23 Therefore
is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account
of his servants. 24 And when he
had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand
talents. 25 But forasmuch as he
had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children,
and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him,
saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion,
and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his
fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and
took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought
him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into
prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were
very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said
unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou
desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not
thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and
delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto
you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. (Matt
18:23-35)
The Collect
First
Sunday after Trinity
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O
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GOD, the strength of all those who
put their trust in thee; Mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the
weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without thee, grant us
the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments we may please thee,
both in will and in deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Collect for the First Sunday
after Trinity opens with the honorific acknowledgement that we have no power
apart from God. He is the source and provision for that power which the
Christian exercises in having his own life dramatically changed, as well as the
lives of those with whom he shares the Gospel. In the second place, the
petition is made for God to mercifully accept our prayers. Did you
believe you were doing God a service by your prayers? It is His bountiful mercy
that prompts Him to hear our prayers. Also, it is revealed that all of our good
works are not of ourselves at all, but are the works of God IN us!
The unmerited grace of God is our help in times when no effort of our own can
help us. Though we may have perfect wills to serve and obey God, the will is an
empty vessel unless we follow through in obedience to the Commandments of God
which is pleasing to Him. All of this we are enabled to perform through Jesus
Christ our Lord. (Observe, again, the complete absence of appeal for material
gain or personal favor above simple mercy and grace)
The Parable of the day involves
greed and an unforgiving spirit. In fact, greed (for money, power, or romance)
is most often the parent of a failure to forgive. Though the Parable is
completely embraced by verses 23-34, I have added verse 35 so that the moral
can be understood. This parable is a mirror held up to the face of every
reader. If you cannot see your image looking back from that mirror, you are not
looking deeply enough, or you may need to visit the optometrist for an eye
checkup. Christ is not simply speaking to Peter and the other disciples – He
directs His comments personally to you and me.
23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened
unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
It is the nature of kings to keep records on accounts owed to their governments
(the IRS is not a new concept). But Christ points to a secular power in
illustrating that spiritual Kingdom of Heaven. Who do you suppose that `certain
king' is? It is God!
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was
brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. It
was customary for those debtors of the King to be arraigned before him and the
keeper of the books would read the names along with the amount of indebtedness
owed. I need not remind most of the readers of this devotion that 10,000 units
of any denomination of money would be a great treasure, but 10,000 talents was
a profoundly great value – upward of fifty million if the Attic value is
comprehended, and far greater if the Jewish talent is intended. No common man
could have incurred such a debt. The debtor must, of necessity, be a man of
means in the social circle of the Kingdom. He perhaps gained his standing
without business skills, but rather through cunning and craft to borrow money
on collateral which did not exist.
25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord
commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and
payment to be made. How could a man borrow such a great sum
of money and, yet, have nothing with which to repay? Not only was the living of
the man foreclosed, but also the man's family by this command of the King.
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him,
saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. That which cannot be accomplished with
honorable dealings may haply be accomplished by wheedling and insidious
self-humiliation. The debtor asks for patience. Does he exercise this same
patient restraint to others? We shall soon see.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion,
and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
By his shameful pleading, the debtor has gained the compassion of the good
King. The King not only had patience for the repayment of the amount owed, but
freely forgave him the entire amount owed and set him free. Has God not done
the same for you and me? Could we pay our sin debt? To even suppose that we could
have done is serious sin. Because we could not pay our sin-debt, Christ found
it necessary to come as a man, born of woman, to live a sinless life, die in
our stead on the cross, and rise from the grave on the third day. He frankly
forgave us all – not in parts, but ALL! For that act of grace and compassion,
we should have greater joy than the forgiveness of a mere 10,000 talents! But
this critter in the parable is delighted and over- joyed that his ruse worked.
When Jesus took the place of the
hardened criminal, Barnabas, and OUR place as well, do you suppose Barnabas
changed his ways? We are not told and, since we are not, I must assume that he
remained the same culprit he was when he was cast into prison. Some men are
like that. They mistake grace for fool-heartedness in the grantor of it. They
think to themselves, "Look how clever I am to wiggle, as a grub-worm,
free of the garden spade. The gardener is blind (not merciful)." So
how did this shameful fellow of the parable respond to immeasurable grace? 28 But the same servant went out, and found one
of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on
him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought
him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into
prison, till he should pay the debt. What a fine specimen of
gentlemanly virtue is this chap! A hundred pence is such a trifling amount,
especially when displayed beside a sum of 10,000 talents! The fellow servant of
this wretch was probably an honest working man since the amount owed was so
small, and he fell on his knees and begged mercy from that "heart of
stone". The great debtor would not only refuse to forego the forgiveness
of so paltry a sum, he would show no patience either. He had the man cast into
prison without mercy. It is a place where the poor man would have remained
forever since he probably could not have gotten 100 pence from any source. Have
you done the same, beloved reader? God has forgiven you ALL. Have you forgiven
even the slightest offense of some other against your person? Do you look and
gloat at your fellow debtors and fail to show even the rudiments of grace to
them after your life and family have been granted and forgiven by the Great
King? When you see those who have made such a small offense against you, do you
forget what great offenses you have been redeemed of?
Yes, the night may have a thousand
eyes, but God has a single eye. His angels see every act of greed and sinful
conduct on earth. Perhaps you believe that you have covered your sins under the
cover of darkness? Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the
night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
(Psalms 139:12) 31 So
when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and
told unto their lord all that was done. The servants of the Lord
should be characterized by that same mercy and grace that is a natural manner
of their King. When we see fellow Christians suffering under hard persecution,
should we not demand from the government that they be relieved?
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him,
said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because
thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest
not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on
thee? The best way to
acknowledge the Love of God is to love back with all your heart, soul, and
mind. The same is true of grace and mercy. If we have been granted great
mercies, should we not demonstrate the same according to our meager abilities?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to
the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. It may be difficult to assuage the anger of God
when we so disgracefully refuse mercy to
others. Now, our villain is not only incarcerated, but tormented in terrible
ways as well. This is the hell that awaits all who refuse mercy and compassion
to their fellows. Since a sinner can never repay all that is due God, the
torment is eternal.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also
unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their
trespasses. Christ summarizes the lesson of this parable in
the final verse. Does He mean that we should go about, as the village idiot,
forgiving, willy-nilly, everyone in the street who repeatedly spits on us and
trips us up? Not at all. God will demand no greater burden of forgiveness on
His children than He will demonstrate Himself. The Lord's forgiveness is only
received when we repent of our sins. An expression of the lips alone is not
sufficient – the repentance must be sincere and heart-felt. Then God will
forgive. The same principle holds true for us. If our neighbor offends hundreds
of times, yet comes pleading our forgiveness, we must grant it. God does - so
should we! Have you any bitter herbs of unforgiveness hiding in your heart? Are
there offenses you have done another that have long gone without apology? If
so, see to it while the time affords an opportunity and you be not cast in the
prison of torments.
