Readings: Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35
“‘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?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.’”
So, forgiveness. How easy is it to forgive? To truly forgive – let go of that anger, hurt, frustration and pain and forgive. Sometimes it is easy – your partner forgets the yogurts when out shopping, well, no harm done, we’ll just pop out later and get some. Some hurts are small, just minor irritations. But what about bigger hurts, ones that tear at the heart – that first broken heart; the slight against a loved one; the deliberate harming of a loved one by another. What about the death of a loved one at the hands of another? Can we forgive that? Should we forgive such a huge transgression? I remember reading about one mother whose daughter was killed by two other teenagers because of who she was. The mother spoke of her forgiveness for the culprits following their trial and imprisonment. They had faced justice and were paying for what they had done, but for her, to not forgive them would mean allowing her hurt, her hate, her anger to eat away at her and destroy her, trapping her in a prison of her own. Because holding that grievance does consume, does destroy, imprison us.
But forgiveness is at the heart of the Christian message, it is at the heart of the cross. From the cross, in the midst of his pain and dying, Jesus cried out forgiveness: Father, forgive, they don’t know what they’re doing!” at that moment, from the cross, humanity is offered forgiveness, is given divine forgiveness. And not just forgiveness, salvation. We are given a new life, a life of hope and redemption, one in which we live, in the words of the hymn, “forgiven, loved and free” and in which we can come with joy to meet our Lord. It is forgiveness given in love, out of God’s deep and lasting love for us, for us all. And if God can forgive us the death of Christ on the cross, the rejection of the Son even unto death, then that is what we are called to do: forgive seventy times seven, that is, always. To live forgiveness, to live forgiven-ness. To forgive the trespasses of others because our trespasses have been forgiven. It does not mean ignoring our transgressions, or the transgressions of others. It does mean not allowing them to overwhelm and destroy us or others; it means not allowing them to turn into revenge or hate. It means knowing that in order to be forgiven ourselves, we too must forgive and be prepared to accept that we are forgiven, and that those who trespass against us are also worthy of forgiveness too.
And the parable Jesus tells makes it clear that holding onto the debts we think we are owed by others, the hurts against us we nurture, enslaves us in selfishness and hate. The servant cannot accept his forgiveness because he cannot forgive his fellow servant. It is only by forgiving those trespasses against us, and acknowledging that we are also forgiven the trespasses we have committed, that we can live forgiven lives, with hearts full of love and hope, so long as we “forgive our brother and sister from our heart.” From our heart.
However, Jesus’ call for forgiveness, for us to forgive freely, without ending, and from our hearts, is one of the hardest things we are called to do. We do find it hard to let go of a grievance – it takes conscious, deliberate action and determination. It is much easier to hold onto the hurt and anger, the sense of injustice, and let it burn inside. Because that is what the world, what society, teaches us to do: to seek revenge. Just look at the news, at social media. But holding the hate burns and consumes and destroys us; demanding revenge only makes further victims. Literature reflects society and in literature we see characters so driven by vengeance that their lives are destroyed: Montagu and Capulet; King Lear for a perceived slight by his daughter; Hamlet. And many a murder in a detective novel centres on revenge for an act from years ago. But if we forgive, that burden of hate, of anger is lifted and we can live, not to ourselves but, as Paul tells us, we live to the Lord.
And forgiveness is also central to life in the community, as the body of Christ, as the Church. If we do not forgive, our whole community is affected, is damaged. Grievance can build up and fracture communities, driving them apart and weakening our society. We see it daily in the news: where revenge creates division, causes people to act in anger, provoking reciprocal anger and hate. In the church where denominations cannot even share the one thing that should bring us together: the bread and wine, body and blood of Christ. Though we are many, we are, should be, one body because we should be able to share in one bread. Revenge, holding grievance, divides us. Whereas love, forgiveness and understanding unite. If we are to be a united community, a united Church, united in our love for God, following Christ’s example, living to the Lord (as Paul tells us), then forgiveness is essential. We cannot harbour grievance, or hatred or anger towards each other as this divides and destroys what God has created: our community, the body of Christ, the Church. Instead, we are called to respond to Christ’s call to the Father to forgive, from our hearts, over and over again, so that we too can forgive, as we ourselves are forgiven, loved and free. Because we cannot forgive without acknowledging that we are all forgiven, freely and unconditionally, from the cross by the Father. This does not avoid the need for justice, for a reckoning for deeds done, but it does ask us to not hold on to the grievance, to let go of the hate and not let it so consume us that vengeance replaces love and justice. It means seeking justice tempered with, centred in and on, love and forgiveness, not hate and vengeance. After all: Abels blood for vengeance pleaded to the skies, but the blood of Jesus for our pardon cries: Father, forgive.
So, we must live forgiven lives, knowing that if we are forgiven, and if we acknowledge that we are forgiven freely and lovingly, then we too must forgive freely and openly and from the heart. Because we are accountable to God for our actions, our thoughts, words and deeds. And then, forgiven and forgiving, we can live lives reflecting God’s love in the world and bringing God’s forgiveness and the uniting and loving power of forgiveness into all situations and to all people: and surely that is something the world in so many places needs today. It isn’t easy, the world, our societies, call for vengeance and the holding of grievance. But Christ calls for forgiveness from the cross and teaches us to pray: forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Willingly, freely, brothers and sisters, from the heart. Amen.
Revd Jackie Sellin