Joseph’s crucial question––“Am I in the place of
God?”––calls on us to stop judging others, taking the first step on the road to
being able to forgive. But it is not easy to do.
Stories of forgiveness always catch our breath: the
parents of the peace worker killed in an African village where the parents,
then, continue their daughter’s work by building wells; the Amish community in
Pennsylvania that forgave the killer of several young children in the school;
the families of murder victims who plead that the killer’s life be spared.
Matthew 18:21-35
To forgive is to be transformed. That is what we hear
today in all the readings.
When responding to Peter's question about how often
to forgive, Jesus' answer must not be construed as a program specifying a
maximum of seventy-seven occurrences. The parable suggests that forgiveness
becomes a lifestyle for those who have received God's forgiveness. Peter's
question had to do with granting forgiveness for repeated offenses, while
Jesus' parable deals with forgiveness for an immense debt, yet both are focused
on the same problem. Forgiveness does not flow naturally from the human heart.
For the believer who lives in reconciled relationship
with God, the character of God will have a transformative effect on the
character of the believer. The story asks the listener to contemplate whether a
person could receive the mercy of God while remaining unmerciful toward fellow
believers (those whom Paul describes in Romans 14:4 as servants belonging to
God). The believer will find that forgiveness not only sets the offender free,
but also gives life and freedom to those who do not hold a grudge or seek
revenge.
This parable does not address
every question one might have about forgiveness, but addresses the listener
with both the overpowering judgment and demand of God and with the life-giving
power of God. The parable may call the listener to consider whether he or she
is continuing to hold on to resentment for wrongs suffered in the past. The
listener is invited to consider relinquishing some hurt, so as to be set free
from its power.
– Aaron
J. Couch
Genesis 50:15-21
Anticipating Jesus' words concerning forgiveness, the
first reading recalls how Joseph reassured his brothers that he would not take
revenge on them for all the suffering they had caused him. The brothers had
worried that Joseph's only reason for restraint had been out of respect for
their father. Once Isaac was dead, the brothers feared that their lives were in
danger. Even though Joseph held a position of great power (almost as good as
God, as far as the brothers were concerned), he did not presume to be able to
judge them as God would judge, deserving life or death. With a display of
irony, however, Joseph acts as God does act, extending forgiveness and
promising to provide for them and their children. Joseph has learned that
appearances may be deceiving. Even though the brothers had desired to harm
Joseph, God used their actions to give life and blessing. Joseph interprets his
suffering as having an important role to play in the unfolding of God's hidden
purposes.
– Aaron
J. Couch
We may not always be able to see our suffering––or that of
loved ones or strangers whose lives have come to our attention––as “unfolding
God’s hidden purposes,” but that does not mean God’s purposes are not hidden in
what befalls us.
Romans 14:1-2
As Paul writes, “we live to the Lord.” We live and die “to
the Lord.” What we are then called to do is to love our neighbors.
Paul is most concerned about the
potential for conflict and judgment to divide the church. . . . Whether it is
observing the Sabbath or eating meat that may have been sacrificed to an idol,
the Christian must act in accordance with his or her conscience. Even more
important, though, the believer must recognize that those with whom he or she
disagrees belong to God. No believer has the right or authority to pass
judgment on another believer.
– Aaron
J. Couch
Aaron J. Couch is co-pastor of First Immanuel Lutheran
Church, Portland, Oregon.
Homily Service
41, no. 4 (21 July 2008): 14-25.
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