Matthew 18:21-35 The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
RELECTION
What is the nature of forgiveness and unforgiveness?
Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch Christian who, along with her father and other family members, helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II. She was imprisoned for her actions. When she met a guard from the prison camp, she had been in she froze. She had spent the post war years preaching forgiveness and here she is confronted with the reality of her past and the horrors she had endured. The guard asked for her forgiveness
“I pray softly to Jesus. I don’t want this! You have to help me. Then I realize, ‘Forgiveness is not an emotion. It is an act of the will.’ The feeling is not there but I can move my hand. Almost mechanically I place my hand in his. And then something extraordinary happens.”
“I suddenly feel a warm wave through my body. From my shoulder, through my arm, to our hands. I have to cry, “I forgive you brother, with all my heart.” There we stood. The camp guard and the prisoner. For a long time we held hands. And never before have I experienced the love of God so deeply.” Taken from Jesus.net
The effect of unforgiveness can be debilitating. We find ourselves locked in the past, forever living the pain we initially experienced and become prisoners of those emotions. We may feel we have forgiven but deep down, like Corrie, we may still harbour those unforgiving thoughts.
To forgive is not to forget. It is not a betrayal but a letting go of the pain which holds us prisoner. The effect of forgiveness is release and freedom. It brings healing. Our heart and soul can find peace again.
When walking along Whitby beach early in the morning before anyone else was there, I danced with the waves. I was walking with Jesus. As I playfully jumped the waves, I noticed my footprints were totally washed away, with no sign of me being there. As I reflect on this, I come to the realisation that this is the nature of God’s forgiveness. He forgives us completely and we have a totally fresh start. We forgive though incompletely. I liken it to the rubbings out of pencil, it looks as if the mistake has been erased but when you look closely you can see the indentations.
Jesus calls us to forgive wholeheartedly. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” we recite within the Lord’s prayer. The essential word here is “as”. We cannot expect to be forgiven by God if we are not prepared to completely forgive others.
PRAYER
Gracious God, forgive me here and now for all that I have done wrong;
Forgive the times I have failed you,
failed myself and failed other people;
Forgive me the times I have been proud, selfish and judgemental;
Forgive me the times I have neglected to help those in need,
when I have not spoken up against injustice, when doing nothing was the safer option.
From this moment, Lord help me to make a new beginning.
Amen.
QUESTIONS
- Have you been called upon to forgive someone multiple times? Were you able to or did you give up?
2. Have you needed to be forgiven more than once for the same issue?
3. What do you find hard to forgive? Is there anything you find unforgivable
Leonora Wassell – CoChair
Photo by Bruno Mira on Unsplash
