Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent – March 9, 2010
Matthew 18:21 – 35
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive someone 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 bags of gold 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.
"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. 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 you 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 greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled 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 a brother or sister from your heart."
Often in the Gospels people ask Jesus a question out of a particular personal motivation, only to find that Jesus doesn’t answer their question. Rather, he raises new questions, or redirects their question to that which is relevant to the kingdom of God.
Peter asked a question about forgiveness. “How many times should I forgive another? Seven times?” It was a generous question. Most of us don’t get past three. But there was an unspoken part of Peter’s question: “How many times should I forgive someone else before I take matters into my own hands?” Peter’s background in Jewish law restrained him from excessive retaliation, limiting vengeance to “eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” Without such limits, violence escalates and even small matters are punished excessively. Peter simply wanted to know the cut-off point, the line beyond which he could take matters into his own hands.
Jesus’ answer was aimed at Peter’s desire to retaliate, his desire to know how much patience he was required to have with another. By playing off Peter’s use of “seven times,” Jesus extended forgiveness infinitely. In other words, there is no point at which you are to run out of forgiveness and begin retaliating. Forgiveness is boundless.
Then Jesus told a story about the economy of the kingdom of heaven. The story was about mercy received, mercy given, and mercy hoarded.
What does it mean to live life in a state of mercy, that is, where we receive mercy and give mercy in a never-ending flow? In the story, the man received a generous mercy, but then refused to extend mercy to another. The end of the story shocks our sensibilities a bit, as it sounds like mercy can be withdrawn if it is not shared.
Think of it this way: Mercy is not extended to us simply for our own, beautiful selves. Mercy is to be extended to all, through all. But when the flow of mercy stops in the life of someone who hoards mercy or who is only interested in accumulating mercy for their own personal well-being, mercy dries up. It no longer carries transformative power. It becomes a private possession, not a world-transforming grace.
God has no interest in anyone collecting forgiveness and mercy, hoarding it for themselves. With God there is abundance, always a free flow so that what is given away is always replenished.
As humans, we may never be more like God than when we live in this free-exchange of mercy and forgiveness, and when we do so without measuring, giving generously and gratuitously.
There is a certain humility in living within this divine rhythm, where we recognize our need for mercy and thus receive it with open hands, then, in our humility, we also extend mercy to others for the transformation of the world, refusing to judge others, but doling out generous helpings of healing mercy to those living under heavy weights.
Both receiving and giving away mercy are divine disciplines for the Lenten season.
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive someone 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 bags of gold 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.
"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. 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 you 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 greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled 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 a brother or sister from your heart."
Often in the Gospels people ask Jesus a question out of a particular personal motivation, only to find that Jesus doesn’t answer their question. Rather, he raises new questions, or redirects their question to that which is relevant to the kingdom of God.
Peter asked a question about forgiveness. “How many times should I forgive another? Seven times?” It was a generous question. Most of us don’t get past three. But there was an unspoken part of Peter’s question: “How many times should I forgive someone else before I take matters into my own hands?” Peter’s background in Jewish law restrained him from excessive retaliation, limiting vengeance to “eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” Without such limits, violence escalates and even small matters are punished excessively. Peter simply wanted to know the cut-off point, the line beyond which he could take matters into his own hands.
Jesus’ answer was aimed at Peter’s desire to retaliate, his desire to know how much patience he was required to have with another. By playing off Peter’s use of “seven times,” Jesus extended forgiveness infinitely. In other words, there is no point at which you are to run out of forgiveness and begin retaliating. Forgiveness is boundless.
Then Jesus told a story about the economy of the kingdom of heaven. The story was about mercy received, mercy given, and mercy hoarded.
What does it mean to live life in a state of mercy, that is, where we receive mercy and give mercy in a never-ending flow? In the story, the man received a generous mercy, but then refused to extend mercy to another. The end of the story shocks our sensibilities a bit, as it sounds like mercy can be withdrawn if it is not shared.
Think of it this way: Mercy is not extended to us simply for our own, beautiful selves. Mercy is to be extended to all, through all. But when the flow of mercy stops in the life of someone who hoards mercy or who is only interested in accumulating mercy for their own personal well-being, mercy dries up. It no longer carries transformative power. It becomes a private possession, not a world-transforming grace.
God has no interest in anyone collecting forgiveness and mercy, hoarding it for themselves. With God there is abundance, always a free flow so that what is given away is always replenished.
As humans, we may never be more like God than when we live in this free-exchange of mercy and forgiveness, and when we do so without measuring, giving generously and gratuitously.
There is a certain humility in living within this divine rhythm, where we recognize our need for mercy and thus receive it with open hands, then, in our humility, we also extend mercy to others for the transformation of the world, refusing to judge others, but doling out generous helpings of healing mercy to those living under heavy weights.
Both receiving and giving away mercy are divine disciplines for the Lenten season.
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