Lectionary for Sunday 24
The Lord is our strength, our song –God has become our salvation. Exodus 15:2
Collect. O God of justice and love, you pardon us if we pardon our brothers and sisters: Create in us a new heart in the image of your Son, a heart ever greater than any offence it suffers, that the world may remember how much you love us. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Reading. Romans 14:1-12. The bible is not a book of instructions with which to judge outsiders but is a love letter from God to help and guide those who have faith and trust in Him. With that in mind this passage from Romans is a reminder of how we are to relate to one another within the fellowship of believers. Paul is reminding us we are all first and foremost servants of the Lord Jesus. We are under his direction and honouring him is our primary objective. This pertains in everything we do and in every situation of life. Paul also reminds us that we live out our lives in relationship with one another. Within the fellowship with Christ as the head there will be a variety of ways in which believers will respond to the guidance of Jesus. Paul’s understanding is that walking in obedience to Jesus Christ brings above all freedom to live. The faith does not surround us with rules which must be observed, neither does it hem us in with programmes and policies. Rather the faith helps us keep our focus always on Jesus and what is his will for us both personally as well as corporately. It is when our focus on Jesus is maintained that true fellowship results.
Paul then goes on to remind us that we do not live or die to ourselves, we live and die to the Lord. All life is lived under God for God is the one who is the life giver. As we live under God we are also under God’s judgement. This is at once the constraint under which we live, yet it is also the reality of our freedom. Being aware that we live under God also informs us that we also only live under the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for it is Jesus who has taken on himself our judgement and brought us through to life in God’s kingdom. This is a life that is eternal. It is because we have passed through judgement by the grace of Jesus Christ that we have no need whatever to presume to judge another. Each one of us will stand before God and only through the merits of Jesus our Lord will we be declared righteous. Food and drink, programmes and policies have no substance at all as guides on how to live a godly life.
Prayer, Holy Lord grant by your mercy that we may live together in harmony with you. As we share this earthly life with one another may we at all times recognise each of us is a child of God, equals together before you. May we be loving and kind, ready to forgive and eager to please both them and you. May we be diligent in our work and service in your name and willing to accept others no matter how different from us they may be. In loving others we pray that we may help develop a better society where all can live at peace. May your love for us cover all aspects of our life and may our love for you determine how we respond to others, this we ask in the name of Jesus our saviour. Amen
Reading. Matthew 18:21-35. Following guidance from the prophet Amos it was generally agreed that God forgave a sinner three or four times. Thus when Peter suggested that forgiveness should be up to seven times it was way above what would have been considered normal. Seventy times seven is really beyond anything that anyone could imagine. Thus Jesus responds by telling Peter that his forgiveness is in fact limitless.
It is following this direction that Jesus recounts his parable that we have named the Unforgiving Servant. As we consider the parable we immediately recognise the injustice that is portrayed; however the setting for the parable is God’s Kingdom and there no injustice will be tolerated.
The king forgives the servant a huge debt but the forgiven servant then demands full payment from a fellow servant who owes what is a trifling amount. To be forgiven a debt reminds us that receiving forgiveness totally wipes the debt away. The only difference between the two servants is the size of the debt that each owed. The parable then contrasts the mercy and forgiveness of the king when compared to the lack of mercy and forgiveness of the servant. The difference between the two debts is astounding. A talent was worth fifteen years wages for a labourer while a denarii was worth a day’s wages. The first servant’s debt was way beyond what one man could ever repay while the second servant could have discharged his debt over a relatively short time.
The lack of mercy on the part of the servant who was forgiven so huge a debt has dire consequences. The parable announces the limitless forgiveness that God offers to his people. However his forgiveness is not without cost. God’s forgiveness comes at the expense of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Through Christ’s death our debts are paid and wiped away. The parable reminds us of our need to be aware of that essential transaction. To fail to forgive our brother or sister is to fail to accept the forgiveness that has changed us from debtors to true children of God.The merciful God is also a God of justice and so the response of our forgiveness to others is just as crucial as is the magnificence of the forgiveness of God. The parable reminds us that we cannot have one without the other.
Prayer. Most gracious God, your love is everlasting and your mercies never come to an end. In your mercy grant us hearts that fully accept your forgiveness and so find our lives touched and changed in order to forgive those with whom we share this life. Bring among us all a godly harmony and a single purpose to place you at the head of all we do and say; in all things and in all ways honouring you. This we ask, trusting in the power of your forgiving love which flows to us through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. Amen
Collect. Gracious Father, you do not treat us as we deserve, but you are mercy and life. As in Christ your Son you have forgiven us, may we also forgive one another, for his sake and in his name. Amen.
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