15TH  SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST Lessons & Meditation

15TH  SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST   09-13-2020

FIRST READING:  Genesis 50:15-21

Do you know the story of Joseph – what his brothers did to him… all the challenges and difficulties he faced in his life… the character and faith he showed throughout? Go back and read Genesis, Chapters 37-50.

Now, with the death of their father Jacob, the brothers became very afraid. Would Joseph seek revenge against them? Many years had not erased their memory of what they had done to Joseph. Their guilt had surfaced… and eventually, they admitted it and accepted it. When Jacob died, they were convinced that Joseph would surely harm them. So they lied about their father’s dying wish.

Joseph had felt the strain of forgiveness from the moment his brothers first appeared back in his life. He wanted to reconcile with his brothers, whom he loved, but it was not so easy. There was some hurt, maybe even bitterness, that Joseph had to work through. It took two years of testing his brothers, playing games with them, for Joseph to work through his emotions and thoughts.

Note in today’s reading that Joseph does not actually pronounce forgiveness upon his brothers. Instead, he replies, “Am I in the place of God?” And Joseph has arrived at the place where there is nothing to forgive. What the brothers meant for harm, God meant for good, so that many people would be preserved. As a continuation of God’s preserving activity, Joseph reassures his brothers that he will provide for them and their families.

Have you ever been in much conflict with a person close to you, then experienced reconciliation? What process did you go through? Is it easy or difficult for you to allow God to do the judging of others? How about in judging yourself? When have you found it difficult to try to forgive yourself as God has forgiven you? Or do you continue to carry that heavy burden through your life’s journey?

Sometimes we are amazed to realize that God has taken evil intentions and hurting actions done to us or by us and turned them into blessing, new life, and promise for many. The early Church, as it boldly preached the story of the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus to those who gathered to hear, not only lifted up the guilt of human sin and rejection (“You killed God’s Son, the Christ!”), but also said that it was the unfolding of God’s plan of salvation.       

SECOND READING:  Romans 14:1-12

Paul continues to offer a description (Chapters 12-15) of the new life in Christ. Here he speaks about diversity in the food customs and dietary guidelines that Christians follow as an expression of their faith in Jesus. Then he speaks about Christian variation in observing certain days as more sacred than other days. In either case and in other areas as well, the occasion is ripe for criticism and condemnation between those who are more narrow and those who are more liberal in their thoughts and practices. Paul’s purpose is not to divide the community into “strong” and “weak”, into “right” or “wrong”, but to unite the community. Paul’s ethical advice is to respect one another, not to pass judgment (14:1-4, 10-12, 13), walk in love (14:15), and do all with thanksgiving in honor of the Lord.

Why are people so hard on one another when it comes to religion?

This reading reminds us that we do not live or die alone; we live and die to the Lord, while growing in our relationship with others. In a world marked by acts of terror, separation, and destruction, let’s gather under God’s outstretched arms with mutual respect, genuine welcome, and authentic love for one another… and even a spirit of welcome for ourselves without condemnation. God loved us to save us, and God saved us to love others.

GOSPEL READING:  Matthew 18:21-35

Matthew, Chapter 18 is full of teachings on being a caring community. Last Sunday Jesus suggested a process that seeks to return a sinner to the community of faith, that seeks to restore good relationship between brothers and sisters in the Church.

In today’s reading, Peter is trying to show Jesus that he has been listening, he has been learning, he has been growing in his discipleship. The common rabbinical teaching was that forgiveness has its limits. To forgive once is generous. To be let down by the same person and to forgive a second time would be admirable, honorable, and worthy of praise. To be fool enough to get hurt by the same individual a third time and to forgive even then – why, this is bordering on the obsessive! Three times – that’s the limit, that’s what all the rabbis teach. The fourth time, it’s punishment time! The fourth time, it’s “WHAM! BAM! WHACK!” time.

Good ole Peter. He knows that Jesus thinks big. He’s going the extra mile here to impress Jesus. He knows that Jesus will like this answer. He knows that Jesus will be impressed by his strength of leadership, by his holy insight, by his exaggerated generosity of spirit. He’s anticipating a lot of praise from Jesus. Jesus has just been talking about sin in the church community… he’s just been talking about a process of healing and reconciliation, with the wronged party initiating that process – private and personal, sincere and gentle, with humble love… with the goal of seeking to heal the relationship, not get even… seeking to reconcile and restore, not get revenge… seeking to maintain the community of faith, not tear it apart and destroy it.                Oh, my, listen to Peter! What a man of God! “Should I forgive as many as seven times, Lord?”

But Jesus disappoints him. “Not seven times, Peter, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” It was a nice try, Peter. You were moving in the right direction. You just have a long way to go. [By the way, some translations of Matthew and the text in the Gospel of Luke record Jesus’ response as being “seven times seventy times”, and

that would be 490!]

Let me ask YOU, how often in the past have or will you in the future forgive a brother? How often have you in the past or will you in the future forgive a sister? What number is floating around in YOUR head and YOUR heart? What is the limit of your attempt toward healing and reconciliation, toward restoring and building up the relationship?

Jesus does not merely invite us to forgive… he commands us to forgive… he says that God expects us to forgive. So forgiveness is not an optional activity for Christians… it is the very heart of the Gospel and also the heartbeat of Christian life. And forgiveness is not something we do just for others – we do it also for ourselves, in order to obey God, to get well, and to move forward as true community. In Christ, day by day the forgiven person becomes a forgiving person, the healed person becomes a healing person, the loved person becomes a loving person. 

    We must practic3e, practice, practice/// then practice some more… someday we’ll get it right… maybe?… please!