Good News - Week of 9/10/2017

PRAYER OF THE WEEK
Lord Jesus, give us grace each day
That we may follow in Your way,
Especially when some unloved soul
Needs our forgiving to be whole. —DJD

The unforgiving servant

NOTES ON THE SCRIPTURES

Exodus 14:19-31: Moses stretches his hands over the sea and it opens a path for the Israelites to walk on dry ground. Then, as the sun rises and all the people have crossed, he stretches his hands over the sea again, and the waters return to their place, drowning the armies of Egypt.

Exodus 15:1b-11, 20-21: The song of victory and praise that Moses sang after the liberation of the Israelites.

Romans 14:1-12: Each believer works out how faith is to be lived for themselves and must decide between them and God how to practice their faith. Therefore, as people of faith we are not to judge one another, but to celebrate each one’s commitment to living out their faith before God.

Matthew 18:21-35: Jesus tells a story about a man who is forgiven a huge debt, but then refuses a small debt which is owed to him. When the master, to whom he owed his debt, hears about it, he is angry that the man did not show others the same mercy he received, and he instructs that the man be imprisoned until he has paid back his debt in full.

The work of forgiveness, on an individual and community level is easy to speak about – and we often do in the Church. It is less easy to put into practice, it seems. It is disturbing when Christians are seen to act in ways that are anything but forgiving – burning the sacred books of other faiths, calling natural disasters God’s judgement on certain groups of people we disagree with, preaching judgement as if we are God’s agents and have the right to choose who is “in” and who is “out”. When we do this, we are not reflecting the Reign of God, and we are not proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Rather, we have become part of the imperialistic, violent system that brings so much hurt into the world. The same is true when men use the Bible to suppress and control their wives, or when parents use God as a whip to keep their children in line. The same is true, whenever Christians in dispute with one another, or with others, turn to violent words or actions, and adopt methods that create more destruction in our world and communities. Into all of this – all of the ways in which our differences and brokenness result in conflict and pain – Jesus invites us into the difficult, but life-giving, peace-making and healing work of forgiveness. The challenge is whether we are prepared to release our need to be “right” and our need for “justice” and “retribution”. In the end, the “justice” we seek is not true justice at all. It is just a feeble attempt to balance the scales in our favour. But, the result is always a cycle of more pain. And so, once again, as hard as it is, we are faced with the shocking, but unrelenting call of the crucified one to follow his example, and offer forgiveness even to those whom we may feel don’t deserve it.