The Unforgiving Servant: Forgiveness Part 4

Every once in a while, you will hear a story about good deeds being passed on and on and on.  I can remember about a year ago hearing about a chain reaction of good deeds at a McDonald’s restaurant.  Someone in the drive thru decided to pay for the person waiting in line behind them.  Touched by this person’s generosity, the person who was paid for, decided to pay for the next person.  Touched by that person’s act of kindness, the next person decided to pay for the next person, and so on and so forth.  According to a CNN article, 167 people paid it forward that day before the chain was broken.  Kindness and compassion begat kindness and compassion.  Every once in a while such stories break forth and help us see the goodness of humanity.

At such times, the Golden Rule seems to come to life, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Most of us whole-heartedly agree that this is the way it should work.  This is the way the world should operate.  We see that ideal looming before us.  Sometimes we catch glimpses of it actually happening, but then, we also are reminded of just how far we have to go.  We see things that make us shake our heads in bewilderment.  We see man’s inhumanity toward man.  We see that acts of kindness are met with acts of hatred and enmity.  Sometimes such acts make us think deeply about the world that we live in, and we ask, “What is wrong with people?”  It is an age old question.  It has been wrestled with for many, many centuries. 

The Bible wrestles with this question as well, but the Bible does not lead those of us who follow its teachings to say, “What’s wrong with people?”  No.  The Bible makes it more personal.  The Bible leads us ultimately to ask the question, “What is wrong with me?”  That’s not a popular question.  It’s not a popular question at all.  For the most part, we don’t like looking at ourselves and seeing that we might be flawed.  We don’t like looking at ourselves and admitting that we are broken individuals and that we are capable of causing pain, grief, and harm to others.  But if we delve into the Bible, if we consider it’s teachings honestly, there is no escaping what it says about us.  I cannot escape the Bible telling me, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  You, Kevin Haug are a sinner who has fallen short of God’s glory.”  This means that the relationship that I have with God is not where it should be.  This means that there is a strain in my relationship with the One who created me.  And if that relationship is to be maintained, forgiveness will need to enter into the picture–not on my behalf, but on God’s behalf.  God hasn’t messed up the relationship.  I have.  I need forgiveness.

This is a very crucial point in helping all of us become better at forgiving one another.  As we have worked through this topic we have learned a lot.  We have learned that forgiveness is very beneficial to our health and well being.  Science has confirmed this through numerous studies.  We have learned that God expects us to forgive one another, and that if we don’t forgive one another, we will not be forgiven.  We have also learned that despite these benefits and warnings, we still have an extremely difficult time forgiving because when we forgive someone, we absorb the cost of their wrongdoing.  No one really wants to pay for someone else’s wrongdoing–it flies in the face of justice as we know it!!  Forgiveness is extremely difficult because of this. 

Yet, as Christians, we are called to practice forgiveness, so we must learn how.  Unfortunately, we have discovered that the Bible does not give us a step by step program on how to forgive.  But, we did learn that Jesus gives us a step by step program on how to try and get someone to take responsibility for their sin.  This means we wouldn’t have to pay the cost ourselves.  Yet, the process does not always work, therefore we learned that we must move into the hard work of forgiveness.  And the first step we took in that endeavor was to look at God.  Jesus told a story of a Lord and Master who was unimaginably wealthy; who was unimaginably compassionate; who was unimaginably just.  We finished our time together last week holding in dynamic tension God’s great love and God’s great justice. 

Today, we look at the unforgiving servant in that story, and it’s not exactly the most pleasant thing to look at.  Why?  Well, in every story that Jesus tells, He expects His audience to find themselves in that story.  He expects us to relate to at least one or more of the characters.  It is quite obvious from this story that we are not the Lord and Master.  That spot is reserved for God.  We are also not those who are standing around watching.  That’s a bit part to move the story along.  We certainly can find ourselves like the second servant–at the receiving end of someone who fails to forgive us; however, I don’t think Jesus means for us to identify with this servant because He is answering Peter’s question: “How many times must I forgive someone who sins against me?”   We are put in the place of someone who is owed a debt.  As far as we know, the second servant is not owed anything, therefore, we are not to relate to this man.  Given all of that, Jesus tells this parable with the idea that we will be most closely associated with the servant who was forgiven a massive debt but then fails to forgive. 

Now, before I go further, I would like to ask you to hang in there through this whole sermon series.  I’m not up here to scare the living daylights out of you.  I’m not here to suggest that you and I have a one way ticket to hell.  I am not up here telling you that fear is the ultimate motivation for forgiveness.  No.  That’s not it at all.  But as I said last week, if we understand this parable and what it is pointing out, then we will understand forgiveness and we will be better able to forgive.  We simply need to hang in there, and once we wade through everything, things will become much more clear. So, with that being said, let’s now look at this servant in the parable.

Sometimes, you can read something over and over again and never notice things until someone else points that thing out.  Such is the case with me with this parable.  I had never really noticed the fact that this servant was brought before the Lord.  I’m not too sure he willingly came before his master.  He had to be dragged there.  Why?  Well, because he knew how much he owed the Lord.  He owed the Lord 10,000 talents.  Last week we put a modern dollar figure on that amount.  This servant owed $6 billion.  If you know you owe that much and you know your Lord is settling accounts, you don’t want to appear in front of Him.  You don’t want to face the music.  You are scared out of your mind.  You wouldn’t voluntarily head into such a meeting. You’d do everything possible to try and avoid it.  So, this servant had to be brought before his Master. 

And the Master demanded a reckoning.  The Master demanded repayment.  At this point, I can’t help but ask this question: who in the world can rack up $6 billion in debt?  I mean, that’s a staggering amount.  How do you do that?  I mean, I was crunching the numbers on this.  Do you realize that you would have to spend $1 million per day for 16 and a half years before you spent $6 billion?  How do you do that?  I cannot even begin to fathom that.  That number is almost beyond my comprehension.  And yet, this guy owed that much money.

Now, of course, this parable isn’t about money.  It’s about sin, so the point of this comparison is that we are in debt to God in a similar fashion.  We have sinned against God in an amount that is beyond comprehension.  As I read this parable, Jesus is saying to me, “Kevin, you have racked up a debt towards God that is comparable to $6 billion dollars.  Your sin is overwhelming.”  That is not a comforting thought.  How can I rack up so much sin?  How can I be in debt to God that much?  Haven’t I tried to be a good person?  Haven’t I worked for God in the church?  Haven’t I been a Christian all my life?  How could I rack up so much sin?  And then I remember the confession and forgiveness that we do each and every Sunday.  “We confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.  We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed; by things that we have done and by things that we have left undone.”  Sin takes the form of thought, word and deed.  Whenever we think an unholy thought, we sin. Whenever we speak an unholy word, we sin.  Whenever we do an unholy deed, we sin.  But it goes beyond what we do.  It is also the things we don’t do.  Whenever we don’t feed the hungry, we sin. Whenever we don’t speak well of our neighbor and defend him or her, we sin.  Whenever we allow injustice to continue, we sin.  Whenever we keep more than we need, we sin.  Whenever we fail to give to God the things that are due God, we sin.  If we honestly look at what God commands, and if we honestly look at ourselves, we begin to see just how sinful we are.  We begin to see just how in debt to God we are.  We resonate deeply with St. Paul when he says in 1 Timothy 1:15, “15The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.”  Yes, I am in debt beyond imagination.

And the Master demands an account.  The Master demands repayment.  “You will be sold along with your family and all your possessions as payment for the debt.”  This is far too little to satisfy the debt, but it is everything that the servant has.  The servant sees what is happening.  He knows that he will never experience any sort of freedom again.  He sees that his family will be gone; that his possessions will be taken.  He knows that the only thing he can do is plead for mercy.  And so he does.  He falls face down in front of the Master; he kisses the Master’s feet.  And he lies.  Yes, he lies. “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.”  This servant owed 10,000 talents.  At best, a slave could expect to earn one talent in his entire lifetime.  This slave owes 10,000 lifetimes worth of debt.  There is no way he could ever repay it.  There is no way he could ever come close.  But he is desperate.  He needs a way out.  He wants salvation.  He will do whatever it takes to get it in light of the alternative.

But what the servant does not realize is the grace of his Master.  The servant does not realize the compassion the Master has.  The Master is moved with pity for the servant, and in a move of sheer grace, the master releases the servant and forgives the debt. 

Now, the important question comes forth.  What would you do if you had been forgiven such a debt?  What would you do if the Master looked at you and said, “You know that $6 billion you owe me. It’s gone.  You don’t have to pay it.  You are free to go.”?  What would your insides do?  What would you feel down deep?  What would your heart do?  And how would you feel toward the Master who had just paid that debt for you?  What would your thoughts be toward Him?  What would you think about the One who just lost $6 billion of His own money because you pleaded with Him?

These are vastly important questions.  They are the crux of the whole problem of forgiveness.  They are the lynch pin on helping us to forgive.  Therefore, we will focus on them in depth next week.

What we do know now is the direction this servant took.  What we do know is that unlike those 167 people in that McDonald’s drive thru, this servant does not pay things forward.  Instead of passing on what he had received, he sought out a fellow servant who owed him money.  Please note that Jesus purposely tells us that this is a fellow servant.  This is an equal.  This is someone who has the same status as the servant who was just forgiven.  And in a scene of horror, the forgiven servant refuses to forgive.  The one who was forgiven 10,000 lifetimes of debt, refuses to forgive three month’s wages.  Even though his fellow servant begged and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.”  You will note that the only difference between what this servant said and what the unforgiving servant said to the Master is only one word.  “Everything” is missing.  Almost the exact same words produce vastly different results.

Why?  I mean, we know what happens next.  We know the Master finds out what happens and reinstates the debt; throws the servant into prison; and allows him to be tortured.  It’s not a happy ending.  But why did it get that far?  Why did the one who was forgiven fail to forgive?  Answering these questions will bring us to the heart of forgiveness.  Answering these questions will help us see how we can forgive.  But I do not have time to answer them now.  They will have to wait until next week.  I don’t like leaving you hanging out there with little direction, so I’ll give you a little bit to think about in the week ahead.  Why does the servant focus on what is owed him instead of focusing on what he was forgiven?  Consider that question as next week we bring things full circle.  Amen.

Your Offerings are Worthless!!

    As I begin, I can’t help but wonder how many folks looked at the sermon title this morning and then thought to themselves, “Well, I might as well just put my offering envelope up and save the money I was going to give to the church this morning.  How dare anyone put such a title as their sermon?”  Before you actually void or tear up that check or put that cash back into your pocket, I hope you will bear with me as we work our way through my sermon this morning.  Perhaps you will understand and then, at the end, be even more willing to give than before.

    Just over 100 years ago, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche helped lay the groundwork for many of the ways our current culture acts.  I can hear a few of you moaning in your heads right now. “Pastor’s going to get all philosophical and stuff.  We will never be able to understand this stuff.  We might as well go to sleep right now.”  Believe me, I understand.  You see, they didn’t have a Nietzsche for dummies book, so I actually had to wade through some of his writings.  More than a few times, my eyelids had to work double time to stay open!!

    But that is not the point.  The point is much more important, one that I hopefully can give you some time to ponder.  For you have undoubtedly run across more than one of the consequences of what Nietzsche taught.  You have undoubtedly encountered someone who adheres to at least part of his philosophical system.  You have undoubtedly run across someone who says, “There is no absolute truth.  What is true for you is true for you, but it’s not true for me.  That is just your opinion because no one can really know the truth.”  You see, Nietzsche proposed that there is no such thing as absolute truth.  He proposed that since there is no absolute truth, the concept of the ideal is irrational.  There is no such thing as justice.  There is no such thing as ultimate kindness.  There is no such thing as good.  There is no such thing as evil.  It is all a matter of one’s perspective.  Therefore, if something works for me and is good for me, then I can continue to pursue it–because it is good for me.  That it might be bad for you is only a matter of perspective, and it shouldn’t really matter too much to me because there is no ultimate judge of right or wrong.

    Are you with me so far?  I hope so.  I hope you haven’t gotten too lost because the next part is pretty crucial.  If there is no right and no wrong, what then is our motivation for doing things?  Why do we engage in the things we do or think the things we think?  Nietzsche offered up this thought: it is all about power.  It is all about how we obtain what we want.  It’s all about how we further our own position and basically survive in this world.  It’s all about our own self interest, making our self more powerful and ultimately, putting ourselves in the most advantageous position possible.  Chew on this for just a second.  I mean, really chew on this.  Without any sort of transcendence; without any sense of something beyond ourselves; it leads us directly to relativism–no right and no wrong and unbounded self-interest.  Do you see how our society today has been impacted by Nietzsche?  Do you see how such things infest our culture?  If you need any further evidence, I point to this past political cycle and the fallout from this past Tuesday’s election.  Have you noticed all the spin put on the results?  Each side is trying to manipulate what happened to its own advantage with the goal of obtaining more and more power to accomplish its own agenda.  Nietzsche nailed it.

    There is a bit of a quibble I have with Nietzsche; however.  Nietzsche was famous for stating that “God is dead,” and it was from this starting point–the lack of anything transcendent–that he arrived at the conclusion that everything was all about power and self-interest.  I personally don’t believe you need to get rid of God for folks to continue to act in their own self-interest and to engage in all sorts of power plays.  Even if one believes there is a God, that person can still do exactly what Nietzsche proposes and try to manipulate things to his or her own advantage.  What do I mean by that?

    Let’s take a quick walk through our Old Testament reading this morning from the book of Amos.  Here’s a little background.  Amos was a prophet who was called from shepherding to confront the injustice in Israel.  Much like our own situation, the rich were getting richer.  The poor were getting poorer.  But unlike our situation, there were no programs, no initiatives to help the poor and the needy.  They were basically on their own, and they were suffering.  The poor were suffering badly.

    And Amos holds nothing back.  He brings the Word of the Lord with conviction and with words that proved very, very unpopular.  “Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!  Why do you want the day of the Lord?  It is darkness, not light; 19 as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake.  20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?  21 I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.  22 Even though you offer me your burnt-offerings and grain-offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon.  23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps.”

    Let’s work our way through these verses.  I will come back to the day of the Lord stuff momentarily because it is important.  But before I do that, let’s concentrate on what Amos says about the peoples’ offerings and their worship.  See, my sermon title doesn’t come from me: it comes directly from Amos.  The Lord says, “I hate your festivals.  I will not accept your offerings–they are worthless.  I do not want to hear your worship.”  Why?  Why is God saying such things?  Some point to the next verse to bring it all to a close.  God doesn’t want offerings.  God doesn’t want worship.  God doesn’t want festivals and assemblies.  Instead God wants justice to flow like a mighty water and righteousness to flow like an ever flowing stream.  This is what really counts.  This what is really important.  So, go out and do justice.  Go out and make righteousness happen.  Sermon is over.  Be happy it is shorter than normal!  (Psyche!)

    Let’s re-think this for a moment.  Because God commanded festivals and solemn assemblies in the Law.  God commanded the people to bring Him offerings.  The Law is explicit about this too.  God also commanded the people to worship Him.  These are things that God wants!!  So why is He rejecting them?  Why does He say He hates them?

    Let me illustrate it this way. I remember vividly growing up as a kid.  More than once I heard one of my friends say, “It doesn’t matter that I am going out drinking this weekend.  I’m going to go to confession, and it will all be forgiven.”  Or, “It doesn’t matter if I’m having sex with this girl.  I’m going to confession, and it will be forgiven.”  Hearing folks say this always bugged me.  It didn’t seem right.  And it’s not.  Why?

    This is why: because by doing the rites and rituals, the folks who said this believed they were making a claim on God.  They believed that if they just did the proper things–offered the appropriate worship; offerings; or confessions, then God would have to forgive them.  Essentially, they were saying, “God, I know you really don’t want me to do those other things, but you said I would be forgiven if I did x, y, and z. I’ve done x, y, and z, so you cannot be mad at me.  You cannot punish me.  I’ve jumped through your hoops, so you have to forgive me.” 

    Let me stop for just a second and see if you can see how this is a power play.  Can you see how this serves a person’s self interest?  Can you see how this is ultimately about getting the better of God?  Can you see how this is not focused upon God and what God wants but is focused upon what I want and how I can obtain what I want without any consequences? 

    And this stuff was going on long before Nietzsche penned his works.  It’s exactly what the Israelites were doing.  They were disobeying God’s law.  They were not letting justice flow like mighty waters.  They were not letting righteousness flow like ever flowing streams.  They were abusing and using the poor.  They were trampling them underfoot and destroying them.  They were padding their bank accounts at the expense of others and laughing at how blessed they were.  And then they would go to the temple and offer their sacrifices.  They would chant their prayers.  They would sing their songs.  They would make their offerings convinced they had done their duty and God would love them and bless them because they had given God what He wanted.  They’d satisfied Him by their worship and offerings and sacrifices.  They were good to go.  They’d done their duty.

    And God says, “I hate, I despise your assemblies.  I hate, I despise your offerings and do not accept them.  I hate, I despise your singing and your worship.”  Why?  Because the people are trying to make a power play on God.  They are trying to have their cake and eat it too.  They are thinking that by worship and sacrifice and offering, they can excuse their behavior even though they know it’s wrong. 

    And they are looking forward to the Day of the Lord–yes, the day when God comes to restore everything to the way it should be and justice will be meted out.  They are looking forward to this day thinking they will have a grand time because they’ve worshiped; they’ve put their money in the plate; they should be good to go.  But God says, “Think again.  You have not even come close to satisfying my demands.  You have only and have ever only looked out for yourself.  My wrath will burn against you.  Why do you want the Day of the Lord.  It will be darkness not light!”

    Scary stuff.  Very scary stuff.  And so, what do we do about this?  Do we stop here and think, “Wow!  I hear what Amos is saying.  Our offerings; our worship; our singing; all of it is for naught.  We need to stop this stuff right now, and we need to go out and do justice.  We need to work for righteousness.  We need to throw ourselves into these things because the Lord demands this of us.”

    Stop right there.  Stop right there and think about where you are headed with this train of thought.  For if you think that you will satisfy God by doing justice and making righteousness flow like an ever flowing stream, what are you doing?  Or better yet, why are you doing it?  If you are scared that your offerings aren’t satisfying God and that you need to throw yourself at doing justice because that is what God requires, then I’d submit to you that you are attempting your own power play.  You are attempting to satisfy God with your actions once again and save yourself from the coming wrath.  You are not focused on God, you are once again focused on yourself and your own best interests.  I’m doing what God commands because I don’t want to face the darkness on the day of the Lord.  We are right back to Nietzsche. 

    Can anything break us out of this self-centeredness?  Can anything get us away from focusing on ourselves? 

    How about this?

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world may be saved through Him.

    You knew I was going to get to Jesus somehow.  At least I hope you knew I was going to get to Jesus.  For you see, Jesus is the one who acted completely the opposite of what Nietzsche proposed.  Instead of seeking His own self-interest; instead of seeking His own power; Jesus sought to fulfill the will of the Father.  Jesus sought complete obedience to the one He was equal to.  Jesus sought to become powerless even though He had access to absolute power.  And instead of kingdoms, Jesus found the cross where He endured the wrath meant for us.  He became the blameless offering and sacrifice to end all offerings and sacrifices.  There was no longer any need to offer sacrifices of atonement to get ourselves right with God.  All was accomplished by Jesus.

    And that completely changes things for us.  No longer do we have to worry about a power play
with God.  We do not have to seek to save ourselves and act with self interest.  We can seek God and His righteousness for His sake and not our own.  We can seek to let justice flow like a mighty water and righteousness flow like an ever flowing stream not because this is what God demands lest we be punished, but because we know it is something near and dear to God’s heart, and in thankfulness we wish to please the one who acted on our behalf.  We gladly lift up our voices in praise and worship not because it’s going to affect our salvation, but in joyful thanksgiving that our salvation has already been accomplished.  We give our offerings of time and talent and money not to satisfy the commandment, but to show our gratitude to the God who took on human flesh and died for us.  And we now await the coming Day of the Lord with joyful expectation.  We no longer have to save ourselves.  We no longer have to worry about whether or not we have done enough good; or worshiped enough; or gave enough.  Jesus already gave it all.  Amen.