Thursday, September 15, 2011

Sermon for September 11, 2011

“God’s Love and God’s Justice”
Exodus 14:19-31; Matthew 18:21-35
September 11, 2011 (24th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Rev. John B. Erthein

Does God exist? And if he does, then who is God? What is God like? People have been speculating about these questions since human beings could think. But as followers of Jesus Christ, we believe that God describes himself accurately in his Word, the Bible. Now, I think God is so infinite, so perfect, so amazing, that we will never understand everything about him. But the Bible tells us everything we need to know about God, especially what we need to know for our salvation.

So what does the Bible tell us about God? Two of his greatest attributes are “love” and “justice.” Both of these qualities are very much in evidence in both scripture readings, two of the better known ones. In the reading from Exodus, God is aiding his people, the Hebrews, as they struggle to leave their Egyptian captivity. Imagine what a daunting task that would have been. There were a huge number of Hebrews, that is true, but they were not an army. They were oppressed slaves, including the elderly, women and the very young. They did not leave in chariots; they went on foot, with all their possessions they could carry. And they would have to cross a harsh wilderness before reaching their promised land. Additionally, Pharaoh, angered at their rebellion, and seemingly learning nothing from the ten plagues that his people had suffered, sent his mighty army after the fleeing Hebrews. It seemed as if their flight to freedom would be a very short flight indeed.

But the Lord intervened! The Hebrews had been following a pillar of cloud sent by God (and just imagine what a sight that would have been, a massive, towering pillar of cloud, extending to the heavens, leading the people!). God moved the pillar to the rear of the Hebrew multitude, which hid them from the view of the pursuing Egyptians. During the night, the pillar served to keep the Hebrews and Egyptians separate. It served to confuse and confound the Egyptians. But God had not finished his marvelous works. Moses stretched out his hand and the Lord sent a mighty east wind over the water of the sea … can you imagine the fierce and howling wind? And then imagine the surface of the sea foaming and heaving, gradually being drawn apart, a depression in the surface becoming deeper and deeper until finally, the sea has been parted and dry land appears in a path across the entire sea bed to the other side. If you ever saw that spectacular movie “The Ten Commandments,” that may give some idea of what the people saw, heard and felt. If we take the text seriously, and accept it on its own terms, what happened was dramatic beyond comprehension. Two towering, seething walls of water flanked the pathway of dry land. Imagine how tall they were … if the sea bottom depth was 100 feet, the walls of water were 100 feet tall. If the sea bottom depth was 500 feet, the walls were 500 feet tall. What an extraordinary scene. And how intimidating it would have been for the Hebrews to venture down onto the dry pathway, knowing that countless tons of water were so close by, and it was only the hand of God that prevented the walls of water from flooding over them, from crushing and drowning them. But the people stepped out in faith, and crossed safely to the other side. In this way we witness the love of God.

But then the Egyptian army came in pursuit, and God allowed them to do so. But it was harder going for the Egyptians, because they were traveling with heavier equipment. The fully loaded chariots’ wheels sank into the dry but also soft sea bed. It was actually better to be on foot, as were the Hebrews. So by the time the Jews were safely on the other side, the Egyptians were still going slowly across the dry sea bed. And then, of course, came the deluge. The walls of water crashed down onto the Egyptian army, wiping out countless thousands of men. The lucky ones were crushed instantly. The unlucky ones suffered the agony of drowning. In this way we witness the justice of God.

And we witness both the love and justice of God set out in the well-known parable Jesus tells about the king, and the forgiven and yet unforgiving slave. The story is prompted by Peter’s question about forgiveness. If someone does something against you, how often should you forgive that person? Seven times? By asking that, Peter was going above and beyond the normal custom. Apparently, there had been a historical rabbinical teaching saying that three times was sufficient for forgiveness. So Peter may have thought he was being especially generous. But Jesus tells him that he must forgive far more than seven times. Different translations give different figures; either seventy-seven times or even seventy times multiplied by seven. Either number indicates that Peter is not following the way of God in his thinking. The number Jesus gave is not meant to be a specific number, but rather to be an incredible number … for the believer, forgiveness never stops.

Jesus elaborates his meaning in the wonderful story of a slave who owed his king an enormous, stupendous amount of money … ten thousand talents! To put that in perspective, a talent was a measure of money equal to six thousand denarii. A common laborer would earn about one denarius per work day, which means he would earn six denarii per week and 312 denarii per year. It would thus take an ordinary worker nearly 20 years to earn ONE talent. So after twenty years, it would be one down, and nineteen thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine to go (and that assumes the impossible feat of saving every denarius he earned.). Obviously the point of this story is to make the point that the slave can never pay off his debt, even though he promises his king to do so. So what happens then? The king would have been within his rights to sell off the man and his entire family as partial repayment of the debt. That was consistent with the laws of that time and place.

But the king does not do this. Instead, the king forgives the debtor. He wipes the slate clean. The debtor is no longer a debtor, burdened with an impossible amount to pay. Instead, he has been set free.

But how does the debtor respond? He encounters another slave who owes him money, about 100 denarii. That is not an insignificant amount. It would have been three or four months’ wages for an ordinary laborer. So the lender would be within his rights to demand payment from the debtor. Indeed, it was perfectly legal of him to have the debtor imprisoned. This action could be seen as simple justice.

But the slave who had received mercy could not legitimately demand justice, unless he was prepared to receive justice himself … and that is what he ended up receiving … justice. He was handed over to be tortured until he paid what he owed. But of course, he never could finish paying what he owed. So he would be tortured … forever. And Jesus warns his listeners that his Heavenly Father will treat them likewise.

Reflecting upon these two stories, I wonder if we prefer hearing about the love of God rather than the justice of God. God shows his love by using his great power to rescue the poor, oppressed Hebrews. That is something we can unambiguously cheer. But what about God using his power to utterly destroy the Egyptian army? How do we respond to a God who can act with such wrath. Surely other options were available, weren’t there? Could not God have found a less violent way to deal with the Egyptians?

And consider the story of the unforgiving slave. It’s wonderful that the king would forgive him. But did he really deserve an eternity of torture when he would not forgive? Wasn’t there some other way?

We have to ask ourselves what we think God owes us. God has created us. Does not the potter have power over the clay, to make one vessel unto honor and one unto dishoner? Does God owe us his mercy and grace? What have we done to earn God’s favor, really? What can we do to repay the unpayable debt? If we say we want justice, then we will receive the justice received by the Egyptians and the unforgiving slave. And in exercising his divine justice, God will be glorified. Either way, whether he exercises justice or mercy and love, God will be glorified. Indeed, for us to understand and appreciate God’s love and mercy and forgiveness, we have to understand his righteous judgment on sinners.

The good news is, it is not a hard thing to receive the love of God. He makes it freely available to those whom he has chosen, whether the people of Israel or the people of the New Covenant through Jesus Christ. You do not have to earn this love. You simply have to accept it. Does anything stand in your way? Are you disbelieving in God? Are you full of pride, thinking you are not such a sinner who needs mercy and forgiveness? Do you think your sins are too awful for God to forgive?

Whatever acts as a barrier between you and God, will you offer that up to God? Will you give it to Jesus Christ, who will gladly bear whatever it is? I am going to pray now, and I invite you, if you want a sure relationship with Jesus Christ, to pray with me now: “Lord Jesus, I confess that I have sinned against you and have grieved your Heavenly Father. I ask for forgiveness for my sins. I open my heart to you, Jesus, and ask you come into my life and lead it from this time onward. I do confess you as my Lord and Savior. Amen.”

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