So how do we rid ourselves of the wolves who would gladly
destroy the flock? The first step, is to
look in the mirror, pick up the wool overcoat, and make sure “we” are not
actually the wolves we are talking about.
Hatred, and its little brother - a lack of forgiveness, come in a
variety of packages disguised as only “fair”; but the net result is the
consumption of sheep, with only the remains of a wolf left in its place. And the damage left behind does not only hit
us, but has the ripple effects of every sin, extending outwards from us, first
hitting those we love. Then those same
ripples of pain, begin to hit our church, our community, our country. We may wonder how racism, bigotry, prejudice,
or baggage could negatively impact our nation; but it can and it does. Imagine the pain and damage done when hiring
decisions are made purely from a point of prejudice of any kind. Perhaps I don’t like bankers, or even former
bankers, so I don’t offer this job to that candidate simply because he/she
worked in an industry I have bad feelings about since the fall of that
sector. And because of my feelings, an
otherwise fully qualified candidate is discarded because of what I feel about
it.
The same thing can happen when I let beliefs about age
result in similar decisions. In this age
of technical proficiency how easy it is to decline the application of the
clearly older candidate in favor of the young and up-and-coming because I
believe inherently the young will adapt much faster than the old to
change. Of course this perspective
usually occurs more often in the young, who have not yet experienced change the
way the older folks have. Just as hiring
a former banker might give a qualified candidate a chance at something new,
without the baggage of the past.
Prejudice can be subtle, it does not always have to be overt, and about
black / white race relations. Underlying
it all is the fear, that at some point in the future, damage will happen to us
(again) based on our past experiences, how we were raised, and what we choose
to focus on in our news venues. This
fear begins to drive hate in us. And
instead of adopting a spirit of forgiveness, we adopt a spirit of what we call “justice”. We begin to seek fairness above all
things. But fairness, justice, and
equality sound objective, when in reality are anything but. They are based on the perspectives we hold. Ask yourself, is it “fair” for you to be
rejected for a job opportunity, when another person of another race gets the
job, particularly if race was the main reason they did? Nearly ALL of us would say that it is not
fair, unless “we” got it, then maybe we justify it as fair somehow (even if
done for the same reasons).
Ironically, it is this spirit of justice, that makes us
wolf, not sheep. The sheep realizes they
themselves are far from perfect, have done many wrongs to others, and thus
crave forgiveness above all else. And if
we crave forgiveness, then we must be willing to offer it as well. The world is unjust. You can survive in it as wolf, or as
sheep. Case in point. Matthew resumes the stories of Jesus in
chapter eighteen of his gospel to the Hebrews.
He resumes picking up in verse 21 saying … “Then came Peter to him, and
said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till
seven times?” This was Peter attempting
to blend justice with forgiveness. Most
people, whether they know it or not, tend to have a three strikes rule. You wrong me, and ask forgiveness, and I
grant it – especially the first time.
The second time, I am a little more reluctant or cautious, but I still
try to grant it. By the third time, I
pretty much no longer believe you mean what you say. At this point, it is really hard to convince
me you want genuine forgiveness. It
looks more to me like you are establishing a pattern of causing me harm, and
then attempting to white wash yourself, so that you can simply do it again.
(Imagine how God feels).
Peter however, was trying to be more generous than this, and
was going the extra mile of offering 7 full times at forgiveness (despite how
hard it would be to do this following the third declining shot). Now translate that to us and the prejudice we
develop over time regarding nearly anything.
Where prejudice remains, forgiveness is by definition, pushed out. We fear damage more than we embrace a spirit
of forgiveness. This is how prejudice is
fed, off our fears. Lose the fear, it is
then possible to lose a state of constantly prejudging what others will do, and
why they would do those things. Then
people become just a series of one-on-one individual encounters. I do not tally the sins of the last person
(based on some characteristic I fear), with the new person who may also commit
similar wrongdoings to me. Instead the
new person starts with a clean slate, because fear does not keep me holding on
to a tally, that forgiveness would have otherwise reset.
But Jesus has a startling response picking up in verse 22
saying … “Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but,
Until seventy times seven.” It might as
well be infinity. Imagine being slapped
in the face by someone who then asks forgiveness. You grant it.
Then they find occasion to slap you in the face once again. For 490 times? If you can get past the third time, you are
doing better than me. If you can get
past the seventh time you are doing better than our generous Peter
proposed. And when this pattern repeats
for the 146th time, and you are still able to grant genuine
forgiveness on your part. A few things
will emerge. Your concrete ability to
share the forgiveness your God has granted you (monkey see, monkey do, in a
great way). It likely means your ideas
about how to love, have become fully in harmony with your God’s ideas. And I expect that at occasion #491, your
mercy will not cut off, it will probably be there forever (as your God’s is). The infectious, liberating nature of
forgiveness will have taken over completely.
The sad part of this scenario however, is on the part of the
wrongdoer. It also likely means they are
doomed to a life of inflicting pain, unable to stop, unable to control
themselves, unwilling to allow Jesus to transform this behavior, ending it, so
that no more forgiveness from you is needed.
Their path is the one of far greater sadness, even if yours must endure
the pain in your cheeks on multiple occasions.
Forgiveness is supposed to be contagious. Jesus then continues picking up with a story
in verse 23 saying … “Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain
king, which would take account of his servants. [verse 24] And when he had
begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.” The story opens with the authority of a king,
something the folks in His day and age, would have appreciated. Everyone knew if Caesar decreed it, it was
going to happen, whether for mercy, or for great evil. It moves forward with a reckoning of the
king’s servants (not strangers mind you, but folks assigned to serve the king,
likely in a financial capacity (perhaps tax collectors)). And one of the servants is discovered to owe
the king 10-thousand talents. This debt
might as well have been infinity. A
single talent was a thing of great wealth.
With ten thousand of them, you could fund your own kingdom. And no servant would ever “make” that much
money on their own.
Jesus continues in verse 25 saying … “But forasmuch as he
had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children,
and all that he had, and payment to be made. [verse 26] The servant therefore
fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will
pay thee all.” Here is where we must
read carefully. Because the servant
could not pay, his life, was the thing he would have to offer of value. Because he was the head of his home, what he
did, would also cause great impact on the life of his wife, and his children as
well. What we do is never in a vacuum,
it has repercussions. And beyond the
most precious things he had (the lives of his family), everything else he may
have accumulated he was going to lose.
So he begs. But for the wrong
thing. He begs for an extension of time,
in order to pay back everything that is owed.
This was an exercise in futility.
If he lost this kind of sum of money, he could never pay it back (or he
already would have). How often do we
line up beside this man, and ask God for a little more time and patience with
us, so that we can conquer our sin? We
will stop swearing, or stealing, or lusting – if we just have a little more
time to get it done. But we fail,
because we rely upon our own strength to succeed.
Jesus continues in verse 27 saying … “Then the lord of that
servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.” Again pay close attention. What the servant asked for was an extension
of time to pay back what was owed. What
God offers him, is simply to forgive his debt completely. God is looking to transform the life of the
servant. To take the pressure and the
fear off of him, from spending every moment looking for a penny he can add to
pay back to the debt. And instead to
enjoy his life (have a real one), and impact the lives of his wife, and his
children in a positive way. To use his
belongings with a sense of gratitude, for they all belonged to the king. But the king has returned them, given them
back, given them in the first place, to the man in this story. How often do we line up beside this man, and
treat our families, and our goods as if they belong to us – not as though they
were ALL gifts from our King, who has erased a debt of ours we could never pay
back.
This was all designed to change the heart of the servant. To change how he lives, how he loves, and
make the rest of his life so much better.
But alas, one must be willing to have a heart changed. Jesus continues in verse 28 saying … “But the
same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an
hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying,
Pay me that thou owest. [verse 29] And his fellowservant fell down at his feet,
and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.” Instead of love and forgiveness, the man given
so much of these, holds none of them in his heart. He turns around and immediately seeks out a
fellow servant who owes him only 100 pennies (less than one talent). He does not mercifully ask or remind him of
the small debt, but instead grabs the fellow servant by the throat. There is violence in this. For without love in a heart, violence has
much room to grow. What his fellow
servant does, is the same thing he did only moments ago. His fellow servant uses the same words. And while it would have been impossible to
pay back 10 thousand talents with time, paying back 100 pennies is actually
plausible. This debt was a much smaller
thing.
Jesus continues in verse 30 saying … “And he would not: but
went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. [verse 31] So when
his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told
unto their lord all that was done.”
Despite the dejavu, the man forgiven everything, the man offered a new
life by the king, does not have the mercy in him to show even the smallest
mercy to the man who owed him so little.
Debtors prison is the fate for the one who owes only 100 pennies. His wife and his children must now find a way
to pay back this small debt, but without their primary bread winner. This may will be a degenerating condition,
that impacts the fellow servant, and his family, and his possessions in a way
he never recovers from. No mercy. No forgiveness. No change of heart. Only an expression of that heart, that
impacts the witnesses and breaks their hearts when they see it. They take it to the king, so that perhaps the
one in prison might be released, but there is greater justice to be outlayed if
justice is the course we choose for our lives.
Jesus continues in verse 32 saying … “Then his lord, after
that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee
all that debt, because thou desiredst me: [verse 33] Shouldest not thou also
have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?” Pay close attention once again; Jesus says “O
thou wicked servant”. He speaks not in
parable anymore, but in plain English to us, to you, to me. We have been forgiven everything. Yet we would cling to our fear, and drive out
the freedom embracing forgiveness might offer us. For the brother who has wronged us, who
refused to hear us, whether in private, in the company of witnesses, or even as
a matter of prayer for the church – is it not possible to forgive that man? Why do we make it a matter of attempting to punish
a wrong doer, rather than a matter of forgiveness between family under the same
church umbrella? Why would I look at
groups of people who share some characteristic, and develop baggage, or
prejudice, or racist hate – expelling all the forgiveness I have been offered;
and instead of being changed by that gift, harbor all the hatred that dwarfed
my heart and ability to love by clinging to it.
Wolves hunt for justice. Sheep
rely on the mercy of the Shepherd to keep them alive, they rely on the closeness
of the flock, not on subdividing it along every line of prejudice they can
imagine.
Jesus concludes the story picking up in verse 34 saying … “And
his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all
that was due unto him. [verse 35] So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also
unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their
trespasses.” If we are determined to be
wolves, determined to reject the forgiveness of our king, determined not to let
it change us, and how we love. We are
wolves, left to no other fate, than the hunger of wolves for a justice they
will never believe is fully satisfied. Instead
of being made free, we hold to the bondage of what we call justice and
fairness. We are left to the tormentors,
others like us, who also seek justice and fairness. But whose ideas of that justice and fairness
conflict with our own. Their justice
steps upon our justice. Their fairness
does not line up with our fairness. So
we call them wrong, as they call us the same.
And we torment each other, each believing we are right. And the tormenting of sin will not let us go,
because we will not let it go.
Forgiveness is designed to free us from the burden, and the
torment, of holding on to pain. While
the “fact” that we were wronged may never be in question. Justice and further pain do not release us
from our own, they remind us of it. But
forgiveness frees us from it. We release
our pain to the wind, think of it no more, and are free to cherish the one who
may have hurt us. To seek out the love
that is possible between us. Imagine if
our Father God, who has a perfect memory, were to remember our slights, and our
wrongdoings, that must have hurt Him deeply.
How could He love us, holding on to that pain. Forgiveness is a part of love we required Him
to invent, if He were to choose to love us still. Forgiveness does not need a measure of
justice first, it needs only a matter of choice to love first. Forgiveness does not set all our wrongdoings
right – we still did them. But genuine
forgiveness sets the tally to zero once again, and lets our relationship continue
and grow. The goal is not to use this
mechanism as a means to continue inflicting pain, but rather as a means to
change how we love, and over time need it less, until through Christ we need it
no more. Transformation will see to that.
Let us then, become sheep, blissfully absorbed in the love
of our shepherd, looking to hunt no more in packs for a justice that can never
be, but wander in flocks behind a Shepherd whose love transforms our ideas, and
our actions on that very topic …
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