First Presbyterian Church of Yellow Springs
Rev. Joe Hinds
Matthew 18:21-35
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Way In
Where were you at this moment a decade ago?
Where were you? Who was with you?
… when you first heard the news
8:46am when AA11 crashed into the North Tower of the WTC in NYC
9:03am when UA175 crashed into the South Tower
9:37am when AA77 crashed into the Pentagon
10:03am when UA93 crashed into a field in western Pennsylvania
Where? (anybody share?)
It’s likely that you will never forget where you were on 9/10/01
Like the day MLK or JFK were shot
Or the day Apollo 11 landed on the moon
Today is a day for remembering, and honoring memories
A day we remember how our hearts were broken
We reach out in our own ways to those who lost family, friends, colleagues
And in our shared humanity, each of us lost somebody that day
We honor the heroes
…the ones who were inside of burning and crashing buildings, and led others out
…and the ones who ran into the burning and crashing buildings
To rescue survivors, care for the injured, and tend to the dead
There are so many stories of 9/11
The airwaves and print media are full of them
especially a decade later
If I didn’t know better, I would think today’s gospel lection from Matthew was contrived
To bring a gospel lesson of forgiveness on the 10th anniversary of 9/11?
Really? That’s just too churchy.
But it’s not contrived, I do know better
The lectionary we follow (3-year cycle of Sunday scripture lessons)
First set out in 1969, and revised in 1994.
Hasn’t been changed since then
So today’s gospel lesson may be ironic, but not contrived
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Tell the Story
The disciple, Peter, asked Jesus how many times he should forgive a person
As many as 7 times?
Jesus answered, not 7, but 70
And he told a parable
Beginning as most parables do, “The kingdom of heaven is like…”
A king wishing to settle his accounts with his slaves
One owed him 10,000 talents
This debtor didn’t have the money to repay the debt
So the king sold the slave, his family, and their possessions
To bring an amount that would pay the debt
The slave pleaded for patience to give him time to repay
The king released him and forgave the debt
Then that same slave went to someone who owed him 100 denarii
Seized him by the throat and demanded to be paid
When this debtor pleaded for patience until he could repay
The slave refused and threw him in prison
When the king heard what happened he called for his slave
Admonished him for not extending the same mercy he received
The king handed over the slave to be tortured until he paid the full debt
Let this be a lesson, Jesus said
God will do the same to you
If you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart
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So What?
Jesus tells us to forgive
Expanding on our most gracious offering of 7 times ten times
Not 7 but 70
Then he tells a parable comparing the kingdom of heaven to a king
I wish I could ask Jesus about this
About the king whose first response is to sell the slave away to get his money
Then, after great pleading, releases the debtor
But then, after the same slaves acts without mercy towards his own debtor
The king is full of anger and hands his slave over to be tortured
As a preacher in CO says, that’s about 76 forgivenesses short of what Jesus teaches
Kazy and I have been talking about preaching on 9/11 – a Decade later
Today’s reading begins with the phrase, “Then Peter came and said to him (Jesus).”
Which begs the question, “what were they talking about before?”
Before today’s reading Jesus was talking to the disciples about how to respond when someone sins against you
“point out the fault when the two of you are alone,” he says
If they listen to you, then you have the chance for reconciliation
If they don’t listen to you, take 1 or 2 others along with you
If they still don’t listen, bring it before the whole community
If they still won’t listen, let that one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector
In other words, let them be
For whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven
And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven
Let it go. Move on. Don’t let the transgression bind you up. Life is too short
Then Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive
Not 7 but 70
Greek word we translate into English as “forgive” is
avfi,hmi (aphiemi)
Commonly translated in English as “forgive”
Also has another nuance: leave, leave behind, release
The same word appears …
“Immediately they left their nets and followed him (Jesus)” MT 4:20
“Leave your gift there before the altar” MT5:24
When Jesus healed a woman, “he touched her hand and the fever left her.” MT8:15
When Jesus stumped the religious officials, “they were amazed; and they left home and went away” MT22:22
In the garden at Gethsemane, Jesus left the disciples to go away and pray MT26:44
Today, a decade later, as I read Matthew
I can’t tell you that I am at a place of forgiveness
Not for the people that organized and carried out such unspeakable evil
What about the nuance of release? What about that?
In any case, to forgive, is not always the same as pretend it never happened
There may be consequences
There may be hurts that can’t be healed
Can I choose to release, and not be bound?
In terms of 9/11, to be bound is to fall into
Jingoism, isolationism, hate, exceptionalism, closing down
To be released is to carry on, to choose life
To be released is to be free to love
Yesterday may family participated in Cameron’s Smile 5K
Started last year by a family from Kazy’s church
Their 17-year old son died after a long illness at age 17
Cameron had a big smile and a big heart
Cameron had a wish to go to Disney World with his family
His wish was granted by the Make a Wish Foundation
Now the Cameron’s Smile 5K raises money for M.A.W.
My son, Paul, and I were talking after the race
“Daddy, I’m sad that Cameron died”
“Me, too, son”
As we talked we decided that it was good …
…to be able to remember Cameron
…and do something to help somebody else
Maybe help another sick child’s wish happen
I think we were talking about being released
Pauly has been thinking a lot today – later he asked me what happened on 9/11
We talked about that, too
And it made him sad
Then I remembered what Mr. Rogers said about when children saw scary things in the news
“‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers—so many caring people in this world.”
As we talked more about the mean and scary things people did on 9/11 …
…it was good to remember the heroes
Firefighters, police officers, EMTs
And many others who rescued people
And think about what we could do to make the world better
Alan Jackson, a singer from Georgia wrote a song about 9/11
Asks “Where were you when the world stopped turning?”
Sings about dealing with the tragedy
Moving from shock, anger, sorrow, and fear
To pride in the heroes
Looking up to heaven and at yourself for what really matters
Doing intentional acts of love
The singer says he remembers a story from Sunday School
Faith, hope, and love are good gifts from God
And the greatest is love.
May we remain convinced that love matters, that peace can prevail
May we be released from bondage to the things that lock out love
and freed to love
It may sound simple – simplistic
But love makes all the difference
Call someone to tell them you love them
Notice the sunset
Speak to a stranger
Reject violence – real and in movies and games
Hold hands, give blood, cling to family and friends
Share your food, open your home, make music
Plant a garden, get to know a stranger
Work for justice, volunteer
Turn off the TV, cellphone, computer
Sit on the porch, visit someone who’s sick
Listen more
Remember that everything is not about you
We are freed – to remember – and to live, as if love makes all the difference
So let it be with us. Amen
Amen.