Burlington Reporter

Sharon Lutheran Church recently issued the following announcement.

Sharon Lutheran Church, Statesville, North Carolina

Sunday, April 5, 2020, Palm Sunday

Scripture Lesson: Matthew 18: 21-35

The Rev. Dr. David P. Nelson

Today the church focuses on our Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem. We know it as “Palm Sunday” because of the parade like way he was greeted and acclaimed. It ended up being a hugh and exciting event. Who among us doesn’t like a parade. But why talk about a parade when we are all mired in Covid-19 fear? If anything comes to mind, it is that we are all scared, anxious, depressed, blaming, and guilty. Why did this happen? Perhaps it would do well for us to approach this reality with a sense of humility, need, grace, and love. We probably need to start with a good parable on forgiveness. (See Matthew 18:21-35)

We can't go for long without hurting someone or feeling the hurt of ourselves. That’s what sinfulness is. Without forgiveness, we bottle up our anger. Without forgiveness, relationships remain broken. We may take a strange delight in holding our grudges and nursing our wounds, but we know that we need to “let them go” before we become only bitter gripers. So today, we're ready to hear what Jesus says about forgiveness. What exactly did Peter have going on inside when he asked his question of Jesus on how often should he forgive? Did Peter find himself in a prediciment like we often face? We might go to Jesus when we have reached the magic number of seven, hoping He would tell us

we could now quit forgiving and move on. Whew! Thank you Jesus! Don't we know that forgiving can wear out? We can now throw up our hands and say “I've tried.” I give up, nothing is going to change. So when Jesus comes along and tells Peter that we should forgive 77 times, we feel frustrated—as he most likely did. It seems beyond any other possibility.

We know what the mental health experts tell us:

If we never deal with a given situation, we can simply become an enabler. If a person won't listen, we sill have to hold him/her accountable. Jesus teaches us to forgive, not to enable. Whatever the issue behind our conflict, we need to release the anger, hurt, and hate in our hearts. We can't let it stick in our craw and become bitterness. We need “to let go.” Jesus gives us some advice about the principle of forgiveness. But we have to decide how to forgive in the best way, even if we have to show strength and stand up to another.

Peter's question triggers this parable from Jesus:

A king had shown great generosity to at least one slave. He had lent the slave enough money for a number of lifetimes. Why would the king do that? Surely the King would have known that the slave could not possibly repay it. Was the king just showing a soft streak? What would the slave have done with so much money? We don't know,

because the parable does not answer these questions. The parable only tells us that the slave owed a debt he could not repay. That part of the parable helps us to understand our own indebtedness or SIN if you will. We owe a debt we can never repay. The slave apparently and cheerfully accepted the king's extravagant generosity. The king had first ordered the slave to be sold, and his whole family as well, to recoup at least some of the debt. 

Then the parable presents another scene:

The slave falls to his knees to beg for leniency. His owner could not possibly be as gracious. He receives a canceled note. The slave walks away as a debt-free man. Panic must have taken over along with fear. His opulence was now taking a back seat. He can hope only in the mercy of the king. Repayment was not a reality. Somehow the king's anger melts. He does not have to repay. Maybe we scratch our head over the next part of the parable. How could one slave owe a second one a small debt? Had the first slave lent part of his borrowed money? In any case, the second slave owes a very small amount. But the first slave shows none of the mercy that the king showed to him. The first slave carries out his anger, throwing the second slave in jail. The other slaves get wind of what happened and report it to the king. The slave in our parable

HAD NOT LEARNED HIS LESSON.

He had not found the same generosity that the king showed him. However, the hardheartedness of this slave carries a penalty: the king finds his anger again and hands the slave over for torture. Can't we see the broad points of the parable? Our sin compares with the debt we cannot hope to pay. We rely only on God's grace to forgive our debt and set us free. Because God has shown us mercy, we are constrained to show mercy to others. Can't we hear that message clearly? What was owed the first slave was pittance compared to

his debt with the king. 

Listen to the last verse of the parable;

“So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Fear of punishment may drive the plot of the parable, but Jesus wants us to forgive out of our gratitude for healing. It seems to me that the image of debt reminds us that we can never resolve our guilt (debt) on our own. God has forgiven us so that we need never feel the terror of the first slave. Forgiveness not only cancels out our debt but works inside us as well. May we allow God's mercy to create in us a love

brave enough to forgive. wise enough to forgive justly, and strong enough that we don't keep score in our graciousness to others. It seems to me that Lent—and particularly this Palm Sunday— is calling us to not simply join in the parade of Jesus’ presence, but to accept his coming to show us forgiveness.

THROW AWAY YOUR SCORE CARDS...

LET LOVE BE YOUR STATISTICIAN.

THANK YOU JESUS !

Maybe those signs in people's yards do

carry a vital message AMEN

https://docs.google.com/…/1Fx0O9n9J4BmrPAZ1rkvuN2PKbF…/edit…

Original source can be found here.