Homily
by The Rev. Marcia McRae
St.
Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC, 17 Sept. 2017, Proper 19
Year A RCL: Exodus 14:19-31; Psalm 114; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35
What
tough words we hear from Jesus in the 1st
part of our Gospel & the harsh last part about what God will do
to each of us if we don't forgive our brother or sister from our
hearts.
Jesus
tells us in our Gospel to forgive not just 7 times but 77 times.
In
the Bible, 7 is the perfect number, completeness like at Creation1
when God calls the world & us into being in 6 days & rests to
enjoy this completeness on the 7th
day.
We are to have a day to rest
& worship to celebrate our completeness in God's love.
Jesus
challenges Peter & us to live into our completeness. Forgiveness
nourishes it. Jesus
expects us to offer an infinite amount of forgiveness2.
How
can we do this?!
We
hear this also as Paul reminds the Romans & us not to judge
anyone. Paul asks: Who are you to judge servants of another?
"We
do not live to ourselves,
&
we do not die to ourselves...
we
are the Lord's.”
With
the kind of outcome Jesus tells us to expect if we don't forgive, how
can we not forgive?
Know
this: Jesus doesn't mean just literal brothers & sisters. We are
to forgive our sisters & brothers in the human family. Sometimes
this may be hard if they don't “clean up their act.”
It
may seem easier to have sea water's part so we can walk on dry land,
as we hear in our 1st
lesson, than to forgive multiple times.
How
easy is it to get something
in
nature to part?
Here's
one example with pepper sprinkled on top of water.3
Put
my finger in, nothing changes.
A bit of soap on it & it changes
the dynamics.
As the science website says, it breaks the tension.
Like soap, forgiveness helps us clean
up our act & break the tension.
What
about the offender's responsibility for the wrong & to say “I'm
sorry” like the debtor does in our Gospel?
Notice:
he quickly forgets the blessing he has just received. He doesn't make
it out the building before he bullies his fellow debtor.4
Forgiveness
frees us. We have to live into our freedom. You may recall what
Nelson Mandela has said:
“Resentment
is like drinking poison
Although forgiving takes
energy, forgiving is worth this energy. When we forgive, we let go of
our hold on the past hurt & free ourselves from that hurt.
Forgiving
differs from what we know in sports & other games: You get so
many outs, so many misses, so many tries & then you're out7.
How
long would a game take if there were no outs?!
Thank
God that in the game of life,
Jesus shows us how to have no outs,
to
offer continuous forgiveness.
Remember
the difference between forgiveness & reconciliation. You can
forgive a serial killer & keep that murderer locked up for life
for the protection of other humans.
More
important than asking “How could they do what they did to us?” is
this question, which speaks to the heart of our faith in Jesus:
How
can
Jesus forgive us
– each
of us –
as
he hangs dying in agony,
nailed
to that cross?
On
that cross, Jesus provides for our atonement, which is our
at-one-ment
with God & each other.
Pronouncing
it “at-one-ment”,
gives us deeper understanding, as
we are learning in our new weekly study on the legacy of St.
Francis.8
Jesus
cries out: Father, forgive
them, they don't know what they're doing. If Jesus can forgive us for
doing that, how can we not forgive each other an infinite number of
times?
Notice:
Jesus says we don't know what we are doing. In other words: We are
clueless. Our bad behavior comes from ignorance. Really bad behavior
comes from profound ignorance. Our resentment is arguing with
ignorance.
You
can't win an argument with ignorance.
You
can turn to Jesus for strength & guidance on how to forgive.
Jesus will walk with you through this.
When
the clean waters of your life are peppered with debris, Jesus will
work with you to break the tension.
Just
hold out your hand & let Jesus drip some “soap” on your
finger to break the tension.
Bibliography
Bacon,
Ed. 8
Habits of Love: Open Your Heart, Open Your Mind.
Boston: Grand Central Life & Style. Grand Central Publishing.
2011.
DaveHax.com.
“Pepper and Water Science Trick”. Accessed” 16 Sept. 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho0o7H6dXSU
Harper’s
Bible Dictionary.
General Ed.: Paul J. Achtemeier. San Francisco: Harper & Row
Publishers, 1971.
Hoffacker, The Rev. Charles. “Corpses in the Corridor, Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 17, 2017”. Sermons That Work. Accessed: 14 Sept. 2017. http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2017/08/13/corpses-in-the-corridor-fifteenth-sunday-after-pentecost-september-17-2017/
Holy Bible. New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford University Press. 1989.
Jewish Study Bible: Jewish Publication Society TANAKH Translation. New York: Oxford University Press. 2004.
“Keep On Forgiving”. https://www.sermons4kids.com/keep_on_forgiving.htm Accessed: 16 Sept. 2017.
Migliore, Daniel L. Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology. 2nd Ed. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2004.
The New American Bible for Catholics. South Bend: Greenlawn Press. 1986.
“Over and Over”. https://www.sermons4kids.com/ Accessed: 16 Sept. 2017.
“Parting the Red Sea”. https://www.sermons4kids.com/parting_the_red_sea.htm. Accessed: 16 Sept. 2017.
Rohr, Richard. Embracing an Alternative Orthodoxy: Richard Rohr on the Legacy of St. Francis. Denver: Morehouse Educational Resources division of Church Publishing Inc. 2014.
Voyle, Robert J. Restoring Hope: Appreciative Strategies to Resolve Grief and Resentment. Hillsboro, OR: The Appreciative Way. 2010.
Voyle, Robert J. “The Art of Resolving Resentment”. Forgiveness Forum: Teach Your Congrgation How to Forgive. www.appreciativeway.com. 2014.
3
DaveHax.com.
“Pepper and Water Science Trick”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho0o7H6dXSU
Idea
for web search from “Parting
the Red Sea”. https://www.sermons4kids.com/parting_the_red_sea.htm
4
Hoffacker,
The
Rev. Charles. “Corpses
in the Corridor...” Sermons
That Work.
Accessed: 14 Sept. 2017.
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2017/08/13/corpses-in-the-corridor-fifteenth-sunday-after-pentecost-september-17-2017/
7
Idea from “Keep
On Forgiving”. https://www.sermons4kids.com/keep_on_forgiving.htm
Accessed: 16 Sept. 2017.
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