- Psalmody: Psalm 130:3–4a ; 1–2a; Psalm 133:1, 2a, 3b; Psalm 130:1–2a; Greek Esther 14:12a, d–13a; Luke 15:10
- Lection: Micah 6:6-8; Philippians 1:3-11; Matthew 18:23-35
In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
An unforgiving heart is unfit to receive forgiveness itself although it is likely to demand it when roles are reversed. The Lord Jesus gives a stern warning to all benefactors of God’s inestimable grace: forgive as you have been forgiven, lest forgiveness be taken from you. His parable teaches this clearly, sufficiently for this to end here as the shortest sermon you’ve heard. Yet, we shall not rush through our dear Lord’s words, but will reflect upon them for at least a few more minutes. May God’s will shown to us from within the Scriptures carry beyond these minutes and form our lives as our heavenly Father desires.
Today’s parable comes on the heels of Jesus’ exchange with Peter in which the disciple came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Forgiveness is to be freely given to one another regardless of how often it is asked for from us, just as God’s forgiveness has no bounds for the trespasses of which we repent and plead for His mercy. Boundless forgiveness is of God and is a virtue He seeks to instill in us all as we trust in Him that it is always good to forgive when asked.
Let us consider the parable in two parts: first, how our gracious Lord handles our debts, and, second, how hearts unwilling to live as in the kingdom of grace shall receive due punishment. The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. Of all the kingdoms in existence, none is like the one of heaven over which rules our great God and King. The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Our heavenly Father is Ruler over all, bestowing good gifts to men; possessions that tend to the body; grace that tends to heart and soul. He casts not His precious pearls before swine, but requires an accounting of His gifts.
And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. Akin to being approved for a credit card with no limit while never glancing at the bill is such a one who measures not his debts before the Lord. We do not measure our currency in talents, but in dollars. Yet, we need not go through the painstaking conversion to what this amount that he owed would be, because the Lord used the amount in the parable to convey a clear fact: for a common man, the debt is unfathomable, so large that it is absolutely impossible for him to repay. And such is our debt to God, not only for all the undeserved goodness that He pours out upon us daily, but also in the offenses that no amount of good works could ever counter in thousands of lifetimes lived. The Lord gave dominion of the earth to our first parents, yet they wasted the right and abused the gifts, indebting themselves to God. The debt has passed down to us, and we have certainly added much to it with our own sins. Thus, 10,000 talents is really a conservative estimate for us all.
But as he was not able to pay, (if you think our perfect God is not capable of perfect humor, consider those words again), But as he was not able to pay…his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. This reveals to us that the divine Law of God demands payment. Always. Accounts must be settled and when we are shown unable to make payment, divine wrath and condemnation are what remain for with a holy and just God, holiness and justice shall be exacted.
The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ So futile is our thinking that we are able to settle accounts by means of our doing, of our paying what we owe. Yet. the king’s demands have their proper effect. They drive the servant’s conscience into terror over the recompense, and in such terror, the error of our fallen ways seek resolve where it cannot be found. Yes, when our hearts are stricken when called to holy account, they strive to make payment of their own, to begin pointlessly shoveling away at the base of the debt mountain certain that our own good works can bring the mount to naught. Are you able to remove Everest with your shovel? It is impossible. The only hope is the sigh of faith, the heartfelt hope and plea for grace to come and do the impossible; to do what your work to repay cannot.
In the parable, the king gave no opportunity for that sigh to be spoken, showing that our Lord is anxious to bestow compassion, grace, and forgiveness, yea, for monumental, impossible, lifelong debts. He is the King of grace. Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
That is the kingdom in which we live. That is the King by Whom we live. But the wicked servant chooses not to live and that is the second half of the parable in which we strive and pray not to find ourselves. The wicked servant forgets what has been forgiven him and refuses to forgive. He forgets the priceless, immeasurable gift that comes from the king’s mouth in completely undeserved words of grace and forgiveness. The wicked servant demands justice from fellow servants for much smaller amounts of offense, for the minutest of debts, for squabbles, for hurt feelings, for felt offenses made by others. We are a people highly-efficient in interpreting offenses made against us; not so efficient in being ready to forgive as our King forgives us. We’d rather live on principle of wrath and derision as the world does. But the kingdom of God is different. We are different. Beloved in the Lord, let us not be so wicked. Let us not forget all the different ways that the Holy Scriptures proclaim our King’s decree that all our sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, by grace, by pure, sweet and compassionate, eternal grace. Let us not be so glad and willing to be a recipient of such grace while forgetting how to be a giver of it. We have infinite ways to imitate, to follow by example by what we have been given ourselves. We can come before the Eternal King’s throne with all boldness and confidence that there we may receive grace, assured that in Christ we are reconciled to the Father through the forgiveness of our sins. For it is Jesus, the Son of Man, Who has done this; Who did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a payment for many; full and complete payment. The mountain of debt is moved by faith in the forgiveness of sins.
But if we refuse to heed the Good News, then let us not fail to heed the Lord’s warning or fall into the wickedness of unforgiveness, for when the king heard of the forgiven servant’s unforgiveness, he was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. When a servant of the Eternal King chooses to live as though not in the kingdom of grace, then grace it is that shall be denied him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses. Where hatred persists in the heart, there is no love, and if no love for neighbor, then no true faith. But forgiveness is ours to be grasped firmly by faith, by a faith that believes and lives in forgiveness, both for ourselves and for others from the heart. May God the Holy Spirit ever grant us hearts that forgive just as we have been forgiven in Christ!
In ✠ Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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