Rather obvious today's theme is Forgiveness.
Let's begin with another passage from Matthew we recite every Sunday:
Mat 6:12 Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.
You may use the more obsolete term "trespasses".
The idea is that we cannot free ourselves from the guilt within us and be truly forgiven our sins unless we forgive those sins we observe in others. Unfortunately we can most readily recognize our own peccadilloes in others because they are so familiar to us despite the fact that we manage to be blind to them in our own actions.
Take another example:
2Sa 12:5 David became very angry at the rich man and said, "I swear by the living LORD that the man who did this ought to die!
2Sa 12:6 For having done such a cruel thing, he must pay back four times as much as he took."
2Sa 12:7 "You are that man," Nathan said to David. "And this is what the LORD God of Israel says: 'I made you king of Israel and rescued you from Saul.
Read the rest of this story and note that Nathan traps King David by telling him a parable.
The framers of our pericope chose the story of Joseph and his brothers to associate with today's theme. When their father Israel, (Jacob), dies Joseph's brothers fear reprisals from their brother Joseph for the wrongs they have done him. They have guilty consciences. Despite the fact that Joseph had forgiven them they had not forgiven themselves for their own wrongdoing. Because they still think in terms of revenge they expected their brother would as well.
Two verses stand out in Psalm 103:
Psa 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Psa 103:13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
Romans raises yet another aspect of the Forgiveness equation:
Mat 7:1 "Judge not, that you be not judged.
Or to put it in more contemporary lexicon, don't sweat the small stuff. At the time the issue was the eating of non-kosher foods. How often do we get caught up in splitting hairs and forget our mission to spread God's love. Is that principle so important that it merits alienating a fellow christian brother.
To come back to Peter's question:
"Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?"
And the answer as far as I'm concerned is that if you 're keeping score you haven't truly forgiven. To be truly forgiven the record has been destroyed. That is what God's forgiveness grants us if we truly repent. If we cannot forgive the faults of others is it because we cannot truly accept the idea that God can forgive them in us? Do we judge others too harshly because we judge ourselves too harshly as well? Or is it that we have not truly repented because we have that secret vice we really don't want to give up?
If, like Joseph's Brothers, we cannot abandon those vengeful sentiments and jealousies then we probably can't accept that God will forgive them in us.
Let's begin with another passage from Matthew we recite every Sunday:
Mat 6:12 Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.
You may use the more obsolete term "trespasses".
The idea is that we cannot free ourselves from the guilt within us and be truly forgiven our sins unless we forgive those sins we observe in others. Unfortunately we can most readily recognize our own peccadilloes in others because they are so familiar to us despite the fact that we manage to be blind to them in our own actions.
Take another example:
2Sa 12:5 David became very angry at the rich man and said, "I swear by the living LORD that the man who did this ought to die!
2Sa 12:6 For having done such a cruel thing, he must pay back four times as much as he took."
2Sa 12:7 "You are that man," Nathan said to David. "And this is what the LORD God of Israel says: 'I made you king of Israel and rescued you from Saul.
Read the rest of this story and note that Nathan traps King David by telling him a parable.
The framers of our pericope chose the story of Joseph and his brothers to associate with today's theme. When their father Israel, (Jacob), dies Joseph's brothers fear reprisals from their brother Joseph for the wrongs they have done him. They have guilty consciences. Despite the fact that Joseph had forgiven them they had not forgiven themselves for their own wrongdoing. Because they still think in terms of revenge they expected their brother would as well.
Two verses stand out in Psalm 103:
Psa 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Psa 103:13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
Romans raises yet another aspect of the Forgiveness equation:
Mat 7:1 "Judge not, that you be not judged.
Or to put it in more contemporary lexicon, don't sweat the small stuff. At the time the issue was the eating of non-kosher foods. How often do we get caught up in splitting hairs and forget our mission to spread God's love. Is that principle so important that it merits alienating a fellow christian brother.
To come back to Peter's question:
"Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?"
And the answer as far as I'm concerned is that if you 're keeping score you haven't truly forgiven. To be truly forgiven the record has been destroyed. That is what God's forgiveness grants us if we truly repent. If we cannot forgive the faults of others is it because we cannot truly accept the idea that God can forgive them in us? Do we judge others too harshly because we judge ourselves too harshly as well? Or is it that we have not truly repented because we have that secret vice we really don't want to give up?
If, like Joseph's Brothers, we cannot abandon those vengeful sentiments and jealousies then we probably can't accept that God will forgive them in us.
No comments:
Post a Comment