Day 6: Forgiven if Forgiving
As you begin to spend time with God, settle yourself somewhere quiet and comfortable. Take a few deep breaths. Spend a few moments gathering your thoughts, becoming aware of God’s presence with you and in you.
Journal for 5 minutes on yesterday’s experiment of trusting God. What did you notice and learn? What challenged you? Did God say anything to you throughout the day?
Then, begin today’s devotional.
Read: Matthew 6:12, Matthew 18:21-35
Imagine getting to ask God himself for a lesson in prayer. That golden opportunity comes to the disciples in Luke 11:1 as they ask Jesus, “Lord, teach us how to pray.” The result? A simple, complete prayer that begins, “Our Father, who art in heaven...” And two thousand years later, Jesus’ disciples employ these words still.
Jesus teaches this prayer in Matthew 6 as well. There he offers a word of commentary about that middle statement: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” It turns out, that first half is dependent upon the latter.
Jesus explains, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Surely there is a limit to that condition! In pursuit of a potential loophole, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” To their culture, seven was the number of fullness, completion. Peter is not necessarily imagining that he would keep count; he’s implying that at some point enough is enough.
Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Just as Peter was not meaning a precise number, neither is Jesus. When that especially offensive person in your life hits seventy-eight offenses, it’s not finally time to let them have it—Jesus-approved! Instead Jesus is taking Peter’s ideal of “seven times” and making it hyperbolically perfect.
Jesus is saying, simply: There is no end to your call to forgive one another.
Don’t misunderstand: Forgiving someone multiple times does not mean signing up for more of their abuse. If someone is dangerous or toxic, forgive their trespass, and steer clear. But this exchange with Peter is what prompts Jesus to tell a parable (Matthew 18:21-35) about a servant who had been forgiven a massive debt: the equivalent of 20,000 years of labor! The parable suggests that you and I have been forgiven a debt like that—and that the comparative debt owed us by “those who trespass against us” is minuscule.
Consider, as you pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” that it is not an equal exchange. The small pardon God requires us to give is met with the immeasurable pardon he grants.
Prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven, forgive me my trespasses. Again. And always. Fill me with a fresh sense of your mercy to me, that I might be moved to extend mercy to my trespasser. Again. And always. Grant this because you have commanded it of me. Grant this for the sake of my offender. Grant this for my own sake. Amen.
Today’s Experiment: Is there someone who has wronged you so significantly that forgiving them seems an insurmountable task? Taking our cue from Jesus’ parable, perhaps the key is to first commit yourself to noting, believing, and celebrating the mercy God has shown you. If forgiving others is a prerequisite to being forgiven by God, then perhaps meditating on God’s mercy to you is the key to being able to show mercy to your offender.
By Fr. Aaron Burt, Adjunct in the College of Education and Priest at Advent Anglican