Journey's Weekly Homilies

Homily by Sam
TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY, YEAR  A
SEPTEMBER 15, 2002
'AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS'

SIRACH 27:30-28:7
ROMANS 14:7-12
MATTHEW 18:21-35

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."

Some churches pray these words in the Lord" Prayer instead of "forgive us our trespasses." They have it right. In the Old Testament scriptures the main image of sin is debt to another person which must be paid. The forgive you must release someone from the debt they owe you.

When we don't forgive someone we say that they 'owe us' an apology.  When we hold a resentment we feel superior. We are in the right and the other person is in the wrong. We are entitled. They are owning.  When someone commits a crime we hold them in prison until they "pay" for what they have done. Failure to forgive debt, monetary or other, is the main source of division in our personal lives, in our
community, in our world.

Last month I was helping twelve-year old Somali boy write a presentation on the country of Sudan. He had downloaded an article from a website and I explained it line by line so he could prepare his report.

He quickly understood how Sudan has been ravaged by drought and people are starving. He remembered this from his own country. When I read to him that Western nations loaned money to Sudan and demanded interest that drained most of the country's wealth he looked puzzled.  Then I described how Sudan was now agreeing to let Western corporations drill for oil so that interest payments could be
postponed. And his confusion turned to horror. He shook his head and asked several times if I was telling him the truth.

At first I thought this was a chid's innocent reaction to an obvious injustice. Then I remembered that he was Muslim. Like all Muslim boys he was learning arabic so he read the Koran in it original language.
He probably knew the Koran better than I know the Bible.

The Koran, like the Bible, prohibits loaning money for interest. But Muslims take this far more seriously than Christians. They even make special arrangements for purchasing homes so they don't have to pay
interest.

The Bible prohibits charging interest on loans because this was the main way to become rich at someone else's expense. Because of crop failure the poor would have to give their land to debtors and then
work it as tenant farmers. Ultimately the poor were thrown in jail until a family member would pay their debts.

In the year of Jubilee all debts were to be forgiven. Jesus in the Gospel of Luke announces Jubilee year: to proclaim good news for the poor and liberty for prisoners of debt; to give sign to the blind and
free the oppressed; to proclaim a jubilee year of God's favor.

Matthew's community was oppressed by the leaders of their own Jewish faith and plagued by internal conflicts.

And so Matthew instructs disciples like us, "Blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are the merciful."  We are taught to pray, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors". As Joe described
last week the community was old to resolve disputes peacefully rather than hold resentments. And this week we are told to forgive "seventy times seven".

It may be said that for the Matthew the reign of God is mainly characterized by forgiveness, remembering that we receive more mercy from God than any wrong we might endure from each other. When we
truly understand the generosity and forgiveness we have received from God, the grievances we have towards others seem small and easy to forgive.

And Paul reminds us that when we stand in Judgement over another person we are living for ourselves rather than God. We must live in gratitude and  humiliy toward God rather than worrying about what
others have done to us.

In our world  it is common and even acceptable to live for self. Rich countries continue to demand interest from poor countries and ravage them for want of repayment. We turn these countries into colonies
without wielding a gun or fielding an army. It doesn't even make the news.

In our agony over the wounds of terrorism we afflict the poor in Afghanistan and Iraw to satisfy a debt that can never be reapid.

At Journey people sometimes leave and people sometimes refuse to serve the community because past injuries have no been acknowledged or made right.

When people who observe us will they say, "See the Christians how they love one another". Or will they say,, "See the Christians, how they fight with one another, just like the rest of us".

As a community we are only as strong as our ability to forgive and reconcile the disagreements and injuries that we inevitable in our life together.

The word 'devil' comes from the Greek diabolos. Part of this word, 'dia' means separate from or against. Divided. The word 'religion' comes from the root word 'lig', as in "ligament'. It means to bind
together. Portland songwriter Don Eaton says,, "Every true religion builds a bridge and not a wall." And so we are challenged in our every action to bind rather than divide, to build a bridge and tear
down a  wall.

As many of you know I have recently separated from someone I love. It has been a challenge for both of us to acknowledge our differences without blame, to accept injury without resentment, to maintain
friendship rather than go our separate ways.

This is an act of faith. It can only be done by humility before God and honesty about our own failings. And by God's grace our friendship has deepened.

Our world, our community desperately needs this kind of healing. Without it we will tear each other to pieces over debts that can never be repaid.

And so on this Sunday when we remember the grievious wounds of September 11, I offer this poem of Huub Oosterhuis:

A liar from the beginning
That spirit of murder and fire
Tries to torment and devour us.
O Lord, bind this division,
With a strong hand.

O Lord, make your community safe,
Make us your kingdom,
An evil spirit has desecrated us,
A spirit of discord and doubt--
Banish it, O God.

What you in love have joined together
Is broken apart again,
Evil sows confusion and destroys peace--
You suffer most from it,
But you resist it.

If our sin is ever excessive
Your grace is more abundant.
Jesus redeem us from all evil
And from death.

Amen.