Reflection 11 September 2011

Year A Proper 19 11 September 2011
Exodus 14: 19-31 Psalm 114 Romans 14: 1-12 Matthew 18: 21-35


I’m reminded this week of the Shakespearean quote from “The Merchant of Venice”. Those familiar will most probably know already what quote, “The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”



Last week we were told how to deal with a brother or sister who has sinned against us. This week, we are again told how to deal with someone who sins against us..... but it is different:

Matthew 18: 21, 22 “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.””






So you will note that we have two different approaches that are both correct. How can this be? This calls for the gift of the Holy Spirit and the accompanying wisdom. A parent will often understand and forgive the wrong doings of their child, and they will forgive infinitely, but for the good of the child certain boundaries may need to be enforced – the forgiveness and love, however, is limitless.



In our Gospel reading Jesus continues then, to tell the story of a servant who owed some money to his master. When his master demanded the repayment the servant begged for mercy. The master responded with mercy and forgave him, completely cancelling the debt, but the servant then went angrily and found a fellow servant who owed him money and had him thrown in jail. When the master founds out what had happened he was very upset with the servant as he was shown mercy and should have responded to his fellow servant with mercy.



We are shown great mercy by God. In some of the ways in which we are shown mercy we have no idea about. Our debts have been paid by Jesus sacrifice on the cross. Some of these debts we are aware of.... we know our failings. But there are many ways we fail and in our self assured ignorance we are oblivious to these. In one of the Psalms it says, “Who can discern his own errors?” We are actually much better at seeing others errors.



Jesus gives us these two different directives to ensure we understand that love and mercy and concern for the wellbeing of the other are the underlying motivation in all we do.



In our second reading we are urged to bear with those whose faith is weak. The reading goes on to explain that there are some whose faith permits them not to eat meat. In the early church there were people who had come from back grounds where meat was sacrificed to demons, therefore, because they were now Christians, they couldn’t eat that meat. Others realized that they could give thanks to God for the meat and eat it with a clear conscience.



Romans 14: 5-8 “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”



From one church denomination to another we have the same issues. We have people who believe that it is good to observe special days and others who refuse. We have some who fast and others who don’t see the need. There are very many different things that I haven’t listed and we do get very passionate about them and can see very good and important reasons for these and the other issues that divide us. The issues in the times of the Romans were no less important. St. Paul is urging that we see beyond the issue and recognise that the heart of the person desires to please God.... and this is what matters to God above all, and therefore, above all, this is what we should recognise.



With all the various issues that divide us it truly is a miracle that the Christian Church remains. In many ways we are like those ancient Israelites who were living in the land of Egypt. Egypt is symbolic of the powers and principalities that come against the Church.





Our church lives in the world, surrounded by the forces of evil and those dark forces impact us, as we do take on some of the world’s way of thinking. The ancient Israelites were God’s people and yet they were affected by the beliefs of the Egyptians. Even though this was a fact, God did not reject His people, but He called them out and He both led the people and came between the people and Egypt to protect and teach them.



Exodus 14: 19-20 “Then the angel of God, who had been travelling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.



Our first reading is the story of the parting of the Red Sea. Some have tried to justify the miracle as something ordinary and that there is a place where the Sea is very shallow. But that is not how our Bible describes it:

Exodus 14: 21-22 “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.”



Not only did the Israelites cross over on dry land, but when the Egyptians pursued them they were thrown into confusion and drowned. To put this in very human terms; the Israelite were a group of over worked and mistreated slaves and they had with them their women and children. The Egyptians were the strong army of only men, yet these are the ones who perished. There is only one explanation; God did something miraculous!



The message for us: We are called to be apart from the world and learn who God is. We need to let go of the "false Gods" that we picked up while out there in the world. We do this practically by spending time with God and without distractions. No matter that we come against powers and principalities that seem gigantic, when God acts for us the victory is ours. But know that God acted on behalf of his people who were less than perfect. We are less than perfect and have been shown great mercy. We need to be merciful with our brothers and sisters in Christ.