Forgiving: nothing simple here. It's another petition in the Lord's Prayer as we continue our examination of what it all means. There is a lot here on a rather difficult subject.
The discussion starts with Deuteronomy 15 which talks about God's expectation of a Jubilee year every seven years that would cancel debt, free salves, and return property. Designed to reduce inequality and give the poor a new chance to make their lives work, God's version of economics gets reflected once again. It says, "There should be no poor among you," while later admitting what Jesus would also say, "There will always be poor people in the land." With that admission, Jubilee represents hope and the promise of new life for God's weakest and poorest people.
In Matthew 18, Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant. Forgiven a ridiculously large debt by the king, the king's servant coerces another who owes the king's servant a modest sum. When unable to pay, the king's servant has the man jailed. When the king hears about it, he metes out a harsh punishment to the king's servant for his hypocrisy.
While we hear this as a personal moral story, the subjects that Jesus had in mind were very different.
Forgiveness needs to be understood clearly, and within the Lord's Prayer, as another indicator of how the Lord's faithful need to replicate the heavenly pattern in their earthly lives as part of the advancement of God's Kingdom of justice and peace.
Get the whole story in the sermon video below. Note the new addition of an MP3 file - an audio only file - suitable for downloading and portable playing whenever you want on your phone, MP3 player, or whatever.
The discussion starts with Deuteronomy 15 which talks about God's expectation of a Jubilee year every seven years that would cancel debt, free salves, and return property. Designed to reduce inequality and give the poor a new chance to make their lives work, God's version of economics gets reflected once again. It says, "There should be no poor among you," while later admitting what Jesus would also say, "There will always be poor people in the land." With that admission, Jubilee represents hope and the promise of new life for God's weakest and poorest people.
In Matthew 18, Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant. Forgiven a ridiculously large debt by the king, the king's servant coerces another who owes the king's servant a modest sum. When unable to pay, the king's servant has the man jailed. When the king hears about it, he metes out a harsh punishment to the king's servant for his hypocrisy.
While we hear this as a personal moral story, the subjects that Jesus had in mind were very different.
Forgiveness needs to be understood clearly, and within the Lord's Prayer, as another indicator of how the Lord's faithful need to replicate the heavenly pattern in their earthly lives as part of the advancement of God's Kingdom of justice and peace.
Get the whole story in the sermon video below. Note the new addition of an MP3 file - an audio only file - suitable for downloading and portable playing whenever you want on your phone, MP3 player, or whatever.
| 09-02-18-lords_prayer-forgiveness.mp3 |
| 09-02-18-ff-answers.pdf |
| 09-02-18-the_lord_and_his_prayer-forgiven_as_forgiving.pdf |