Forgiveness

The story in Exodus about the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt is an ancient historical narrative.  A thousand years later when Matthew wrote his gospel account of the parable of the unforgiving servant he undoubtedly knew this story.  When asked by Peter how many times he should forgive another, Jesus said we are to forgive seventy-seven times, in other words, always.   Jesus told the parable of the unmerciful servant who, even though he was forgiven a very large debt, could not forgive another who owed very little by comparison.

I remember back in the late 1950s when the Cecil B. DeMile movie, The Ten Commandments was one of the most popular religious epic films ever produced.  It dramatized the Exodus story of the life of Moses who became the deliverer of the enslaved Israelites, and led them through the Red Sea to Mount Sinai, where he received the Ten Commandments.  I took a very elderly Episcopal minister to see this film in a theatre in Cincinnati.  Dr. Lynch was in his 90s and I as a young college student looked up to him since he had served in my home church on various occasions over several years.  We enjoyed the movie; it was in Technicolor, had a great cast, and it was a thrill to see the waters parted so the Israelites could escape.

The Pharaoh had his chariots prepared for battle.  The appearance of the Egyptian army struck fear in the Israelites. They complained about Moses’ leadership.   They preferred slavery to what seemed to be certain death.  But Moses calmed the people and assured them they would be rescued if they didn’t panic.  God commanded Moses to divide the sea.

The biblical text says,  “Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided.  The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.”  Imagine what this looked like on a large movie screen.  It was revolutionary at the time, although with computer technology today it was just a prelude of things to come.

The Exodus story presents a dilemma.  To read it as a literal account of what happened is probably not completely accurate.  Ancient stories were told from one generation to another and, in the telling, stories were often embellished and naturally taken out of context.  The story also refers to God as vengeful and punitive, a God who destroys the enemy by drowning.  However, it is also a story about the judging and redeeming drama of God’s presence in human life.  God in this story judges the Egyptians and redeems the Israelites.  Just how it happened is not as important as is the point of redemption and liberation.

One of the commentaries about the Exodus story says, “Dwelling up there within the utter mystery of the fire and the cloud that separates Israelites from Egyptians is an unpredictable God – not a God who is endlessly biased toward one people at the expense of another, but a God who is steadfastly preoccupied with a gracious horizon that we cannot comprehend.  God is, quite simply, bigger than us and our agendas.”

So in the story of the unforgiving servant the message Jesus proclaimed focused on God’s call to forgiveness rather than revenge.  It opened the way to lives of mercy and compassion.  He invited his followers to go beyond the legal principle of “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” and to eliminate personal revenge. 

Jesus knew what God intended when he told the parable of the unforgiving servant.  As a seminary professor of mine wrote many years ago, “To deny the validity of the principles of mercy, forgiveness, and patience in our human affairs is to deny the nature of God himself and to shut ourselves off from the operation of his love.”  God’s grace is uncalculated.  “Just as we cannot earn our way into God’s favor, neither can we appropriate his mercy if we insist upon calculation in our dealings with others…. The parable [of the unforgiving servant] speaks more clearly than any words we may use in an effort to draw out its meaning.

Jesus modeled a way of forgiveness and trust rather than calculation, a way of hope rather than despair, a way of courage rather than fear, a way of health rather than violence, a way of abundance rather than hunger or poverty, and a way of new life rather than death.  Jesus was all about building relationships with those who were not normally accepted in his native culture. With people who were considered untouchable or a threat, he chose love and forgiveness, building relationships in place of alienation and estrangement.

Practicing compassion and forgiveness; befriending the enemy, choosing love over fear, building relationships instead of isolation or separation are the qualities of Christian faith and practice.  In the midst of all that happens in the events of the world around us we do well to pray the Collect chosen for today:  “O God, because without you we are not able to please you, Mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts.”  Amen.