May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.
Collect
Merciful God, your Son came to save us and bore our sins on the cross: may we trust in your mercy and know your love, rejoicing in the righteousness that is ours through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confession
We come to the cross on which our Lord died to free us from our sins, to make our confession and to seek his mercy and grace.
When our selfishness betrays you, Lord, have mercy:
Lord, have mercy.
When we turn from your cross and refuse to follow, Christ, have mercy:
Christ, have mercy.
When we are afraid to be known as yours, Lord, have mercy:
Lord, have mercy.
Through the cross of Christ, may God have mercy on us; may we know we are forgiven and be at peace. May he strengthen us in all goodness, and keep us in life eternal, through Jesus our Saviour. Amen.
God’s Word - Romans, chapter 14, verses 1 to 12 :-
Accept anyone who is weak in faith without debate about his misgivings. For instance, one person may have faith strong enough to eat all kinds of food, while another who is weaker eats only vegetables. Those who eat meat must not look down on those who do not, and those who do not eat meat must not pass judgement on those who do; for God has accepted them. Who are you to pass judgement on someone else’s servant? Whether he stands or falls is his own Master’s business; and stand he will, because his Master has power to enable him to stand.
Again, some make a distinction between this day and that; others regard all days alike. Everyone must act on his own convictions. Those who honour the day honour the Lord, and those who eat meat also honour the Lord, since when they eat they give thanks to God; and those who abstain have the Lord in mind when abstaining, since they too give thanks to God.
For none of us lives, and equally none of us dies, for himself alone. 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. This is why Christ died and lived again, to establish his lordship over both dead and living. You, then, why do you pass judgement on your fellow Christian? And you, why do you look down on your fellow Christian? We shall all stand before God’s tribunal; for we read in scripture, ‘As I live, says the Lord, to me every knee shall bow and every tongue acknowledge God.’ So, you see, each of us will be answerable to God.
Matthew, chapter 18, verses 21 to 35 :-
Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how often am I to forgive my brother if he goes on wronging me? As many as seven times?’ Jesus replied, ‘I do not say seven times but seventy times seven. The kingdom of Heaven, therefore, should be thought of in this way: There was once a king who decided to settle accounts with the men who served him. At the outset there appeared before him a man who owed ten thousand talents. Since he had no means of paying, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and everything he had, to meet the debt. The man fell at his master’s feet. “Be patient with me,” he implored, “and I will pay you in full”; and the master was so moved with pity that he let the man go and cancelled the debt. But no sooner had the man gone out than he met a fellow-servant who owed him a hundred denarii; he took hold of him, seizing him by the throat, and said, “Pay me what you owe.” The man fell at his fellow-servant’s feet, and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay you”; but he refused, and had him thrown into jail until he should pay the debt. The other servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and told him the whole story. Then he sent for the man and said, “You scoundrel! I cancelled the whole of your debt when you appealed to me; ought you not to have shown mercy to your fellow-servant just as I showed mercy to you?” And so angry was the master that he condemned the man to be tortured until he should pay the debt in full. That is how my heavenly Father will deal with you, unless you each forgive your brother from your hearts.’
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
Reflection on the Readings
The first thing to say about the story Jesus told in our reading today is that there’s no comparison between the debt cancelled by the king, and the debt owed to the servant, which he refuses to cancel or even delay. What the servant had owed was so enormous as to be ludicrous, in modern day money he owed millions. There’s no way he could ever have repaid it. Whereas he himself was owed about a fiver or so, an amount that certainly could have been repaid, given a little time and patience.
So the servant’s treatment of his fellow servant is even more reprehensible than you might initially think. Jesus tells the story in response to Peter’s question about how often we should forgive someone who’s wronging us. “Is seven times enough?” he asks. And Jesus replies, “Not seven, bur seventy times seven,” by which he means a number high enough for you to have lost count. Put most simply, we must always forgive, because we have been forgiven so much.
In other words, we can’t and mustn’t separate the way we have been treated by God from the way in which we choose to treat one another. In our day to day life, in our work, in our friendships, within our families, we should be doing our level best to show to others the same mercy we have received. That’s what is meant by living thankful lives; our patient and merciful treatment of others is in every case a thank offering to the God whose loving and merciful nature we have seen in Jesus.
Does that make Christians a soft touch? Are we there to be exploited? I don’t think so. There’s no doubt that we are called to stand firm against oppression, to work against whatever forces treat us badly, to have no truck with what is unfair and unjust. Though in every case with a focus that is on our neighbour’s needs and rights and not just on what suits us or might annoy or offend us.
And at the heart of that, as Paul makes clear in our first reading, is a tolerance that protects the rights of others to believe different things from ourselves, and that makes space for them to do so. Meat eaters shouldn’t look down on vegetarians, for example. This isn’t the same meat versus veg argument we see today. Meat sold at the market then might have been offered to pagan gods in the temples before going on sale, so some Christians felt it would be wrong to eat it. The point is, though, that different likes, dislikes, observances, customs - that’s exterior stuff. It’s not important - it’s what we feel on the inside that matters, where our heart is.
And God alone is the judge of that. It’s not ours to judge or criticise. He has treated us with a mercy that is beyond measurement or words, and the sign of that is the cross. “Forgive as you have been forgiven” is our watchword, and the greatest of all commandments is, “Love one another, as I have loved you.”
Statement of faith
We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayers
Pray for the world: for all who give of their time and talents to help others, and for all that can build bridges of peace where communities are divided or at odds. Pray for political leaders, that they may have a real concern for a justice that is accessible to those who are poorest and most vulnerable, and that works against the exploitation of one person or group by others, and for a fairer and more equitable world. Continue to pray for our response to Covid, and for the search for a safe and effective vaccine.
Pray for the Church everywhere to be a place of welcome and compassion, and for unity among Christians under the cross of Christ. Pray for Christians in South America, and especially for the Anglican Province of South America. In our own Diocese, pray for Bishop Richard, and for our church buildings, for their protection, conservation and use, and for all who visit them.
Pray for all who are ill, troubled or in need: today, and for all that is done to help and heal them. Pray too that all who care for them may be able to do so safely, with support and protection. Pray for those infected with Covid 19, and for a swift, effective and proportionate response to new outbreaks.
Pray for families and friends, and the life of our communities. Give thanks for the beauty of the land around us, and pray for all who work in tourism and hospitality at this testing time. Pray we may continue to act with responsibility and care, looking out for each other, and keeping safe ourselves.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing
May Christ crucified draw us to himself, to find in him a sure ground for faith, a firm support for hope, and the assurance of sins forgiven; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with us always. Amen.
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