Forgiveness (PART I) by Rev Allister Lane

24th October 2021

Psalm 34:4-8

Luke 17:3-10

I preached a sermon several weeks ago (how time flies)

about how the Presbyterian Church is counter cultural.

1.    Not self-centred, but aware of belonging to God and others

2.    Covenantal relationships

3.    Different relationship to wealth and materialism

And another counter-cultural feature of being the Church was highlighted for me recently…

A friend of mine works in a government department. 

And he was commenting how many Christian values have actually been adopted as social policy and common practice in New Zealand (fairness/justice, looking after the vulnerable, provision of healthcare and education, etc)

He was speaking about this as a very positive thing, recognising the influence the Christian faith has had through the active presence of churches in Kiwi society. 

However, there is one feature of Christian faith he feels is sadly deficient in his experience of working in a government department.

Can you guess?

Forgiveness.

For most of the people he works with, genuine forgiving of others is not something he sees much of.

So, today (and next week) I’d like us to explore forgiveness.

What the Bible says about Jesus’ teaching, and how the Gospel is our context for the practice of forgiveness.

This will help us understand what it is to practice forgiveness as followers of Jesus.

And let me be straight-up with you,

today’s reading from Luke’s Gospel is very clear:

To be a follower of Jesus is to

 practice habitual and perpetual forgiveness.

Maybe we feel this is a hard thing to do.

Those first disciples obviously did!

Their response was “Increase our faith!”

Jesus’ first disciples thought to forgive others they needed more faith. 

They are right …AND wrong…

They are right that forgiving IS hard to do.

But they were wrong about needing more faith.

Jesus makes it clear to them:

they (and therefore we) have been given what we need. 

When Jesus says “If you had faith…”

he is not reprimanding for NOT having faith.

It translates: “If you had faith [and you do]…” 

Jesus’ response is an affirmation of the faith they have,

and an invitation to live out the full possibilities of that faith.

Faith will be needed to practice forgiveness in our real lives.

Jesus makes it clear this is a tricky part of being human;

we are prone to unforgiveness.

In this passage of Jesus’ teaching, he starts:

   “Be on your guard!” (v3)

We are not to follow our instincts, but act in faith.

BLIND

When someone wrongs you, it’s natural to focus on the wrongdoer.

Jesus is saying it is extremely important instead to focus on yourself. 

Be on your guard.  We can be blind to our unforgiveness.

Hebrews 12:15

“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God;

that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble,

and through it many become defiled.”

ROOT

This image of a root shows us how unforgiven wrong and bitterness has a subterranean nature.

Unseen but still alive.

And even though you think it’s dealt with, it can grow back (like tree cut down with roots still living underground)

Personal example:

the wretched weeds in our lawn that have to be pulled out by the roots!

It not ‘harvested’ (roots-and-all), they remain alive underground and resurface.

We don’t admit we have unforgiveness, that we are still mad with someone.

We’re not even really honest with ourselves about how angry we still are – we think it’s no big deal

…but underground…

If you don’t think forgiveness is an issue for you today,

Jesus is saying to you:

“Be on your guard!”

What Jesus tells us (through the biblical witness) is:

unless you are honest and thorough with your forgiveness it will affect you.

It’s going to defile and distort you.

WREATH - DISTORTS

The English word ‘wrath’ comes from the same Anglo-saxon word as ‘wreath’.

Why would ‘wrath’ and ‘wreath’ come from the same Anglo-saxon word?

The original word meant ‘to be twisted’.

(Like a wreath made by twisting branches)

Wrath means to be distorted out of your correct shape – by your anger/resentment.

It’s not feelings that have come and gone, unforgiveness will continue twisting/distorting you.

WRAITH - HAUNTS

And the same word from which we get wrath and wreath,

we get the old word ‘wraith’. 

I don’t know about you, but I don’t use this word much now! 

…It’s the old word for ‘ghost’.

Rolls Royce photo.

This luxury carmaker names their models:

‘Ghost’, ‘Spirit’, ‘Phantom’, and ‘Wraith’ (this one)

You may recall from Lord of the Rings the Nazgûl – they are ‘Ringwraiths’

A wraith is a spirit that can’t rest.

In mythology, ghosts relive the past;

they stay in the place where something was done to them,

and they can’t get over it,

and they can’t stop thinking about it,

and they can’t stop re-living it.

They are utterly controlled by the past. 

Wrath, wreath, wraith.

These people who made up these words knew what they were talking about.

If you have wrath and you don’t ‘exorcise’ it with honest and thorough forgiveness, your wrath will distort you into a wraith.

Into a restless spirit, someone who relives the past, someone who is haunted.

Perhaps you know something about this yourself.

If you cannot forgive someone for something that has happened, at a low-level you’ll experience self-pity.

Beyond that it becomes cynicism (about people, relationships, expectations, life) – joylessness.

Maybe you can’t forgive your parents for something they did (or didn’t do) it distorts/twists you;

it changes how you relate to authority figures,

and may very well change how you relate to your own children.

Maybe you can’t forgive the person who broke up with you;

it changes how you relate to people of the opposite sex,

and affect all those relationships.

Maybe you can’t forgive a work colleague;

it changes how you are willing to trust and collaborate,

and may affect how much you are able to see the good in people.

“Be on your guard!”

because an unforgiven wrong is a root that will remain in your life (as long as it remains unforgiven) and will eventually work its way to your heart.

And over time, the wrong that was done to you will make you into its own image.

If you stay bitter, if you stay resentful

– even if it seems pretty far under the surface.

Jesus warns us that unforgiveness is something we are prone to, and need to be aware of. 

So, we can decide to practice forgiveness.

·      Most of us probably wish to avoid the truth that we need to forgive,

·      and (like the first followers of Jesus) we might feel like we need something we haven’t already got, in order to forgive.

But Jesus says we do have what it takes.

The majority of this passage is Jesus addressing the anxiety that it’s too hard to achieve.

Next week we will look at the practical ways we forgive – HOW we can do it.

For now, let us be clear that Jesus tells us we CAN practice forgiveness.

Jesus says, if you have the faith of a mustard seed…

if you understand the good news of the Gospel at all,

if you understand what Jesus has done for you at all

– you’ve got in that what you need to forgive.

And Jesus tells a parable…

Now, I don’t know about you, but this parable doesn’t feel very well known, and perhaps not very straightforward.

It’s okay.

It’s hard for us to relate to the context of this parable, we don’t have a modern analogy.

What the slave in this parable understands, is that his time and labour belong to the master.

So, he performs loyal duties (in the field and house),

not to earn merit, but purely because this is the right thing to do in his situation.

A clue: Jesus begins his parable “Who among you would say…” and like other parables Jesus teaches in Luke, the assumed answer is always ‘no one’.

No slave would act in a way that doesn’t express their true situation; the service they owe to their master.

Jesus came not to be served but to serve,

and so, as his followers, we too are servants.

There is no time when a follower of Jesus can say:

“I’ve completed my service; now I want to be served.”

Jesus is saying: you can do the right thing (forgive) if you remember to whom you belong; who is your master.

Our Master became a servant.

He has forgiven us already.

When he dies on the cross, he says “It is finished”. 

The Gospel is the promise that we can live practicing forgiveness.

So put your little story within the big story, and you will get perspective to get over your hurt.

You will see the beauty of the Master who became a servant for you.

This is the only way you can forgive, when you see the unconditional forgiveness Jesus has given through his costly suffering.

Next week we will continue to learn more about how to forgive.

Silent prayer:

·      What roots of unforgiveness are beneath the surface?

·      Where is there distortion?

·      How are you haunted by unforgiven hurts?