To
illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your
estate now before you die.’ So his
father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and
moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over
the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him
into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was
feeding the pigs looked good to him. But
no one gave him anything. “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home
even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of
hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned
against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of
being called your son. Please take me on
as a hired servant.”’
“So he
returned home to his father. And while
he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his
son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both
heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe
in the house and put it on him. Get a
ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
“Meanwhile,
the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and
dancing in the house, and he asked one of the
servants what was going on. ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has
killed the fattened calf. We are
celebrating because of his safe return.’ “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once
refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even
one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your
money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’ “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by
me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to
life! He was lost, but now he is
found!’” Luke 15:11 - 32 (NLT)
The first time I saw the statue outside Duke Divinity
School’s Refectory I knew one day I would display it in a sermon. It is entitled simply, “Reconciliation”. It is the picture of one man’s anger toward
another, with yet a third man interceding.
That is the gospel story. You and
I are the first two; Jesus is the one interceding.
Forgiveness!
There are many things for which we need forgiveness. And that is the central point of God’s
message to the human race, grace; the God who made us knows us, and is still willing
to forgive us.
This passage is a sharp reminder of our main task as
believers, followers of Jesus Christ. It
tells us four truths about forgiveness:
Truth #1.
Forgiveness is Necessary
Everything about why Jesus came into this world, and
how He lived and died, and rose again is about our need for forgiveness from
sin. In fact if forgiveness was not
necessary, Christ’s death was a mistake.
But God’s wisdom knew that any time there is an offense
there must be forgiveness to set things straight. Jesus reminded His disciples – Messiah had to
suffer and die for the forgiveness of our sin.
It is central to Christianity that sin has a penalty,
The person who sins shall die. Ezekiel 18:20 (NRSVA)
…and because of that penalty there had to be a
sacrifice:
…Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant
offering and sacrifice
to God.
Ephesians
5:2 (NRSVA)
In order for God to extend forgiveness for our sin
there had to be a death; Jesus became that sacrifice. He never sinned, yet he allowed himself to be
executed in our place. Forgiveness was
necessary for the broken relationship between God and mankind.
Forgiveness is just as necessary between people as it
is between God and people. It’s
necessary unless you want continual war and violence. Forgiveness is necessary, and…
Truth #2.
Forgiveness is Not Easy or Cheap
Just because we can receive the forgiveness of God
without paying does not make God’s grace easy or cheap. Our salvation is the most costly gift ever
given.
When it comes to human relationships it is so much
easier to hold a grudge than to initiate reconciliation with a forgiving
spirit. Yet, God takes the initiative to
forgive and He tells us to be like Him:
…be
kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Eph4:32 (NRSVA)
Initiating is the operative word. If we are to be imitators of God, we must see
clearly that God always makes the first move…
But God proves his love for us in that
while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (NRSVA)
Grudges and pride keep us from reconciling with each
other. They destroy even the thought of
forgiveness.
A number of years ago the church I was serving became
polarized and slugged it out almost weekly in public meetings; it was a mess! The events led to an impossible atmosphere of
distrust, accusations and a ministry that was dead in the water. I had no choice but to leave, in hopes the
next pastor could find a way to help that congregation get back on track.
But the experience was deeply hurtful, and when I next
stepped into a pulpit as pastor, I simply wanted to teach, preach and be left
alone. The truth is that I had
unforgiveness towards those who had hurt me creeping back into my heart. I had a grudge that I found excruciatingly
hard to let go. Then, the church did
what the church is supposed to do – they got under my skin by loving me. They crept in and I found that my
frost-bitten heart was beginning to melt.
They helped me care and love again.
And I found forgiveness for the past.
It was not been easy to find that forgiveness; it was
not cheap! Letting go of your pride and
anger is the hardest and most costly work you can undertake. It takes you way past your comfort zone….but
I am here to tell you today that it is worth forgiving, because without doing
so you will never find the freedom of being forgiven. Matthew told us that Jesus said,
For
if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15
Forgiveness is necessary and costly, and…
Truth #3.
Forgiveness is Always the Right Answer
Forgiveness, starting with me, is always the right
answer. The reason is because, like the first
disciples, I am not only the messenger of God’s forgiveness; I am THE MESSAGE
as well. What people see in
my life is as important (if not more important) than what they hear me say about the God who is in my
life. It is like the old saying that people
do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.
The burden of starting the process of forgiveness is always
on the person who was wronged. That is
difficult. But the way the Lord has
created us does not, even for one minute, come close to entertaining the notion
that you can shift the responsibility of the first move from the one who has
been wronged to the one who has done the wrong.
If someone has done you wrong, it is up to you to make the first move;
the ball is in YOUR court!
The reason for that is, especially in our society
nobody thinks he is wrong –
or at least no-one admits it! Friend, if
you’re waiting for someone to come and admit he is wrong and beg your
forgiveness before you’ll begin to consider forgiveness, you’re going to be
waiting until pigs sprout wings!
Had God waited until we asked for forgiveness, there
would have been no Christmas…no Easter….you would never have been born, because
God wouldn’t have given Adam and Eve a second chance, or Cain, or allowed Noah
to start the human race again after the flood; He would’ve just destroyed the
whole mess. But God is loving and
patient.
The Lord is not slow
about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not
wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
(NRSVA)
Notice the order of that last part of the verse…God
doesn’t want anyone to perish…go to Hell.
What stands in the way of perishing?
Nothing but repentance and the patient tolerance of God. He is waiting to forgive anyone who is truly
repentant, willing to admit sin and turn away from sin.
I went to a concert a several years ago. My granddaughter, Chelsea had a flute solo in
her 8th Grade Band Awards concert.
She was excellent! (Better than
your grandchildren). But it was the Band
Teacher who got me thinking about real forgiveness and how it’s always in
order.
After all the awards were given out there was one more
song to play. The band teacher
introduced it by saying, “Before we finish I have something to say. We all have our boiling point, and this week
I guess I reached mine. I yelled; I mean
I REALLY yelled at two of my band
students this week. They know who they
are. I want to publicly apologize to
them. I love my students and I had no
business losing it with them. I’m sorry
guys”.
Now listen…I know 8th graders – those guys
probably earned 99.8% of the yelling.
Eighth-grade boys can drive anyone over the brink…it’s their job
description! But that band teacher
recognized the principle that it is on the shoulders of the one who realizes a
split has happened between people to go to the other party…and quickly. You don’t let grudges and anger build
up. I was proud of the teacher. He apologized to his students in front of the
other students and their parents…about 600 of them. He was THE man!
Forgiveness is necessary, costly, always in order, and…
Truth #4.
Forgiveness
is the Beginning of Great Blessing
It is the truth that forgiveness, either the kind that
comes your way when you’ve messed-up and been given a second chance – or – when
someone has crossed you and you’ve been the one to extend forgiveness…is the
beginning of great blessing...either way!
Listen to these words: “I had a
brother once, and I betrayed him.” With these
words, African writer Laurens Van der Post begins a wonderful book The
Seed and the Sower. The story is
of two brothers from a small South African village. The elder brother is tall, athletic, good
student and a natural leader. The
younger brother was not. He had a back
deformity and was very sensitive to the fact. But he had a beautiful singing voice. They both attended the same private school.
One night some of the older boys dragged the younger brother out and
ripped off his shirt and made fun of his deformity until he cried. They threw him into an abandoned water tank
and forced him to sing. The older
brother was aware of what was going on but did nothing to rescue his younger
brother. The younger brother survived
but with a crushed spirit. He returned
to the family farm and lived a reclusive life and never sang again.
During World War II the older brother had a dream in which he realized he
had been Judas to his younger brother. He
made the incredibly difficult journey back to South Africa to ask his brother’s
forgiveness. Later that night in the
dark of the night he hears a beautiful sound – it is his brother singing a song
that the older brother had written when they were boys.
Forgiveness brings the song back into
life.
What are you going to do with your debts?
Not the money you owe…but the debts of transgression either owed by you
to others and God, or the ones owed by others to you?
Let’s talk about those debts in your life…
The debt of your sin can be settled in the next
moment…you can pray and ask forgiveness…it is necessary to set things right
with your God.
The debt others owe to you….are you going to wait until the
long grey beard appears on your pride before you’ll get it straight with the
one with whom you’ve disagreed…or will today be the beginning path of
reconciliation? Are you willing to start
the path of forgiveness?
What’s waiting on down that pathway?
Just ask the band leader who released his eighth-graders from their guilt
of driving him crazy.
Just ask the wife who’s taken back an unfaithful husband.
Just ask the parent who’s received back a prodigal with no strings
attached.
Just ask the one who’s forgiven a huge monetary debt.
·
It is the release
of yourself from the kind prison that happens when you’ve tried to hold someone
else prisoner to your anger and pride.
·
It’s the release
of your own soul when you forgive someone.
And when that happens the power of God’s
Spirit is also released in your life, and there is a song that comes to help
you spread that message of repentance and forgiveness and joy!
Forgiveness is so powerful it turns you into a child of God; that’s not a
small thing!
Will you be forgiven? Will you forgive? Will you start now?
