|
First
Reading
|
Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
| Habakkuk 1:1–4, 2:1–4 |
Psalm
37:1–10
|
2 Timothy 1:1–14
|
Luke 17:5–10 |
Near the beginning of the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, we find Jesus teaching his disciples about forgiveness. Characteristically, the disciples, like us, want to know what the boundaries are and are very concerned about how many times they are called to forgive someone. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells the parable of the debtor who was forgiven a large debt, but who then in turn went out and refused to forgive someone who owed him a very small sum. The parable contrasted God’s grand vision of forgiveness with our pitiful narrow view. Yet in Luke, Jesus, in effect, throws up his hands and says, “No, no, no! It’s not a matter of setting boundaries or counting; if it were a matter of counting it would be seven times seven times seven, on to infinity. You are my disciples. The world has taught you how to count. I don’t need to do that. I want you to know how God works. I want you to know that God builds a new universal community by using forgiveness, and not by keeping score.” The disciples responded, “Jesus, that’s tough to do. We want so much to please you, but you ask so much of us. How can we obtain more faith, how can we develop the superior ability to forgive our obnoxious neighbors and boorish coworkers?” Perhaps Jesus replied, “I am not going to love you more based on the number of times you forgive your neighbor. That is simply another way of keeping score the way the world does it. It is God who uses forgiveness to build and strengthen you, and even if your faith were the size of this tiny grain of a mustard seed, that’s enough! God will work with that. Trust that God will use what you offer and a bountiful harvest will follow.”
The last sentences containing the troubling analogy to slavery, an elaboration whether said by Jesus or added by later editors, is patently not helpful in our age and situation The Bible consistently affirms that in God’s eyes, people have worth, and Jesus certainly did not give us the Gospel to promote enslavement. I suspect what the analogy was really trying to convey was that discipleship is not a matter of “working when we feel like it” or is a part time hobby when the mood strikes. Discipleship has no off hours, no retirement age and no vacation time. Discipleship is something we grow into and requires our total commitment. It is not merely like an outer jacket that we take off or put on as the weather calls for.
I always thought that a parable might have better communicated for us what Jesus was trying to say, a parable such as: You have come home after a hard day at work. Your boss has chewed you out unjustifiably, and you have a splitting headache. Your children have arrived home from school cranky and anxious, and one has a big test tomorrow. You almost burn dinner. You help your child prepare for the test, the children get to bed, you are physically and emotionally exhausted and you look forward to a good night’s rest. However, at two o’clock in the morning one of your children comes into your bedroom and whimpers,” I don’t feel well.” You just get to the toilet in time. Your child has the stomach flu and the aim is not particularly good. Which of you would say, “Hey, I’ve fed you and helped you with your homework, put you to bed, and now my job is over. I’m off duty. See to taking care of yourself.” Would you not get everything cleaned up and see that the child is settled? You certainly do not expect any child with the stomach flu at two o’clock in the morning to thank you, do you? And if an hour later, the other child gets the stomach flu, would you not get up and repeat the whole routine?
Actually I don’t know why Jesus didn’t think of a parable of the stomach flu. His mother Mary could have informed him that children back then got sick too. However, despite all the sensational fiction, there is no indication whatsoever that Jesus ever married. Jesus’ parables were limited by human experience, too. Nonetheless, like the disciples of centuries ago, I think we can get the idea of what Jesus meant when he calls us to be disciples.
And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
