"Is Anything Un-Forgivable?" - Psalm 32 & Matthew 18:18 - 22
Second Sunday of Lent, March 13, 2022
Is Anything Un-Forgivable?
Psalm 32 (Lucy L.) / Matthew 18:18-22
One of the most important lessons I learned in seminary is this: context matters. So, I start by sharing the context of how this sermon began. A few weeks ago, Alex and I were catching up, when he shared a list of questions he created for this ongoing sermon series. Each question was intriguing. As I was reading through his handwritten list, I voiced my hesitation with this one, saying something like, “Whoa! Is anything unforgivable? That’s a tough one!” Alex was quick to respond, “You think so? Is anything beyond God’s forgiveness?” Right there in the hallway, we began the delightful enterprise of discussing theology, scripture, and swapping ideas. Since he is a stellar colleague, Alex gifted me with this question to allow me to wrestle with it in a sermon.
We will explore the question “Is Anything Un-Forgivable?” together. And I will do my best to begin the dialogue with two parts. First, is anything un-forgivable for God? And then, is anything unforgivable for us—we mortals of humanity? There is a theological angle to this question, and also life lessons to learn. Lucy started us off well with the hopeful words of Eugene Peterson’s translation for Psalm 32. We can “count ourselves lucky” before a God who forgives us, with a fresh start and a slate that is wiped clean. We take heart that, “God-affirmers find themselves loved every time they turn around.” This good news is in line with how God forgives Abraham, Moses, Jacob, David, and many more for their transgressions throughout the Hebrew scriptures. Repeatedly, God forgives the people after their disobedience when they turn to God and acknowledge their sins. The rainbow is a sign of God’s covenant of mercy—a promise painted in the sky that God will forgive us and not destroy when humanity turns against the Creator. Throughout the Psalms, we hear of God’s steadfast love and abundant mercy. And we are reminded in Romans 8 that neither death, nor life, nor our present, nor our future, nor powers, nor presidents—nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Forgiveness is part of that extravagant love. The promises of God from Genesis through Revelation proclaim that God’s forgiveness is without limits or an expiration date when we recognize our mistakes. This is not cheap grace, but an act of hope by the Creator of the cosmos for the reconciliation of all creation. God’s redemptive love has the final word. I can stand here and affirm that according to what I read in Scripture, according to what I’ve witnessed through the power of the Holy Spirit, according to the hope of the church, there is nothing that is unforgivable for God. God’s love is complete. With God, we find mercy and forgiveness, always, rooted in love and redemption.
And then … there’s God’s people. I expect this is not news for you…but humanity does not have the same track record of forgiveness as God’s eternal mercy. I regret that even we Christians are not always known for our forgiving ways. As we discussed this week during Lectio Divina, forgiveness can be tricky when we talk about our own patterns and not God’s ability to grant mercy. Our scripture today from the New Testament makes it clear that God’s people have had questions about forgiveness through the ages. As Jesus describes how to address conflict within the church family, Peter asks for some specifics about forgiveness. Listen now, as we learn about forgiveness and mercy from Jesus, from the 18th chapter of Matthew:
[Jesus said] 18 ’…Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and
whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’
21 Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ 22Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven* times.’
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Context matters here too. This series of lessons from Jesus begins with Jesus instructing the disciples that they will enter God’s kingdom humble, like children. He goes on to teach about temptation, the parable of the one lost sheep out of one hundred, and follows this passage with the parable of the unforgiving servant. Jesus emphasizes the importance of humility and of right relationship among all people.
When Peter asks him about the number of times one should forgive another person, he doesn’t just randomly come up with the number seven as good goal. The context matters here too. Peter was familiar with the Jewish practice of forgiving someone three times for an offence.[1] And Peter knew the significance the number seven had in the scriptures. Seven is considered the number of completion or wholeness, since God rested on the seventh day after creating the world over six days. Seven is also associated with healing and exoneration in the Hebrew scriptures. We read in Deuteronomy that the Israelites were instructed to cancel all debts and free their slaves during the seventh year. [2] So, Peter had good reason to think that Jesus would applaud him for more than doubling the number of times to pardon someone, with symbolism of completion, wholeness, and healing.
But Jesus takes it much further. Some scholars interpret Jesus as saying that one should forgive seventy times seven times, while others stick with seventy-seven times. I don’t think Jesus was trying to offer an exact number. Jesus was emphasizing that we should not limit forgiveness. We should strive for forgiveness and reconciliation always. Matthew doesn’t tell us how Peter or the other disciples respond. The next verse launches the parable of the forgiving king and the unforgiving servant. Jesus makes it clear that we receive such extravagant mercy from God, we should also extend forgiveness to one another.
The scriptures are clear to me, but if I’m honest, I’ve been anxious about this question from the very moment I read it in Alex’s handwriting. Who am I to preach to you about forgiving one another? We are still getting to know each other, and it doesn’t sit well with me to say we should always forgive. I don’t know what trauma you have faced and endured. I don’t know the full story of the pain you carry. And I don’t think it’s right for me to use this pulpit to share my own stories of being hurt and when I’ve asked for forgiveness. Not when you can only hear my side of the story since I have the mic. Our stories of forgiveness can be shared at a different time. Today I want to focus on the stories of communities that have offered forgiveness. The ways forgiveness can heal beyond the personal. The stories of people of faith who testify to God’s love and mercy through practicing forgiveness.
Several stories of forgiveness in a community come to mind from our own nation. I’ll share one from 2006 in rural Pennsylvania. On October 2, 2006, a man armed with three guns entered the one-room schoolhouse, West Nickel Mines School, in Amish country outside of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.[3] He let the boys and adults leave, and he held 10 girls hostage. He later shot the girls and then took his own life, killing five of the schoolgirls. His victims ranged in age from 6 to 13.[4] Such violence shocked the peace of the community. Yet, this Amish community amazed the world by responding with forgiveness. They reached out to the family of the gunman, with compassion, love, and forgiveness. “That same day, Amish neighbors visited [the shooter’s] family to comfort them. They brought baskets of food and other gifts. They stuffed [the widow’s] mailbox with notes expressing their support and forgiveness.”[5] Amish families attended the funeral of the gunman to show support for the family and to pray for him and them. “The day of the shootings, CNN reported overhearing the grandfather of one of the victims warning younger people not to give in to hate. ‘We must not think evil of this man,’ the man said.”[6] Over a decade later, the mother of the gunman shared how the forgiveness of the community changed her family. She told NPR,
“I will never forget the devastation caused by my son," says the 65-year-old Terri. "But one of the fathers the other night, he said, 'None of us would have ever chosen this. But the relationships that we have built through it, you can't put a price on that.' "
"And their choice to allow life to move forward was quite a healing balm for us," she says. "And I think it's a message the world needs."[7]
That is the kind of forgiveness Jesus is talking about with Peter. The kind that sends ripples through the community. The kind that shifts relationships for years to come. The kind of forgiveness that testifies to the strength and fierceness of God’s love. This is the kind of forgiveness that Jesus extends to the disciples after his death and resurrection. When Jesus breathes peace and cooks them breakfast on the beach after they have deserted him—that is the kind of forgiveness that the world needs.
I looked for a modern-day expert on forgiveness to help us figure out the best path forward. Archbishop Demond Tutu was the chair of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. No doubt, Tutu had great experience in practicing and leading forgiveness in community. And Archbishop Tutu wrote The Book of Forgiving with his daughter, Reverend Mpho Tutu. In their book, they outline what forgiveness is not. Listen to this important list:
“Forgiveness is not easy—it requires hard work and a consistent willingness.
Forgiveness is not weakness—it requires courage and strength.
Forgiveness does not subvert justice—it creates space for justice to be enacted
with a purity of purpose that does not include revenge.
Forgiveness is not forgetting—it requires a fearless remembering of hurt.
Forgiveness is not quick—it can take several journeys through the cycles of remembering and grief before one can truly forgive and be free.”[8]
Archbishop Tutu was a man of deep faith. With his understanding of the complexity of forgiveness, I believe we can strive to forgive as Jesus taught. Forgiveness is not easy. Forgiveness is not quick. Yet, forgiveness can open us to healing and the extravagance of God’s love. I’m still wrestling with the ways my heart needs to forgive. How do we talk about forgiveness as a hospital for infants and pregnant mothers is bombed in Ukraine? How do we practice forgiveness as we pray for the victims of gun violence here in Richmond? I don’t have easy answers. But I can claim, that as followers of Jesus, we are called to forgive. As children of God, we are called to ask for forgiveness.
Beloved, the journey of forgiveness is not easy or quick, but it is worth it. Like love, forgiveness is a verb that must be practiced over and over until it comes as naturally as breathing. Like love, forgiveness is a way of being and living that we strive for moment by moment. So, is anything unforgivable? With God, no one is unforgivable, and nothing is unforgivable. And with God’s help, we strive to seek and offer forgiveness with a heart that is healing.
So, let us heal and love and forgive together on the journey. May it be so. Amen.
[1] “What Is the Significance of Seventy Times Seven in Forgiveness?” https://www.christianity.com/wiki/sin/what-is-the-significance-of-seventy-times-seven-in-forgiveness.html
[2] “What Is the Biblical Significance of the Number 7?” https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-is-the-biblical-significance-of-the-number-7.html
[3] “'We must not think evil of this man': Remembering when the Amish met evil with forgiveness” York Daily Record. March 14, 2018. https://www.ydr.com/story/opinion/columnists/mike-argento/2018/03/14/amish-responded-nickel-mines-mass-shooting-forgiveness/423274002/
[4] Ibid. and “Amish Forgive School Shooter, Struggle with Grief” NPR, All Things Considered. October 2, 2007. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14900930
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] “A Decade After Amish School Shooting, Gunman's Mother Talks Of Forgiveness” NPR, Morning Edition. September 30, 2016. https://www.npr.org/2016/09/30/495905609/a-decade-after-amish-school-shooting-gunman-s-mother-talks-of-forgiveness
[8] Tutu, Desmond and Mpho Tutu. “Summary: What Forgiveness Is Not” The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World. New York: Harper One, 2014. 40.