Then Peter came and said to Him, "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. For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.' And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.' So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.' But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?' And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.
This parable from Matthew 18:21-35 is fascinating because it has a weird integration of compassion and wrath. The unmerciful servant who was forgiven much originally, failed to show the same caliber of compassion by forgiving his debtor, and thus received the wrath of the Master. We know from parable study that the Master is God metaphorically, and the servants acts as case studies for how we are to conduct ourselves. We cannot expect to be forgiven and shown mercy by a compassionate God if we in turn fail to grant that same kind of pardon to others.
So does this parable teach to become "wishy-washy" Christians, uncertain of our standards and tolerant of all? Or is there a discernible Absolute in which the Christian can know one to be in the wrong and to be held accountable to their error? What would it look like to hold one accountable to one's debt yet "forgiv[ing of] his brother from [one's] heart" (Matt 18:35)? Is the issue of compassion and forgiveness more concerned with the toxicity of the heart regarding interpersonal relationships than grounds of conflict? These are some of the questions I think are not made explicit by this text, but answerable elsewhere in Scripture.
Assuming ultimately God knows contention will occur, at varying degrees of culpability, and that justice is of a great concern for God, the forgiving has more to do with maintaining a healthy heart stance in the Christian. How toxic is my heart? Do I harbor animosity toward others? Do I serve others in love, and withhold love due to a grudge? Where am I in the forgiving process; have I forgiven yet re-established resentment and in need of another forgiving session (in the long line of seventy times seven)?
No comments:
Post a Comment