Shared Knowledge

We like the idea of grace.  We like even more the reality that grace is freely given.  Like a stream of water that comes from deep in the earth and flows a long journey to the sea, so do we regard grace as being inexhaustible and ever present.  For most of us the person of Jesus epitomizes grace.  But, then we come to a parable such as the one found in the last part of the 23rd chapter of Matthew.  It is the one known as the parable of the unforgiving servant.  As Jesus tells the parable, He talks about a slave who owes more than he could possibly pay in a life time who is forgiven his debt  by his master. 

 

And so, how does the slave express understanding of the grace given to him?  He finds a fellow slave who owes him a much lesser amount and threatens to have him cast into prison if the debt is not paid.  When the master hears about it, he says, "Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?"  (Matthew 19:33)  He then rescinds his offer of grace and cast the ungrateful slave to be tortured.  The parable ends with Jesus leaving the parable and saying, "So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from the heart.  (Matthew 18:35)

This harsh word brings to mind some of the words of the prayer Jesus taught us to pray as well as some other words about reconciliation from the Sermon on the Mount.  (Matthew 6:12, 5:21-26)  For those who are intent on following Jesus forgiveness is not an option, but an imperative.  We either forgive or we choose to start walking a different way than the way Jesus is walking.  How do we know if there is someone we need to forgive?  We surely know their names.  They are the ones we cannot look in the eyes.  They are the ones we avoid.  They are the ones whose name causes us to start thinking about the words they need to hear from us.  Is there someone we need to forgive?  God knows and so do we.