Collect, Text, and Sermon for the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost

Wednesday of the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost

 

Collect of the Day:  O God, our refuge and strength, the author of all godliness, hear the devout prayers of Your Church, especially in times of persecution, and grant that what we ask in faith we may obtain; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 

 

The Epistle for this 23^rd Wednesday after Pentecost is from Philippians, the first chapter. (Philippians 1:3-11)

³ I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶ And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸ For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.⁹ And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. This is the Word of the Lord

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the 18^th chapter. (Matthew 18:21-35)

²¹ Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. ²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³² Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.³³ And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” This is the Gospel of the Lord. 

 

Sermon:  

O Lord, your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. 

Peter’s questions, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” does not come out of the blue. He and the other disciples just heard a series of interconnected teachings from Jesus about humility, resisting temptations, the Parable of the Lost Sheep, and what to do when your brother sins against you. In the last section Jesus offers wise counsel on how to address private matters between Christians. If you experience a sin from someone, then go to the person privately. If there is refusal to listen, come back with two or three others to address the problem. If there is still refusal to listen, then involve the whole congregation. 

Peter’s question makes sense to me. What do we do about habitual offenders? People that don’t want to change their words and behavior. For example, what about the person who persists in gossiping and passing on inaccurate information about people?  They have been talked to privately, then with a small group, then confronted by the church. They say they are sorry, but sorry doesn’t last long, and by the end of the week, lies are being spread, again. What does a Christian do? This is a difficult situation. 

There is also the temptation for those who know that they need to receive the announcement that their sins are forgiven but will not extend forgiveness to others. What about those that are like the man in the parable, who received forgiveness of his debt by his master but chose not to forgive the debt of another man who owed him money? Jesus expects us who are forgiven by our heavenly Father to forgive those who offend and sin against us. 

Depending on the nature of the transgression, this can be far easier said than done. Yet, regardless of the difficulty, Jesus does not let us off the hook. Jesus tells Peter, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Seven is the number of perfection and completeness in the Bible. The extraordinarily large number underscores the depth of the matter. Jesus intends for our forgiveness of others to reflect God’s forgiveness for us. God’s forgiveness for us has no end. It is bottomless. Therefore, Jesus tells us to forgive others as we are forgiven.  

Forgiveness is the work of God within us. Our human nature wants to cling to our rights, our privileges, our hurts, our sense of justice. Sometimes the sin against us is buried deep and we have a hard time letting it go. But Christ works in us. And we pray that He will. 

As the Apostle Paul gives thanks for the church in Philippi, he acknowledges that God is the one who has worked salvation in them. And, that their spiritual growth is the work of Christ working in them. Spiritual growth does not happen all at once. It develops over time. Paul says Phil 1:6 ⁶ And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. And again, Phil 1:9-11 ⁹ And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Forgiveness is an expression of love. Through the Word and the witness of our community of faith, our love grows and matures. It is all made possible because of Christ’s death on the cross and that we receive Christ’s love for us through faith. 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.