgiveness and compassion and,
yet, that has not been our storyline. That has not been our history.”
– Richard Rohr
Theme: Forgiven
Reflection: The year was 1990. A year filled with far
too much worry was coming to an end.
After spending the first four weeks of his life in
an neonatal intensive care unit in Phoenix, some 100 miles from home, our son
was freed of his apnea monitor and chest belt that had caused nothing but false
alarms, mostly in the middle of the night.
But what we couldn’t discard was the bill that
wasn’t covered by insurance. His neonatologist’s bill equaled a quarter of my
annual salary. It would be years upon years before we could pay it off. That
was, if we didn’t end up with additional bills from whatever medical issues lay
ahead for our son. While our insurance had paid the hospital and most of the
doctors, this was the first bill, and it covered most of our deductible.
Closing in on Thanksgiving, we were thankful. Our
son was fine, the insurance had covered what would have been a six-figure
hospital stay, and just this one bill remained. Both of us wondered how long we
would have to work to pay it off, if we COULD pay it off. The joy of our first
Christmas as a family was dampened by this crushing debt.
Then, an envelope arrived from the office that
looked different from the neonatologist’s monthly bills. We opened it and wept
with gratitude. “So that you can have a Merry Christmas, we have forgiven this
debt.” The bill was marked “Paid in Full.”
Such a burden lifted. We have never forgotten that
moment, when, without justification, this generous creditor freed us from a
debt we couldn’t pay.
That story rushed back as I read today’s lessons.
Paid in full. Joseph had every right to exact justice for the hurt his brothers
had caused years earlier, but instead he cared for his family. David’s Psalm
has the same premise: God could deal with us according to our sins, but
instead, he forgives us, removes the sin
from us. Paul tells the church at Rome that it is not ours to judge anyone
else, just to live to the glory of God.
The Gospel parallel to our story would be for us to
receive that letter, and then make life miserable for someone who owed us five
dollars.
We are debtors, drowning in our stuff. We are, as
the confession says, “in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.” It is
beyond us to restore ourselves into right relationship with God – God alone can
bridge the divide. We haven’t done anything to deserve it, but in great love
for us, God settles our account, before we can ask, marking it “paid in full.”
How then, can we have anything but compassion for
the little wounds and scars caused by the friction of human relationship?
Meditating on God’s infinite grace makes my little grudges and grievances
ridiculously ungrateful and petty. Forgive me, Lord, once again.
(You always are
welcome to respond with your thoughts and reflections in the comments section
at the bottom of this post.)
Faith App: What person needs you to lose count of their past wrongs? Wipe out your tally sheet and settle your accounts. It will set both of you free.
HYMN/SONG
SUGGESTIONS
Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive, ELW 605
When We Are Living, ELW 639
God, When Human Bonds Are Broken, ELW 603
Our Father, We Have Wandered, ELW 606
Goodness Is Stronger Than Evil, ELW 721
Go, My Children, with My Blessing, ELW 543
I Come With Joy, ELW 482
Forgiveness, Matthew West
Whole Heart, Brandon Heath
East is from the West, Casting Crowns
Chain Breaker, Zach
Williams
LESSONS
Genesis 50:15-21 Even though you intended to do harm to me,
God intended it for good
Psalm 103:(1-7) 8-13 As far as the east is from the west, so far
he removes our transgressions from us.
Romans 14:1-12 Why do you pass judgment on your brother or
sister?
Matthew 18:21-35 How often should I forgive? As many as seven
times?
Summary: Forgiveness is hard for mortals to understand,
when paybacks come so much easier. But follow the lead of the one who can and
does forgive all things. Keep letting it go.
OPENING
LITANY based on Psalm 103:1-2, 8-13
L: Bless the Lord, O my soul, bless God’s name;
C: Every fiber of me knows the good God has
done.
L: Healing my weak and wounded parts,
C: Removing my sin, until I feel alive and loved
again.
L: Compassionate is our Lord, and full of grace,
C: Full of love when we are at our most
unlovable.
L: God thinks the best of us and doesn’t stay
angry,
C: Paybacks aren’t coming – that’s not how God
works.
L: Magnificent are the heavens, but not as great
as God’s love.
C: Distant are the horizons, but God removes our
sins farther.
L: No parent could love us with God’s tender
mercy,
C: Trusting is the
child who knows God’s steadfast love.
CONFESSION
L: Why does it take a tragedy to bring us
together,
C: Or the deathbed wish of a parent to their
kids?
L: Why can’t we love without grudges or
paybacks,
C: Replacing fear with trust, anger with concern?
L: Why do we despise what we don’t understand,
C: Passing judgment on others we’ve never met?
L: Why do we accuse harshly and point our
fingers,
C: Without any clue about the struggles they
face?
L: Why do we deny blessings to all God’s children:
C: A roof over their heads, enough food to eat?
L: Why do we hold one’s past sins against them,
C: When we say we believe in a God who forgives?
(Silent
reflection)
C: Most Merciful God … we are so good at keeping
track of other people’s words and actions that cause us pain, holding onto
grudges and eager to settle our scores. Payback is a real attraction for us.
We’ve wandered so far from your loving and reconciling ways, so forgetful about
our past mistakes. Teach us how to let go, Lord, to forgive our brothers and
sisters from the heart and love them as you love us.
P: Hear this Good News: Merciful and gracious is
our Lord, slow to become angry with us and overflowing with love. God does not
deal with us according to our sins, instead we are forgiven and set free,
released to release others.
In
the name of…
C: Amen
PRAYER
OF THE DAY
C: Compassionate God … we pray for you to teach
us how to love – really love – until our love becomes more than a feeling, but
an action more compelling than any power on earth:
• Love that heals the broken places
inside each other,
• Love that understands what our
neighbor’s words don’t say,
• Love that works for justice for the
weak and left behind.
• Love that stops counting how many
times it forgives.
Give us your grace to
keep forgiving far longer than we think is wise, worthwhile or warranted,
because forgiveness has no limits, and love never ends. Amen.
COMMUNION
BLESSING
C: We give you thanks,
most gracious God, for the mercy in this bread, the forgiveness in this
cup. Send us, freed from the captivity
of our sin to be grateful enough to free others, not by fear, not by force, but
by loving and forgiving them, over and over and over, just as you love us. Amen.
SENDING
L: Not seven times, but now 77 times?
C: Jesus was teaching Peter new math.
L: Just stop counting wrongs and forgive,
C: Love your neighbor as God loves you.
L: Go now, forgiven to the nth degree, to love
and to serve the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God!
First
Reading Genesis 50:15-21 (NRSV)
Setting the Scene: After Joseph’s brothers sell him into
slavery, twists of fate put him into a position of authority as a prince of
Egypt. Joseph has returned to the palace after burying his father, Jacob, and
now his brothers realize he has the power to pay them back for their earlier
misdeeds.
15 Realizing
that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph still bears
a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to
him?” 16 So they approached Joseph, saying, “Your
father gave this instruction before he died, 17 ‘Say to Joseph:
I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming
you.’ Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your
father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his
brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, “We are here as your slaves.”
19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid! Am I in the
place of God? 20 Even though you intended to do harm to me, God
intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing
today. 21 So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and
your little ones.” In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.
Second
Reading Romans 14:1-12 (NRSV)
Setting the Scene:
Conflicts have set in between Jews and Gentiles over law. Paul instructs the
Roman Christians of means that eating sacrificed meat isn’t inherently wrong,
nor is refusing to do so. It’s how you treat others.
14 Welcome
those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over
opinions. 2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat
only vegetables. 3 Those who eat must not despise those who
abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God
has welcomed them. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on servants
of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will
be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 Some
judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be
alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. 6 Those
who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat
in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain,
abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.
7 We
do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. 8 If
we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then,
whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to
this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead
and the living.
10 Why
do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your
brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For
it is written,
“As
I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.”
and every tongue shall give praise to God.”
12 So
then, each of us will be accountable to God.
Gospel Matthew
18:21-35 (NRSV)
Setting the Scene:
Today’s discussion immediately follows last week’s teaching about how to
confront someone who has wronged a member of the church. Some translations say
77, some 70 x 7.
21 Then
Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against
me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus
said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
23 “For
this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle
accounts with his slaves. 24 When he began the reckoning, one
who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; 25 and,
as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife
and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. 26 So
the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I
will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the lord
of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But
that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed
him a hundred denarii and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’
29 Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have
patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 But he refused; then
he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. 31 When
his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they
went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 32 Then
his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all
that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Should you not have
had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And
in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt.
35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if
you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
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