Unfinished Business of Forgiveness
Sermon Talkback—Sept. 14, 2008
Matthew 18:21-35
A. Jesus’ conversation with Peter (18:21-22) and the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (18:23-35)
Apparent inconsistencies—offering forgiveness without limits and forgiveness offered once but ultimately withdrawn
B. Goal: Interpret the narrative context and the embedded parable working together rather than being at odds
C. Matt. 18:21-22
Forgiveness of others must be without limits. Peter is willing to concede that forgiveness must be generous if it is to be gracious at all, but wonders whether a limit of seven times might be a reasonable limit to forestall possible abuse. Would Christians turn into doormats, fail to hold sinners accountable, and invite abusers to continue to abuse?
Jesus explicitly rejects “seven” times and suggests: 77 times or 490 times. The point is: Don’t keep count. There is to be no limit.
D. Matt. 18:23-35
The problem of allegorizing the king in the parable to be God—If you act like the unforgiving servant, then God will act like the king who withholds forgiveness. God does not withhold forgiveness. Also, the king not only doesn’t forgive the servant a second time but he withdraws forgiveness already given.
Vs. 23 sets up a contrast between the actions of the human king with what is to be expected from the divine king of heaven. While the human king acts in accord with God by initially forgiving the servant, his subsequent action in not only refusing to forgive the slave’s second offense (failing to forgive the obligation owed him) but also revoking the benefits of his initial act of forgiveness follows neither what we believe about God nor what Jesus asks of Peter.
Vs. 31 reveals that the same failure to offer forgiveness is exhibited by “his fellow slaves” who report his actions to the king; they, too, are demanding what is “owed” by the standards of justice and fairness established by the king’s initial act of forgiveness. If the “unforgiving slave” will not pay the debt of gratitude owed to the king for his graciousness, then he, too, should be imprisoned.
E. Order or Chaos
The king on hearing the charges brought by the “fellow slaves,” reverts back to demanding payment of “his entire debt” (vs. 34). The resulting damage goes far beyond just the personal plight of the slave “handed over to be tortured;” if the king’s clemency can be withdrawn, then the whole social order is thrown into chaos. God’s kingdom is based not on justice but, by implication, on mercy.
What if the parable illustrates not what God does but what the effects would be if Peter and others set limits on their willingness to forgive? The point would be to show why limiting forgiveness would not work. The world must be grounded in justice with everyone paying what they owe, or it must be grounded in forgiveness. If either justice or forgiveness appears to be arbitrarily left out, then chaos will be the result.
F. Implications
1. Heavy debt load has long been a barrier to development in countries of South America. During the Year of Jubilee 2000, a number of religious communions call for the forgiveness of a substantial amount of the debt that was owed by poor countries that keeps them in a dependent, slave-like state. To hold debt is to hold power over the other. Do you think we in the U.S. should forgive this debt so that these countries can focus on development, self-reliance, and dignity? Do you think our world order is based on justice or mercy?
2. 10,000 talents is an insane amount of money. A talent is the largest monetary unit of the day, equal to the wages of a manual worker for 15 years. 10,000 talents would be the wages of 10,000 manual laborers, over the course of 15 years. The point is that regardless of how large of a debt that we might have, God forgives mercifully. Are you open to seek God’s forgiveness for your debt/sin?
Definitions of Forgiveness
“Forgiveness involves surveying the damage one incurred through harmful action of another and eventually remembering it differently rather than trying to erase it from memory.” (F. LeRon Shults and Steven J. Sandage, The Faces of Forgiveness: Searching for Wholeness and salvation (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2003), p. 22.
“Forgiveness wills the wellbeing of another when one harbors ill-will to that person. It is choosing to give up resentment and retaliation. Forgiveness is an act of mercy creating space for living anew with the past one would rather forget.” (Jaco Hamman, Lectionary Homiletics, Vol. XIX, No. 5, p. 58)