The parable of the Unmerciful Servant is a reminder of who we are, whose we are and what is expected of us. The readings remind us that like the Hebrews we have been rescued by God, are part of His Kingdom and under divine judgement. We are servants and not ‘the boss of ourselves’. We will be judged by our love of Jesus and our neighbour. Forgiveness and mercy from the heart is a test of that love.
1. We are challenged to remember who we are
Jesus is teaching us how to reconcile conflicts in the church with love. Conflicts can pollute our soul with the sin of unforgiveness if we fail to love the other. Love requires us to respect the privacy and dignity of the person who we think is sinning. We are to make two attempts to resolve the issue privately and discreetly before “taking it to the church’ and making it public. This is the opposite of the way most people handle disputes. We can fail to love our neighbour and tell all our friends in church about the terrible thing someone has done. This is a failure to love and creates a much more dangerous conflict. It makes the issue harder to resolve as reputations are on the line. The three-step process protects reputations, determines the truth and facilitates forgiveness:
1. First go alone to the person to seekréconciliation
2. If this fails, take one or two witnesses and go again
3. Only if both attempts fail, take it to the church leadership, again in confidence, to avoid spreading the conflict beyond three or four people
Step #1: “Go and point out their fault just between the two of you”
Jesus is teaching us how to do pastoral ministry. The readings teach us that God wants more than a formal relationship with us. God wants a passionate, powerful risk-taking love that is passionate, intimate and forgives. Mercy, when God or we forgive, and give the other another chance, is the highest form of love. The difficulties we face in life are teats of that love. This is how our love and spiritual life grows.
1. Jesus shows us how God’s love and mercy never gives up
Abram is called to leave his family and old way of life, go on a long and dangerous journey and put his whole trust in God. In baptism we are asked “Do you put your whole trust in Jesus love and grace?”God desires an exclusive love relationship with us. In the Romans Reading (4.13-25) Paul reminds us that Abraham was given a new name and honoured for his faith in God. In Matthew (9.9-13, 18-26) challenges the Pharisees that “God desires mercy not sacrifice.”. He goes out to model this by healing and giving new life to woman suffering from bleeding and the Synagogue Ruler’s daughter. This is our mission as people who have put their faith and trust in Jesus.
Ascension is the final direct teaching moment in Jesus ministry. He is comforting the disciples with the news they will be commissioned, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit. This is good news for us as we too live in a hostile and dangerous place. Like the disciples we cannot continue Jesus ministry on our own. Like them we need both a community for emotional support and the Holy Spirit to commission us, guide us and empower us for ministry. We live in the spiritual wreckage of failed politicized churches that did not depend on the Holy Spirit to commission, guide and empower them.
Jesus is preparing His Disciples for His Death, Resurrection, Ascension and the Coming of Holy Spirit at Pentecost. They are frightened and are going to feel abandoned in a world that is very hostile and dangerous. He comforts them by saying He is going away to prepare a place for them where they can all be together. He will send “another advocate” to continue His work of guiding them and helping them prepare for their own death, resurrection into eternal spiritual life of joy. The advocate will be like a modern lawyer who prepares people for a trial and judgement. The advocate will come to those who love Jesus and keep His Command to love one another.
Jesus, like Father God[ must respect human free will. He cannot force people to love Him. That would not be real love.
· Jesus defines this love of Jesus as those who Keep my Commandments.
· This is a continuation of the Covenant of Moses where the 10 Commandments were tests of our love of God (1-5); and our love of neighbour (6-10)
· Continuation of Moses telling the Hebrews that God would send another prophet like him.
· Covenant of Jesus clarified the Command to love God and our neighbour with self-sacrificial love – as Jesus modelled on the Cross
· Covenant of Jesus added the forgiveness of sins(that had been taken to the Cross by repentant believers)
· Covenant of Jesus added eternal spiritual life for believers
· Holy Spirit would help believers examine their lives, repent sins, become healed and holy enough to be in God’s presence
Easter is the celebration of one of the most important events in human history. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ was God’s cosmic yes to all the teachings of Jesus. Jesus taught that God was making a new Covenant of forgiveness that fulfilled and expanded the Covenant of Moses to all believers. This Covenant offered believers forgiveness of sins through repentance and faith in Jesus sacrificial death. Believers connect themselves spiritually to Jesus and die with Him on the Cross before being raised to a new Holy-Spirit filed life of joy.
It is an attitude people often confuse with fearfulness, weakness and indecision.
The Readings continue the Lenten challenge to self-examination and being born again. We see the contrast between the Pharisees who were supposed to be understand spiritual things spiritual – but remained in spiritual darkness; and man born blind, a presumed sinner – who comes out of darkness into the light of Christ. The Pharisees were stuck in the darkness of the world and the blind man become the light of Christ and a sign of God’s Glory in the world.
The supernatural worldview of the Bible has been lost to many in the Church. The power of God and the glory of God has been lost and forgotten. For many people Christianity has been reduced from a revealed religion to a philosophy of life. This has made us weak and ineffective. We all need experiences of the power and glory of God to give us hope in this dark time. The good news is that the Bible is full of examples and teachings that help us grow spiritually from knowing about Jesus to experiencing Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Our ministry is to share this good news and give those around us hope.
This is how our Psalm (40) ended. It summarizes the three Epiphany moments of the Readings and also of course, the Lord’s Prayer. This is the great cry of our hearts when we are in trouble. The three Epiphany moments in the Readings are:
· Isaiah: In Babylon the Hebrews realized they could not save themselves
· John: realized Jesus was the Lamb of God who would deliver all people from the bondages of sin and spiritual blindness
· Paul: The Corinthians, like us, needed to experience Jesus deliverance from both the bondage of sin and spiritual evil
· We all need epiphany moments when our spiritual eyes are opened by Jesus, the light of the world
John the Baptist teaches us how to become serious Christians with joy and hope. Hope frees people from fear of sin-guilt and death and enables us to love God, ourselves and others. The first step is the baptism of repentance which prepares us for the second Baptism of the Holy Spirit Fire. As the Holy Spirit comes into us and exposes our hidden sins, we experience the baptism of the holy fire of God’s love. The file of God’s love burns up our sins and brings us into an eternal spiritual life of joy in His Kingdom.
1. The First Baptism is Repentance
