Pentecost 14 & Narrative 2: Forgiveness and Blessing

Genesis 50:15-21

Psalm 103:[1-7] 8-13

Romans 14:1-12

Matthew 21-35

Narrative: Genesis 12:1-9

  

First Lesson: Genesis 50:15-21

Challenges:

This is what I would call a “para-drop” lesson that plops you right in the middle (well, toward the end) of an ongoing story.  Many people will be familiar with Joseph’s story (there was that musical after-all). But many people will not be. Even those who are familiar will need a few moments to get used to what is happening and then it will be done.  How do you get people into the story?

Also, Joseph’s statement, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people…” can be a complicated sentence.  I don’t believe that God was behind Joseph’s brothers evil treatment of him (or his bratty behavior for that matter). I believe that God worked THROUGH the situation, rather than causing it. Having said that, however, it will be very easy for someone to hear this line and say, “Yep, everything happens for a reason.”  (especially if you are not preaching on this text). What’s the best way to responsibly talk about this matter?

Opportunities:

This is such an excellent story because it gives us a “flesh-and-blood” example of what forgiveness looks like. What are some other flesh-and-blood examples of forgiveness that you have seen in your own life? Someone able to lay down their anger at a family member?  Someone putting down their anger at a past event that still has a hold on them?  The “Skit Guys” do an excellent performance called “Baggage” where they talk about how we can carry around the hurt, or “baggage,” that comes from past “wrongs” done to us and how it can weigh us down.  You can watch the skit by clicking HERE..

Good News:

This passage reminds me of Psalm 133, especially verse 1: “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!”  Here we have it actually happening. Not only is it a good thing for Joseph, his brothers and their families, it’s a good thing for us too: God’s people are preserved and from that people will come our savior Jesus Christ. 

Second Lesson: Romans 14:1-12

Challenges:

What an amazing passage this is! Truly awesome, and I mean that.  One quibble with the RCL team (as if they have never received criticism before!) I’d think about adding on verse 19 at the end of this lesson: “Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” That pretty much sums up what Paul is getting at here.  Even if you don’t include it in your reading, you could use it in your sermon or mention it before or after the lesson is read. It could be really useful.

Opportunities:

This lesson is all about PIETY. Piety is not a bad thing: it’s a good thing! The trick is, we all have slightly (or GREATLY) different pieties. How do those “love languages to God” work side-by-side with different pieties?

Paul is referring to a question that was considered a VERY important issue in the early church: do you eat food that has been sacrificed to idols? He could also be referring to “unclean” or “un-kosher” food that some of the Jewish-Christian might not be ready to partake of.  For many of our congregations this particular issue is no longer a big one. (Although, my sister-in-law reminded me lately that there are many Christians she knows who come from Hindu or Buddhist families. When they take part in a large meal with the extended family, the family asks their ancestors to bless the food. That way the meal is directly tied to a different belief-system.  Do they eat or not? I’m not saying which one is right, but it is an important question.)

We have our own important issues today: worship music, communion practices, baptismal practices, children’s involvement in the life of the church, you name it. These are actually important issues! Of course we have LESS than important issues. The color of the carpet in the sanctuary, the use (or misuse) of the flatware in the parish kitchen, or that “the way she said that one thing and won’t let it go and it continues to bother me, just who does she think she is?” issue.

We are often very good at SAYING, “We are all united by the Cross of Christ, not by agreeing.” Hey, that’s great! We’re not always good at doing it or living it.

I’ve heard someone say (can’t remember who or I’d quote them), that you should really “like” about 70% of the worship music you hear in worship.  The other 30% you don’t “like” will be very meaningful to someone else and really connect them with God.  An example of this for me is the Song “Borning Cry.” Personally I can’t stand it, it makes me what to roll my eyes and act like the snarkiest of snarks…but then I will notice how meaningful it is to someone else and I remember what Paul has to say.

So, in honor of Romans 14, I offer this paraphrase, “Some believe in not singing “Borning Cry,” while the weak love to sing it.  Those who dislike “Borning Cry” must not despise those who love it and those who love it must not pass judgment on those who hate it.” 

I will always remember my Grandma (a lifelong Missouri-Synod Lutheran who has never been what you might call “progressive”) still weigh in on a controversy concerning prayer in her congregation. Some people said the congregation should be praying on their knees in worship. Some said it should be optional. My Grandma’s comment was, “Well, I think God hears both types of pray just as well, let’s leave it up to people.” Very good point!

Good News:

God in Christ Jesus is big.  Bigger than our pieties.  Some of our fights over different pieties are really, REALLY silly. Others are very, VERY important. Either way, Paul is saying that the Lord is greater than all of it.  We are invited to be freed from our need to pass judgment (which can be EXHAUSTING, can’t it?)  That’s great news!

Gospel: Matthew 18:21-25

Challenges:

It can be very easy to get bogged down in minutae here.  Is it 77 times to forgive or 7 times 70? What does forgiveness actually mean? How do we forgive from the “heart” (as said in verse 35)?  All of these are interesting and important questions, but ultimately they should lead us to an examination of the character of God. When we can home in on that, it informs everything else.  The king in this parable is forgiving a tremendous debt.

Also, it was pointed out in a text study I attended yesterday that this passage shouldn’t be used by the person who has done the wronging as an “out.” As in “Hey, I did wrong to you. I admit it and I want forgiveness, so remember what Matthew 18 says, right?”  (Thanks Liddy, very good point!) That’s not the point of this passage.

Also, and I’m not sure what to do with this, there’s that statement toward the end of the lesson, “And in anger the his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. SO MY HEAVENLY FATHER WILL ALSO DO TO EVERYONE OF YOU, IF YOU DO NOT FORGIVE YOUR BROTHER OR SISTER FROM YOUR HEART.” (emphasis added). If that doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will! I struggle with this, and that’s good. I just don’t want to push it away and discount it without a struggle. It’s scripture for goodness sake! Struggle with it! Wrestle with it! Don’t just say, “Hey, no, that’s not how I see God.” How would you like it if someone else said that about what Jesus has to say about justice? You don’t have to agree, just don’t “shrug.”

Opportunities:

One of my colleagues had a really great thought on the number of times we forgive (thanks Lori!). She said that there are times when she needs to forgive an individual for many different sins or wrongs they had committed against her. On other occasions, she’s needed to forgive the SAME action or wrong many, many times. The wrong might be receding farther and farther into the past, but it is still very, very present to her and she needs to forgive it again and again from her heart over time. That was a very good way of describing something that happens to me quite often!

The same sort of thing is said by an excellent blog-post I ran across called “A Life Overseas: The Mission Conversation.” Excerpt, “It means forgiveness is on-going, a lifestyle, something that must be revisited and redone. Forgiveness is not a one-time event, shake hands and it is over. It is a state of being.”  Very well put! Check out the blog by clicking HERE..

Good News:

The king is the kind of person who forgives gigantic debts and also cares about cares about how the “little guy” is treated.  Also, and I’m not trying to quibble here, it does say that the first slave will be tortured until he can pay the debt: it won’t last forever.  There will be an end to it.  May he will be a different person at the end of the ordeal? (Then again, TORTURE IS WRONG, and there is NEVER a good reason for torture in our world) See what I mean about struggling with the text and not just shrugging and saying “Well, that’s not how I see God”?

Narrative: Genesis 12:1-9

Challenges:

First of all, have fun pronouncing all of those names toward the end of the passage. Hearing the description of Abram’s travels makes me think that those places and names were very important to people in that region then (and probably now too… “Hello Israeli-Palestinian Conflict!”) but for me it feels like reading someone else’s family story.

And another thing: what does it really mean to be “BLESSED?” Big house and car?  Plenty of money? A proclivity at finding the right parking space, shopping bargain, etc.?  What does blessing really look like? It’s important to be clear.

Opportunities:

For such a short lesson (just nine verses) there’s so much to talk about. I believe you could really emphasize at least two different themes: 1) being blessed to be a blessing, and 2) GOING somewhere new.  Both are very good and I think that both inform each other.  I’d pick one as a theme and bring the other into that theme to inform it.

Yet another colleague (isn’t it nice to have intelligent colleagues?) made the point that Abram’s blessings too awhile. It would be awhile before he and Sarai had a son (and they lost patience on the way). They’d go through quite a few tight-spots on their travels.  Blessings usually happen in God’s time and God’s way…not in our own timeline. This can be hard to grasp in our instant-gratification society.  Good point, Melissa!

AND...a word on what a "Blessing" really is.  The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary classifies it as "the bestowal of benefits," and the Dictionary of the Old Testament calls "being blessed" as "the power to succeed."  While both books are clear that there is a wide range of meanings in Scripture depending on the context, these summations are accurate.  Interestingly enough, spoken blessings carry immense POWER in the Bible...they aren't just "nice things to say." When God blesses someone or something, it's NOT the same thing as a person today saying, "Oh, bless their heart." 

Good News:

Abram is given a purpose and a future. Through faith (wavering and back-sliding as it often is) he is able to cling to this meaning in his life.  So many people today want their lives to matter, to have meaning, to “count.”  If we are able to think about how we have all been blessed in certain ways so that we can be a blessing for others, our lives become meaningful and even “noble.”  We’re not just shuffling through a meaning-less existence, we are the protagonists in a special story.  We get to take part in God’s story of salvation and it can make all of the difference in the world.  Abram and Sarai will not be “flawless” from here on out. They will make mistakes (BIG mistakes), but God will be a part of their life and their journey. They will indeed be blessed and through them, we will be blessed too.