| New Book now Available Here is an anthology of over 1100 brief prayers and thought-starters, for each day of the year, with almost 400 original prayers by Bruce Prewer. Included is both a subject index and an index of authors-- an ecumenical collection of about 300 different sources. |
 |
| Title: Brief Prayers for Busy People. Author: Bruce D Prewer ISBN 978-1-62880-090-6 Available from Australian Church Resources, web site www.acresources.com.au email service@acresources.com.au or by order from your local book shop or online on amazon. |
11-17 September
Matthew 18:21-35 (Sermon 2: “The Arithmetic of Love”
Romans 14: 1-12
Exodus 14:19-31 (Sermon 1: “I Believe in Miracles”)
Psalm 114
or verses from Exodus 15: 1b-11, 20-21
PREPARATION
Today is not like any other day, and this hour not like any other hour.
Each is unique and unrepeatable; we will not be able to visit it again.
Therefore let us delight in this opportunity, explore its dimensions,
and find in its depths the God who is perpetual love mercy and peace.
The joy of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!
And also with you.
God is our strength and our song
and has
become our salvation.
OR
No one is an island.
We are all joined in Christ Jesus.
Who else is like you,
loving God?
Who is like you:
beautiful in holiness,
awesome in all the things you do for us.
No one lives by themselves,
no one dies by themselves.
Whether we live or die
we are the Lord’s.
The Lord is my
strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
PRAYER OF APPROACH
Most Holy Friend, we pray that you
will overwhelm us with your beauty and leave our mind and soul agape with
wonder. For until we are overwhelmed, we paddle around in the puddle of our
scatty knowledge, our scrappy faith, and our tatty love.
We need to experience more awe,
and maybe shiver a little with wonder, and find ourselves right out of our
depth.
We need to sense your glory and
discover ourselves smiled at by a love which is brighter that all the suns in
the universe, and deeper that the immensities of outer space.
We pray for that fear which is
more like a mighty reverential love; for that trembling of our souls which is
the beginning of wisdom and the source of sane worship. Through
Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen!
CONFESSION
AND ASSURANCE
In our prayers of confession we not only think of ourselves, but of the evil that afflicts the whole world. In a sense we are representatives of that world.
Let us pray.
Loving God, we come to you as typical sample of humanity, to confess our common complicity in evil, and ask for your pardon and assistance.
Our motives are often suspect, our achievements are limited, our virtues are tainted, our love is patchy, and our faith is hardly as big a mustard seed.
We do not always clearly see the Christian path through this complex era, and when we do, we do not follow the light that has been given.
We do succeed sometimes and we are grateful. But also we stumble a lot, and fail more than we like others to know about.
When we have sinned, we admit feeling more sorry for ourselves than ashamed, and more self-pitying than repentant.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy. Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.
Only you can fix us, healing God.
If like a physiotherapist you have to be cruel to be kind, let is be so.
If like a nurse you need to tend our wounds and urge us to be patient, let it be so.
If like a dietician you must place limits on what we feed our mind and spirit, then so restrict us.
If like a mother you need to give us your kiss of absolution and send us on our way with new peace and energy, then grant us your Motherly love, we humbly pray.
Through Christ Jesus our Saviour.
Amen!
FORGIVENESS
My sisters and brothers, we are numbered among those fortunate people who know they have a Saviour. Ours is not to wear failures like a wet blanket, but to accept the saving love of Christ and step out again into the newness of all things. You are to live as the forgiven children of that Holy Parent whose love is without limit.
Thanks be to God!
PRAYER FOR
CHILDREN
Dear God, how do you do it?
How do you forgive us
as often as you do?
Getting our own back is easy,
although it does not fix anything.
Forgiveness is hard,
the words stick in our throats,
and we go on being sour.
Dear God,
please help us to be generous like you
even when it costs us
a lot of effort.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen!
PSALM: SOME VERSES
FROM EXODUS 15
I will sing to my God, glorious in victory,
war horse and chariot are rolled in the waves.
God is my strength and my song
and has become my rescue and healing.
This is the God to whom I give praise,
my parent’s God in whom I exult!
I will sing to my God, glorious in
victory,
war horse and chariot are rolled in the waves.
Who is like you, among all other gods?
Who is like you, beautiful in holiness?
Your deeds are awesome, your works wonderful,
you wave your hand and earth swallows up evil.
With unswerving love you lead your redeemed,
you guide your people to your holy house.
I will sing to my God, glorious in
victory,
war horse and chariot are rolled in the waves.
When you show your arm, nations freeze,
they stand as passive as stone statues.
But your people go freely on their way,
the folk whom you have redeemed.
You gather them in to your high place,
to the home where you choose to live.
This place you have made the sanctuary,
from where you will reign for ever and ever!
I will sing to my God, glorious in
victory,
war horse and chariot are rolled in the waves.
Ó
B.D.Prewer 2000
OR
I will sing to my God, so wonderfully victorious,
the arrogance of evil is drowned in the waves.
God is my life’s energy and my music,
and has become my liberation and healing.
This is the only Friend I will ever worship,
my family’s God in whom I delight!
I will sing to my God,
so wonderfully victorious,
the arrogance of evil is drowned in the waves.
Who else could possibly compare with you?
Who else could be more beautiful and more holy??
Your handiwork is awesome, your ways are wonderful,
with your wounded hands you overcome all evil.
With relentless love you lead your redeemed,
you guide your people all the way to your holy home.
I will sing to my God,
so wonderfully victorious,
the arrogance of evil is drowned in the waves.
When you show your hand, evil is in shock,
there’s nothing it can do, no where to go.
But your own children go freely on their way,
the family whom you have redeemed.
You uplift them to the heights of your love,
to the home you have prepared for them,
in the heavenly realm, the sanctuary of love,
from where you will reign for ever and ever!
I will sing to my God,
so wonderfully victorious,
the arrogance of evil is drowned in the waves.
Ó
B.D.Prewer 2004
SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN
Matthew 18:21-35
To forgive any more
than the once
sounds tough
and seven times seems crazy.
Yet to stretch the score
to seventy
times seven
becomes profoundly easy.
We only travel well
on the paths
of mercy,
when we have made the choice
to break from the prison
of “our own rights”
and to find pleasure
in the unfenced grounds of love.
© B.D. Prewer 1995
COLLECT
Look patiently, Holy Friend, on
your earth children, who find it easier to bear a grudge than to practice the
liberty of love. Send us again to the primary school of Christ Jesus. By your Spirit, tutor our reluctant minds,
and soften our obdurate hearts, that we may be enabled to both give and receive
forgiveness without numbering the times or counting the cost. For the healing
of the world and the glory of your name, we so pray. Through
Jesus our Redeemer.
Amen!
* A brief version follows.
SERMON: I BELIEVE
IN MIRACLES
“Then Moses stretched
out his hand over the sea: and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong East
wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.”
If some new acquaintance, let’s call her Kerrie, discovering that I am a minister, asks me: “Do you believe in miracles?”
I will answer: “Certainly! I certainly do.”
“One example,” I would continue, “is here in this conversation we are having. “Here right now, two beings who have been miraculously thrust up and shaped by some Awesome Impetus acting on this planet’s dust, are standing and communicating with each other like gods. We, created from star dust, are miracles! No observer on the outside of the universe would have predicted such a surprising thing could happen with the soil one little planet in a fiery, and apparently blind, cosmos. Yes, Kerrie, I believe in miracles.”
Now supposing Kerrie retorts, as well she might, “Now that’s not fair! You are avoiding my question. You are taking the utterly natural processes of universe, including evolution on earth, and you are labelling these natural processes as miracle. Natural things are by their nature normal. Miracles have to do with the abnormal, the supernatural.”
I reply: “Now you are not being fair. On whose authority do your base the flimsy premise that the natural world, what you call ‘normal’, is devoid of the supernatural? Such a premise is scientifically unproven. What if the whole universe is one manifestation of an awesome supernatural power and purpose? What if by your own definition of miracle, (as you said, ‘miracles have to do with the supernatural’) all existence is sustained by the supernatural? In fact, I believe it is so. Therefore I believe that you are a miracle and so am I.”
But Kerrie won’t give up easily. “Okay,” she says, “ We might have to agree to disagree on the nature of the universe, but what I really want to know is whether you believe that your God sometimes does new, exceptional things; things that don’t normally happen day by day. You know, things like unexpected healing, or stilling a storm, or parting the Red Sea so that Moses and his mob could walk safely across?”
“Let’s get this clear,” I say. “God can do anything God chooses. Nothing is impossible. There is no limit to God’s power, except those self restraints which God might choose to self impose. For instance, God did impose a self-restraint when we humans were given freedom of choice. But the bottom line is that God can work any miracle that seems divinely appropriate in any given situation.”
At that point I will leave my conversation with Kerrie. Some of what follows will cover much of the ground that may be traversed in such a conversation.
A WORD ABOUT COINCIDENCE
As we prepare to look at the theme of Moses and the people of Israel crossing the Red Sea, let’s pause a moment and think about miracles and coincidence. The crossing of the Red Sea is one of the great miracles of the Bible story.
It seems to me, that one of the ways in which God works miracles is by having the right person, in the right place, at the right time.
Those who trust God, who live by faith, find divine co-incidences happening to them and through them. I use the word ‘co-incidence’ advisedly. The word literally means two events occurring together. If someone says to us: “It was just a co-incidence” they may think they are giving an explanation, but they are not. They are merely reiterating that two things have happened together; co-incidents.
Some wise person once commented with some good humour intended (it may have been William Temple in the last century?) that when we put our trust in God it is remarkable how many co-incidences seem to happen.
I believe that many of the miracles of God consist in having the right person in the right place at the right time. A divinely inspired coincidence. Moses, who was utterly devoted to God, was often the right person in the right place at the right time.
MOSES KNEW HIS GEOGRAPHY
Now to that business of the parting of the Red Sea, and the Hebrew people crossing safely over before the water returned and engulfed the pursuing Egyptian army. Hollywood, like some of the religious picture books of my childhood, has loved making the parting of the water as spectacular as possible: Two great walls of water suspended, and a narrow dry path between them where Moses leads the chosen people without any fear.
Here are some things we need to factor into our understanding.
Firstly, it was not the Red Sea but the Reed Sea. I discovered this when I first read (laboriously!) the story in the original Hebrew text-: “sea of reeds.” [yam-suf. yam=sea, suf=reeds. The word for reeds is the same one as used in Exodus 2:3, when the baby Moses is placed among the reeds at the river’s bank]
Next, note that the story says that a strong East wind blew all night and drove back the waters. Just as a strong wind can hold back for some time a tide coming in over wide mud flats, until the pressure builds up and the water comes with a rush, so the wind drove back the waters of the Reed Sea.
There used to be a reedy expanse of shallowish water in the low lying area which is now the Suez Canal. Travellers and merchants with their camel trains, who had passed this way for generations, avoided this salt marshland when they crossed from the African land mass to the Sinai Peninsular. However the Bedouin in that region knew about the seasonal fierce Easterlies which forced back the water and temporally created semi-dry areas. This phenomenon was also recorded by Europeans in the 19th century.
Moses, who was no fool and knew this territory very well after 40 years as a shepherd, headed straight towards the Reed Sea. That in itself would have put the pursuing Egyptian chariots off the track, for the generals would have raced to cover the normal crossing places.
By the miracle of God’s providence, Moses was led to be at the right time in the right place. He stretched out his rod over the water with complete faith in God. The fierce wind blew all night and in the morning Moses led his people to safety across the other side. The Egyptians, finding themselves outwitted, chased after them. But not surprisingly, the swampy bottom of the Reed Sea across which people could walk, would not support the wheels of the chariots and they became bogged. Then the wind died and the waters swept back in a great flood.
This was a truly great miracle of salvation. Moses had shown how truly God was with his people. God did not have to suspend the divinely-natural way of wind and water for the miracle to take place. It just needed the person of faith, in the right place, at the right time.
For me, understanding something of the geography of that region, and finding out about what used to happen when a strong East wind blew across the Reed Sea, has not lessened the miracle but enhanced it. It is the kind of divine co-incidence which resonates with what has happened in my own experience and observation. As in yours, I suggest?
THE BLESSED CONGRUENCE OF CERTAIN PEOPLE AND EVENTS
Isn’t that how we find things working? Remember Paul’ “All things work together for good to those who love God; to all who are called according to his purpose.” Life itself is a miracle, but there are additional miracles taking place. All these wonderful ‘co-incidences’ that bring a blessing from unexpected quarters.
God can do anything. That is not the issue. The question is how in fact does God usually work miracles today? The answer, as I see it, is that God works through a blessed congruence of events and people, to achieve things that would have seemed most unlikely, and in some cases impossible.
It is not a case of God intervening from the outside. For God is already an insider; beneath all, in all, through all, and above all. The interventions come from within what we see as the processes of life. There, from within, the miracles still take place. Some of the miracles are quiet affairs. Some are more dramatic. Not many will make the columns of a newspaper, or feature in the six o’clock TV news. But they are experienced, and what is more they should be recognised and celebrated, in the fellowship of God’s people.
Examples?
When a simple, unscholarly Bulgarian nun called Theresa went to work among the poor of Calcutta, no one would have predicted the miracle that followed.
When a diminutive man called Desmond Tutu submitted himself to ordination in the Anglican Church, no one would have foreseen his future influence on the affairs of South Africa.
When “Weary” Dunlop became just another Australian prisoner taken by the Japanese, no one would have foreseen the profound impact on those who were with him in extreme adversity.
When Helda Camara became a priest in Brazil, no one would have realised how much light and love he would bring to the oppressed, both in his own country and far beyond.
These of course, are the spectacular examples of how God uses the right person in the right place ant the right timed to achieve new miracles.
For each spectacular miracle there are ten thousand small ones. Oodles of mini miracles! I would be most surprised if many of you have no had these mini miracles happen. My own run-of-the-mill life has known many such a congruence of love. Let me give you one simple personal example.
A MINI MIRACLE
Recently I received a letter from a fellow minister who is recovering from cancer. He was sitting in the waiting room, waiting for radio-therapy, when he shuffled through a pile of magazines, looking for something to occupy his mind. Most were not to his liking; things like Woman’s Weekly, New Idea, old copies of House and Garden, Cleo, Time etc. You know the kind of stuff! Then he happened upon a small book. It was the recent new edition of my early book “Australian Psalms”. How it got there, is a mystery. Not likely placed there by staff. Was it accidentally left behind by another patient? Was it surreptitiously slipped into the pile of magazines by someone who reckoned people recovering from cancer needed something a little deeper than “Woman’s Day”? Who knows? But by this “coincidence” this good man found some spiritual refreshment at the time when he needed it.
There in that waiting room, an unknown person of faith had been at the right place, and the right time, to either intentionally or unintentionally provide encouragement for another person of faith. It was a coincidence; the kind of coincidence that happens to those who love and serve God. Yet I reckon it was a mini-miracle.
Do I believe in miracles? Yes! Miracles happen because God, the Supernatural, is the awesome Insider of this universe. Underneath the surface of things there is always a transforming Love at work, making the improbable happen in countless ways and sometimes bringing to pass that which seemed impossible.
As Jesus warned us, observing a miracle, even a mighty miracle, will not bring a determined cynic to faith. But the person who humbly lives by faith will see miracles on every side.
SERMON: I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES
Exodus 14:21
“Then
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea: and the Lord drove the sea back by a
strong East wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were
divided.”
If some new acquaintance, let’s call
her Kerrie, discovering that I am a minister, asks me: “Do you believe in
miracles?”
I will answer: “Certainly! I
certainly do.”
“Have you see
any for yourself?”
“Yep! Here right now. We two are miracles. We, created from
star dust, are miracles! Star dust has taken on personalities and these are communicating with each
other like gods. No observer on the
outside of the universe would have predicted such a surprising thing could
happen with the soil one little planet in a fiery, and apparently blind,
cosmos. Yes, Kerrie, I believe in miracles.”
Kerrie retorts, “Now that’s not fair!
You are avoiding my question. You are taking the utterly natural processes of
universe, including evolution on earth, and you are labelling these natural
processes as miracle. Natural things are by their nature normal. Miracles have
to do with the abnormal, the supernatural.”
“Now you are not being fair. On whose
authority do your base the flimsy premise that the natural world, what you call
‘normal’, is devoid of the supernatural? Such a premise is scientifically
unproven. What if the whole universe is one manifestation of an awesome
supernatural power and purpose? What if by your own definition of miracle, (as
you said, ‘miracles have to do with the supernatural’) all existence is
sustained by the supernatural? In fact, I believe it is so. Therefore I believe
that you are a miracle and so am I.”
But Kerrie won’t give up easily.
“Okay,” she says, “ We might have to agree to disagree on the nature of the
universe, but what I really want to know is whether you believe that your God
sometimes does new, exceptional things; things that don’t normally happen day
by day. You know, things like unexpected healing, or
stilling a storm, or parting the Red Sea so that Moses and his mob could walk
safely across?”
“Let’s get this clear: God can do
anything God chooses. Nothing is impossible. There is no limit to God’s power,
except those self restraints which God might choose to self impose. For
instance, God did impose a self-restraint when we humans were given freedom of
choice. But the bottom line is that God can work any miracle that seems
divinely appropriate in any given situation.”
At that point I will leave my
conversation with Kerrie.
A WORD ABOUT COINCIDENCE
Let’s pause a moment and think about
miracles and coincidence.
Those who trust God, who live by
faith, find divine co-incidences happening to them and through them. I use the
word ‘co-incidence’ advisedly. The word literally means two events occurring
together. If someone says to us: “It was just a co-incidence” they may think
they are giving an explanation, but they are not. They are merely reiterating
that two things have happened together; co-incidents.
Some wise person once commented with
some good humour intended (it may have been William Temple in the last
century?) that when we put our trust in God it is remarkable how many
co-incidences seem to happen.
I believe that many of the miracles
of God consist in having the right person in the right place at the right time.
A divinely inspired coincidence. Moses, who was utterly
devoted to God, was often the right person in the right place at the right
time.
MOSES KNEW HIS GEOGRAPHY
Now to that business of the parting
of the Red Sea, and the Hebrew people crossing safely over before the water
returned and engulfed the pursuing Egyptian army.
Here are some things we need to
factor into our understanding.
Firstly, it was not the Red Sea but
the Reed Sea. I discovered this when I first read (laboriously!) the story in
the original Hebrew text-: “sea of reeds.” [yam-suf. yam=sea, suf=reeds.
The word for reeds is the same one as used in Exodus 2:3, when the baby Moses
is placed among the reeds at the river’s bank]
Next, note that the story says that a
strong East wind blew all night and drove back the waters. Just as a strong
wind can hold back for some time a tide coming in over wide mud flats, until
the pressure builds up and the water comes with a rush, so the wind drove back
the waters of the Reed Sea.
There used to be a reedy expanse of shallowish water in the low lying area which is now the
Suez Canal. Travellers and merchants with their camel trains, who had passed
this way for generations, avoided this salt marshland when they crossed from
the African land mass to the Sinai Peninsular. However the Bedouin in that region
knew about the seasonal fierce Easterlies which forced back the water and
temporally created semi-dry areas. This phenomenon was also recorded by
Europeans in the 19th century.
Moses, who was no fool and knew this
territory very well after 40 years as a shepherd, headed straight towards the
Reed Sea. That in itself would have put the pursuing Egyptian chariots off the
track, for the generals would have raced to cover the normal crossing places.
By the miracle of God’s providence,
Moses was led to be at the right time in the right place. He stretched out his
rod over the water with complete faith in God. The fierce wind blew all night
and in the morning Moses led his people to safety across the other side. The
Egyptians, finding themselves outwitted, chased after them. Then the wind died
and the waters swept back in a great flood.
This was a truly great miracle of
salvation. Moses had shown how truly God was with his people. God did not have
to suspend the divinely-natural way of wind and water for the miracle to take
place. It just needed the person of faith, in the right place, at the right
time. A holy co-incidence?
For me, studying something of the
geography of that region, and finding out about what used to happen when a
strong East wind blew across the Reed Sea, has not lessened the miracle but
enhanced it. It is the kind of divine co-incidence which resonates with what
has happened in my own experience and observation. As in yours, I suggest?
THE BLESSED CONGRUENCE OF CERTAIN
PEOPLE AND EVENTS
Isn’t that how we find things
working? Remember Paul’ “All things work together for good to those who love
God; to all who are called according to his purpose.”
God can do anything. That is not the
issue. The question is how in fact does God usually work miracles today?
The answer, as I see it, is that God works through a blessed congruence of
events and people, to achieve things that would have seemed most unlikely, and
in some cases appeared impossible.
Miracles still take place. Some of
the miracles are quiet affairs. Some are more dramatic. Not many will make the
columns of a newspaper, or feature in the six o’clock TV news. But they are
experienced, and what is more they should be recognised and celebrated, in the
fellowship of God’s people.
For each spectacular miracle there
are ten thousand small ones. Oodles of mini miracles! I would be most surprised
if many of you have no had these mini miracles happen. My own run-of-the-mill
life has known many such a congruence of love. Let me give you one simple
personal example.
A MINI MIRACLE
Recently I received a letter from a
fellow minister who is recovering from cancer. He was sitting in the waiting
room, waiting for radio-therapy, when he shuffled through a pile of magazines,
looking for something to occupy his mind. Most were not to his liking; things
like Take Five, New Idea, old copies of House and Garden, Cleo, Time etc. You
know the kind of stuff!
Then he happened upon a small book.
It was the recent new edition of my early book “Australian Psalms”. How it got
there, is a mystery. Was it accidentally left behind by another patient? Was it
surreptitiously slipped into the pile of magazines by someone who reckoned
people recovering from cancer needed something a little deeper than “Woman’s Day”? Who knows? But by this “coincidence” this
good man found some spiritual refreshment at the time when he needed it.
It was a mini miracle; the kind of coincidence
that happens to those who love and serve God..
Do I believe in miracles? Sure do!
Miracles happen because God is the
awesome Insider of this universe. Underneath the surface of things there is
always a transforming Love at work, making the improbable happen in countless
ways and sometimes bringing to pass that which seemed impossible.
As Jesus warned us, observing a
miracle, even a mighty miracle, will not bring a determined cynic to faith.
But the person who humbly lives by
faith will see miracles on every side.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
·
A shorter version follows this first, verbose attempt.
·
SERMON 2: THE
ARITHMETIC OF LOVE
Matthew 18:21-22
If I were smart, as in “smart” like a poker player, I would never stand up and preach a sermon.
A preacher can’t win. Either they will be seen by critics as fools, or as hypocrites.
We are fools.
Fools because the ways of Jesus and his God will always confound our ability to fully grasp them, let alone express them with clarity. Negative critics will spot the flaws and shoot holes through them.
We are hypocrites.
A hypocrite because the values and goals we uphold in the name of Jesus will (to some degree) always be beyond our own grasp. Our Christ perfectly fulfilled his own words. We will always fall short and leave ourselves open to the jibe: “Why don’t you practice what you preach, pastor?
So, if I were really smart,
I would never stand up and preach a sermon.
Why do I? Because I like other priests and pastors have been called to be fools for Christ’s sake, just as surely as he called Peter and John and Paul. Having been called, we have the confidence that in spite of appearing foolish some days, and hypocritical on other occasions, the Holy Spirit will take what we offer in good faith and bridge the gap between the speaker and those who sincerely wish to hear the Word that is greater than a mere words.
THE GOSPEL: SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN
What brought on this bout of preacherly confession?
The Gospel for the day did it to me.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord many times shall my brother sin against me and receive my forgiveness. Is seven times enough?”
Jesus answered Peter: “I am not asking you to forgive seven times. Seventy times seven is more like it!”
From any angle, Peter’s suggestion that we might be asked to forgive someone who has hurt us up to seven times, seems reasonable. No, more than reasonable. Millions of our sisters and brothers find it not in their hearts to forgive even once. And among the people of the church, twice or three times often stretches the limits of both our patience and our mercy.
Seventy times? Now it would be a remarkable person who could, from the depths of their heart, truly forgive another person that many times.
Seventy times seven, 490 times? Such mercy would truly seem to be well nigh impossible?
So what does Jesus require of us?
Hyperbole. Jesus is using exaggeration to make a point. Stop calculating. The life of love and mercy does not keep score. With Jesus we have moved from the realm of legal condemnation, and legal self justification, to the commonwealth of love.
God does not deal with us according to our deserving. God does not keep score of our sins and decide at what point we should be struck off his list. Jesus is the herald of the new kingdom, that commonwealth of abundant love, where forgiveness and healing are freely offered, and the impetus to make restitution (as far as is possible) is provided by God’s own Spirit indwelling the frail temple of our lives.
Forgive seventy times seven. Live in the new realm of God as ushered in by Jesus Christ. Stop legalism. Cease tallying up either errors or virtues. Live by love, mercy and peace. And above all else, live with that same tender yet scalpel-sharp love that Jesus showed to those around him. Stop counting. Start a new way of life.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord many times shall my brother sin against me and receive my forgiveness. Is seven times enough?”
Jesus answered Peter: “I am not asking you to forgive seven times. Seventy times seven is more like it!”
FORGIVENESS IS NOT CHEAP
Forgiveness, if it could be bought on the open market, would be extremely expensive; beyond the budget of even multi, multi billionaires.
I put it this to you: If the forgiveness we presume to offer others comes cheap, if it is not grounded in the costly love of Jesus, then it is a sentimental fake. If it is patronising or glib, easygoing and care-less, then it is not the true article. If it is blithely offered without taking into account the total welfare of the sinner and also the welfare of those around them, then it is not grounded in the love of Jesus.
True mercy in many circumstances has to be as hard as nails. We never help a person by not demanding accountability for their actions.
Before love can bring its healing work, confrontation may be necessary. Glossing over the bad stuff is not forgiveness. A truly forgiving person must be able to say “no” in certain situations. Carefree indulgence is not the answer.
Christ’s forgiveness was never sloppily indulgent. He loved people enough to confront them. Forgiveness must always stem from the strength of true love, not from syrupy, sentimental, indulgent kindness.
BEWARE OF THE EXPLOITERS
People-users try to exploit the merciful. .There will always be those people-users who will wilfully try to exploit the forgiving nature of a kindly person. They sense the indulgent soul; they know when can get away with wrongdoing.
Classic cases of self-serving, manipulative behaviour are found among cases of drug addiction or domestic violence.
The addict exploits the family shamelessly, borrowing and then stealing. In such circumstances, repetitious, sentimental forgiveness is not showing love. Love must be must have some titanium in it. Saying no, and confronting the sinner, is acts of mercy.
The same applies with cases of domestic violence. The abuser plays all repentant and begs for forgiveness. Too often forgiveness is granted without any new rules being laid down. It would be more loving to say the very first time: “I forgive you. But if this ever happens again, I am out of here. There are no more chances.” And then act on it. That is true loving
Choice souls can even forgive a murderer for killing a son or daughter. But that does not mean the offender should not pay the legal consequences of their action. To imagine forgiveness means hiding evidence that would convict, or pleading in court for a suspended sentence, is not the way of love. The more loving thing would be to stand up and say: I forgive you. But: you must face the evil of your action.
MISUSE OF FORGIVENESS?
The church has at times confused the issue.
In the church we often get piously sentimental about forgiveness. We err by offering cheap love. We have indulged ourselves by being readily conned by breast-beating, and the metaphorical wearing of hair shirts, rather than insisting on repentance.
We have a commission from Christ to “retain sins” as well as absolving them.
In recent years, we have become acutely aware of the tragic misuse of the notion of forgiveness in the church. There have been revealed numerous cases of priests and pastors who have sexually abused parishioners. The same has happened with church youth workers, and with others in positions of authority.
Because we believe in forgiveness, too often in the past the church authorities have allowed such people to stay in positions of trust. They have willingly (or unwillingly) obtained a “confession,” asked for some show of penitence, pronounced forgiveness, and returned the person to their former sphere of influence.
Such cheap forgiveness does not stem from love.
The truly loving thing to do would be to immediately suspend them from pastoral positions, and insist they undergo intensive and extensive counselling. At the same time let them engage in secular occupation for a few years (not just a few weeks or months!) until they have proved their repentance. Repentance is not just feeling shame, and saying sorry a hundred times, nor saying it seventy times seven! It is a drastic commitment to change. As John the Baptist preached: “Bring forth fruits worthy of your repentance.”
We cannot claim to love others while we allow them to avoid, or minimise, the evil and the pain they have caused. We cannot allow forgiveness to be a cheap gift. Christ’s forgiveness comes at an enormous cost. We must not devalue it.
A HEALING POWER
Forgiveness is a healing power, it extends salve-ation. Yet it is not always welcome.
Having warned about the need for tough love, I return now to the healing nature of forgiveness when it is given in the Spirit of Christ Jesus. It does happen. It happens frequently within the church. Seventy times seven is sometimes a reality which touches each of us.
In counselling men or women, whose married partner has left them for another, I have often reached a point where as a pastor of Christ Jesus I must put the question: “When are you going to forgive them?”
It is not easy to put that hard question. It is much easier to sympathise, listen to their hurts again and again, and be “nice and kind.” Some of those being counselled will bridle and get angry when you speak of forgiveness. Some will cling to their thirst for revenge, even though the pastor tries to point out that the person they are really hurting is not the offending ex-partner but themselves. Some remain locked and miserable in their own unforgiveness.
But praise God, many move on. Many reach a point where they let go of their pain, and begin to allow forgiveness to flow through them from the heart of God. Entertaining and extending forgiveness can be one of the most liberating experiences, and one of the most healing ones.
I have in our possession far more salve-ation than we might realise.
THE EXAMPLE OF LINDY CHAMBERLAIN
The example of one Australian woman should humble us.
One of the most publicly sinned against person in Australia has been Lindy Chamberlain of the baby and the dingo tragedy. Falsely accused and incarcerated for killing her precious daughter. Most of the world knows her story. The cruel injustice, and grief upon grief that she suffered, was immense. Yet it is never quite over. The story gets re-visited. Some of the pain will endure as long as she lives.
But is she bitter and twisted as many would be? Evidently not. Recently, a Melbourne man has gone on national TV with a story that on that fateful evening near the great red rock of Uluru in central Australia, he shot a dingo which had carried the dead baby away into the scrub. He and his three mates covered up the event, afraid that they might be arrested for shooting in a national park. Almost unforgivably, they kept silent, one of them buried the baby, and allowed Lindy to suffer shameful misjudgement and imprisonment.
When Lindy was interviewed on the matter and the question was put to her: “If this is true, can you ever forgive this man for keeping quiet and allowing you to go though hell.”
She paused and thought about the question. No reflex answer. This mattered too much to this woman for her to make a slick response. Then she said something close to these words: “Yes. I can forgive him. If he has carried this guilt all those years he has suffered enough.”
That is what I call “seventy times seven.” I do not know the current state of Lindy’s Christian faith. But I do see in her a mirror of what Christ was on about. There is a realm of love which is far better to trust and delight in, rather than become locked in the festering old kingdoms of anger, grudges, and bitterness.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord many times shall my brother sin against me and receive my forgiveness. Is seven times enough?”
Jesus answered Peter: “I am not asking you to forgive seven times. Seventy times seven is more like it!”
WARNING: UNCONDITIONAL LOVE?
I now want to switch an orange flashing light.
Over the years we have heard well intentioned people speak of giving unconditional love. No doubt, if we did indeed possess an unconditional love, then total forgiveness would always be possible.
However, such a perfect love may be impossible for us. A few saints may get close to it. The bulk of us, no. God may be able to so love, and do so eternally, but not flawed creatures like us. We aren’t up to it. We are not capable of giving unconditional love even to our loved ones. Let alone to other people. It may be a wonderful ideal. But do not let us pretend that we have scaled that lofty love-mark.
Therefore I am not convinced that any of us can regularly achieve perfect forgiveness in every possible circumstance. The wonder-world of seventy times seven entices us. We can aim for it, practice it whenever we have opportunity. We can give it our best shot, and pray for the Spirit of Jesus to indwell us and permeate all our thoughts and feelings. Yet we will, often, find ourselves not full-filling the goal.
I say this in the hope that some of you over-conscientious people (there are always some in every congregation!) will not beat yourselves up when you fail. I’ve witnessed parents filled with self recrimination because of their failure to 100% forgive their offspring, and vice versa. I’ve watched deeply hurt husbands or wives struggle to forgive their spouses, or friends wrestle with the matter of being merciful when they have felt betrayed.
The realm of seventy times seven (the kingdom of God in Christ) has arrived: it is upon us, within us and around us. The commonwealth of love has been inaugurated and established on earth. But we citizens in this realm are still learners in the school of Christ.
CHERISH FORGIVENESS
Never ignore the prayer taught by Christ: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” But realise that you will some times, rather like all preachers of the Gospel, appear foolish and on other occasions you will seem hypocritical.
Should that happen, do not be dismayed. Do not lose heart. The holy Lover who has begun the work of love in you will at some stage complete the glorious transformation. His work will not be in vain. Through life, into death, and in life beyond death, seventy times seven is being practised, in you, for you and through you. Full-filment is not an empty dream. You will reach that goal where you will forgive as perfectly as you have been forgiven.
Then the moment will have arrived when joy and peace, wonder and praise will know no bounds.
SERMON 2: THE ARITHMETIC OF LOVE
Matthew 18:21-22
If I were smart, as in “smart” like a
poker player, I would never stand up and preach a sermon.
A preacher can’t win. Either they
will be seen by critics as fools, or as hypocrites.
We are fools.
Fools because the ways of Jesus and
his God will always confound our ability to fully grasp them, let alone express
them with clarity. Negative critics will spot the flaws and shoot holes through
them.
We are hypocrites.
A hypocrite because the values and
goals we uphold in the name of Jesus will (to some degree) always be beyond our
own grasp. Our Christ perfectly fulfilled his own words. We will always fall
short and leave ourselves open to the jibe: “Why don’t you practice what you
preach, pastor?
So, if I were really smart,
I would never stand up and preach a
sermon.
Why do I? Because I
like other priests and pastors have been called to be fools for Christ’s sake,
just as surely as he called Peter and John and Paul. Having been called,
we have the confidence that in spite of appearing foolish some days, and
hypocritical on other occasions, the Holy Spirit will take what we offer in
good faith and bridge the gap between the speaker and those who sincerely wish
to hear the Word that is greater than a mere words.
THE GOSPEL: SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN
What brought on this bout of preacherly confession?
The Gospel for the day did it to me.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord many times shall
my brother sin against me and receive my forgiveness.
Is seven times enough?”
Jesus answered Peter: “I am not asking you
to forgive seven times. Seventy times seven is more
like it!”
From any angle, Peter’s suggestion
that we might be asked to forgive someone who has hurt us up to seven times,
seems reasonable. No, more than reasonable. Millions of our sisters and brothers
find it not in their hearts to forgive even once. And among the people of the
church, twice or three times often stretches the limits of both our patience
and our mercy.
Seventy times? Now it would be a remarkable person who could, from the depths
of their heart, truly forgive another person that many times.
Seventy times seven, 490 times? Such
mercy would truly seem to be well nigh impossible?
So what does Jesus require of us?
Hyperbole. Jesus is using exaggeration to make a point. Stop calculating.
The life of love and mercy does not keep score. With Jesus we have moved from
the realm of legal condemnation, and legal self justification, to the
commonwealth of love.
God does not deal with us according
to our deserving. God does not keep score of our sins and decide at what point
we should be struck off his list. Jesus is the herald of the new kingdom, that
commonwealth of abundant love, where forgiveness and healing are freely
offered, and the impetus to make restitution (as far as is possible) is provided
by God’s own Spirit indwelling the frail temple of our lives.
Forgive seventy times seven. Live in
the new realm of God as ushered in by Jesus Christ. Stop legalism. Cease
tallying up either errors or virtues. Live by love, mercy and peace. And above
all else, live with that same tender yet scalpel-sharp love that Jesus showed
to those around him. Stop counting. Start a new way of life.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord many times shall
my brother sin against me and receive my forgiveness.
Is seven times enough?”
Jesus answered Peter: “I am not asking you
to forgive seven times. Seventy times seven is more
like it!”
FORGIVENESS IS NOT CHEAP
Forgiveness, if it could be bought on
the open market, would be extremely expensive; beyond the budget of even multi,
multi billionaires.
I put it this to you: If the
forgiveness we presume to offer others comes cheap, if it is not grounded in
the costly love of Jesus, then it is a sentimental fake. If it is patronising
or glib, easygoing and care-less, then it is not the true article. If it is
blithely offered without taking into account the total welfare of the sinner
and also the welfare of those around them, then it is not grounded in the love
of Jesus.
True mercy in many circumstances has
to be as hard as nails. We never help a person by not demanding accountability
for their actions.
Before love can bring its healing
work, confrontation may be necessary. Glossing over the bad stuff is not
forgiveness. A truly forgiving person must be able to say “no” in certain
situations. Carefree indulgence is not the answer.
Christ’s forgiveness was never
sloppily indulgent. He loved people enough to confront them. Forgiveness must
always stem from the strength of true love, not from syrupy, sentimental,
indulgent kindness.
A HEALING POWER
Forgiveness is a healing power, it
extends salve-ation. Yet it is not always welcome.
Having warned about the need for
tough love, I return now to the healing nature of forgiveness when it is given
in the Spirit of Christ Jesus. It does happen. It happens frequently within the
church. Seventy times seven is sometimes a reality which touches each of us.
In counselling men or women, whose
married partner has left them for another, I have often reached a point where
as a pastor of Christ Jesus I must put the question: “When are you going to
forgive them?”
It is not easy to put that hard
question. It is much easier to sympathise, listen to their hurts again and
again, and be “nice and kind.” Some of
those being counselled will bridle and get angry when you speak of forgiveness.
Some will cling to their thirst for revenge, even though the pastor tries to
point out that the person they are really hurting is not the offending
ex-partner but themselves. Some remain locked and miserable in their own unforgiveness.
But praise God, many move on. Many reach a point where they let go of their pain,
and begin
to allow forgiveness to flow through them from the heart of God.
Entertaining and extending forgiveness can be one of the most liberating
experiences, and one of the most healing ones.
I have in our possession far more
salve-ation than we might realise.
THE EXAMPLE OF LINDY CHAMBERLAIN
The example of one Australian woman
should humble us.
One of the most publicly sinned
against Australian has been Lindy Chamberlain of the baby and the dingo
tragedy. Falsely accused and incarcerated for killing her precious daughter.
Most of the world knows her story. The cruel injustice, and grief upon grief
that she suffered, was immense. Yet it is never quite over. The story gets
re-visited. Some of the pain will endure as long as she lives.
But is she bitter and twisted as many
would be? Evidently not. Recently, a Melbourne man has
gone on national TV with a story that on that fateful evening near the great
red rock of Uluru in central Australia, he shot a
dingo which had carried the dead baby away into the scrub. He and his three
mates covered up the event, afraid that they might be arrested for shooting in
a national park. Almost unforgivably, they kept silent,
one of them buried the baby, and allowed Lindy to suffer shameful misjudgement
and imprisonment.
When Lindy was interviewed on the
matter and the question was put to her: “If this is true, can you ever forgive
this man for keeping quiet and allowing you to go though hell.”
She paused and thought about the
question. No reflex answer. This mattered too much to this woman for her to
make a slick response. Then she said something close to these words: “Yes. I
can forgive him. If he has carried this guilt all those years he has suffered
enough.”
That is what I call “seventy times
seven.” I do not know the current state of Lindy’s Christian faith. But I do
see in her a mirror of what Christ was on about. There is a realm of love which
is far better to trust and delight in, rather than become locked in the
festering old kingdoms of anger, grudges, and bitterness.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord many times shall
my brother sin against me and receive my forgiveness.
Is seven times enough?”
Jesus answered Peter: “I am not asking you
to forgive seven times. Seventy times seven is more
like it!”
WARNING: UNCONDITIONAL LOVE?
I now want to switch an orange
flashing light.
Over the years we have heard well
intentioned people speak of giving unconditional love. No doubt, if we did
indeed possess an unconditional love, then total forgiveness would always be
possible.
However, such a perfect love may be
impossible for us. A few saints may get close to it. The bulk
of us, no. God may be able to so love, and do so eternally, but not
flawed creatures like us. We aren’t up to it. We are not capable of giving
unconditional love even to our loved ones. Let alone to other people. It may be
a wonderful ideal. But do not let us pretend that we have scaled that lofty
love-mark.
Therefore I am not convinced that any
of us can regularly achieve perfect forgiveness in every possible circumstance.
The wonder-world of seventy times seven entices us. We can aim for it, practice it whenever we have opportunity. We can give it
our best shot, and pray for the Spirit of Jesus to indwell us and permeate all
our thoughts and feelings. Yet we will, often, find ourselves not full-filling
the goal.
I say this in the hope that some of
you over-conscientious people (there are always some in every
congregation!) will not beat yourselves up when you fail. I’ve witnessed
parents filled with self recrimination because of their failure to 100% forgive their offspring, and vice versa. I’ve watched deeply hurt husbands or wives
struggle to forgive their spouses, or friends wrestle with the matter of being
merciful when they have felt betrayed.
The realm of seventy times seven (the
kingdom of God in Christ) has arrived: it is upon us, within us and around us.
The commonwealth of love has been inaugurated and established on earth. But we
citizens in this realm are still learners in the school of Christ.
CHERISH FORGIVENESS
Never ignore the prayer taught by
Christ: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” But
realise that you will some times, rather like all preachers of the Gospel,
appear foolish and on other occasions you will seem hypocritical.
Should that happen, do not be
dismayed. Do not lose heart. The holy Lover who has begun the work of love in
you will at some stage complete the glorious transformation. His work will not
be in vain. Through life, into death, and in life beyond death, seventy times
seven is being practised, in you, for you and through you. Full-filment is not an empty dream. You will reach that goal
where you will forgive as perfectly as you have been forgiven.
Then the moment will have arrived
when joy and peace, wonder and praise will know no bounds.
( These are
the sections left out of the original sermon)
BEWARE OF THE EXPLOITERS
People-users try to exploit the
merciful. .There will always be those people-users who will wilfully try to
exploit the forgiving nature of a kindly person. They sense the indulgent soul;
they know when can get away with wrongdoing.
Classic cases of self-serving,
manipulative behaviour are found among cases of drug addiction or domestic
violence.
The addict exploits the family
shamelessly, borrowing and then stealing. In such circumstances, repetitious,
sentimental forgiveness is not showing love. Love must be must have some
titanium in it. Saying no, and confronting the sinner, is acts of mercy.
The same applies with cases of
domestic violence. The abuser plays all repentant and begs for forgiveness. Too
often forgiveness is granted without any new rules being laid down. It would be
more loving to say the very first time: “I forgive you. But if this ever
happens again, I am out of here. There are no more chances.” And then act on
it. That is true loving
Choice souls can even forgive a
murderer for killing a son or daughter. But that does not mean the offender
should not pay the legal consequences of their action. To imagine forgiveness
means hiding evidence that would convict, or pleading in court for a suspended
sentence, is not the way of love. The more loving thing would be to stand up
and say: I forgive you. But: you must face the evil of your action.
MISUSE OF FORGIVENESS?
The church has at times confused the
issue.
In the church we often get piously
sentimental about forgiveness. We err by offering cheap love. We have indulged
ourselves by being readily conned by breast-beating, and the metaphorical
wearing of hair shirts, rather than insisting on repentance.
We have a commission from Christ to
“retain sins” as well as absolving them.
In recent years, we have become
acutely aware of the tragic misuse of the notion of forgiveness in the church.
There have been revealed numerous cases of priests and pastors who have
sexually abused parishioners. The same has happened with church youth workers, and with others in positions of authority.
Because we believe in forgiveness,
too often in the past the church authorities have allowed such people to stay
in positions of trust. They have willingly (or unwillingly) obtained a
“confession,” asked for some show of penitence, pronounced forgiveness, and
returned the person to their former sphere of influence.
Such cheap forgiveness does not stem
from love.
The truly loving thing to do would be
to immediately suspend them from pastoral positions, and insist they undergo
intensive and extensive counselling. At the same time let them engage in
secular occupation for a few years (not just a few weeks or months!) until they
have proved their repentance. Repentance is not just feeling shame, and saying
sorry a hundred times, nor saying it seventy times seven! It is a drastic
commitment to change. As John the Baptist preached: “Bring forth fruits worthy
of your repentance.”
We cannot claim to love others while
we allow them to avoid, or minimise, the evil and the pain they have caused. We
cannot allow forgiveness to be a cheap gift. Christ’s forgiveness comes at an
enormous cost. We must not devalue it.
A PRAYER-CREED FOR
DOUBTERS
When we expend great efforts on a
good cause and see little result for our labour,
God of Abraham and Sarah, Moses
and Miriam, Mary and Jesus,
We believe in you, please save us from our unbelief.
When we profoundly and faithfully
seek the healing of a friend, but to no avail,
God of Abraham and Sarah, Moses
and Miriam, Mary and Jesus,
We believe in you, please save us from our unbelief.
When we witness by word and deed
to the Gospel yet see no obvious fruits,
God of Abraham and Sarah,
Moses and Miriam, Mary and Jesus,
We believe in you, please save us from our unbelief.
When disasters happen to the
faithful, while unbelievers flaunt their prosperity,
God of Abraham and Sarah, Moses
and Miriam, Mary and Jesus,
We believe in you, please save us from our unbelief.
When we pray with anguish over a
lost soul but see no change for the better,
God of Abraham and Sarah, Moses
and Miriam, Mary and Jesus,
We believe in you, please save us from our unbelief.
When we get so frustrated with our
own failures that we become carping critics of others,
God of Abraham and Sarah, Moses
and Miriam, Mary and Jesus,
We believe in you, please save us from our unbelief.
When we seem tempted beyond that
which any mortal should have to bear,
God of Abraham and Sarah, Moses
and Miriam, Mary and Jesus,
We believe in you, please save us from our unbelief.
When we are weary of body and
soul, and feel like retreating into a closed-off piety,
God of Abraham and Sarah, Moses
and Miriam, Mary and Jesus,
We believe in you, please save us from our unbelief.
For yours is the kingdom of unlimited opportunities,
the innovative and resilient power of saving love,
and the surging glory of the love which never ends
Amen!
PRAYERS FOR OTHER
PEOPLE
Praying for others is not an easy “out” of responsibility; it is a pledge of our intentions.
Let us pray.
Dear God, how do you keep track of us all? So many people, some many needs, so much suffering! Yet you love each like the most generous of fathers, and feel their pain like the most devoted of mothers. Help us to be inclusive in our loving like you are.
For the suffering and those who ease their pain, the sorrowful and those who try to comfort their grief, the diseased and those who work for their healing;
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
For the abused and those who seek justice for them, the weak and those who lend them unmeasured support, the heavy-laden and those who share the load;
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
For the misunderstood and those who listen, the timid and those who speak up for them,
the lost and those who will suffer to see their recovery;
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
For the strong and those who keep them gentle, the wise and those who keep them humble,
the kind and those who shield them from over-stretching themselves;
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
For the violent and those who must arrest them, the cruel and those who must contain them, the corrupt and those who must judge and sentence them;
Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer.
For the strong in faith and those learn from them, the battlers and those who affirm them, the happy and those who rejoice with them;
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
For peacemakers and those who trust them, the leaders and those who vote for them, the
opinion makers and those who are
swayed by them;
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
Compared with you, Holy Friend, our compassion is miserly and our circle of care is most meagre. Nevertheless we want to be more like you, asking that you will conscript our prayers and actions into the work of your universal salvation. Through Christ Jesus our Saviour.
Amen!
THE SENDING OUT
Before you leave, take stock
Carry with you something worthwhile from this time in God’s house;
even if it just one thought, one word, one sacred melody, one fragment of prayer,
one holy intuition, one recalled memory, one renewed insight, one smile from a fellow worshipper, or one glint of new hope.
And carry with you the overflowing promise of the ancient benediction:
The love of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with you all,
now and evermore.
Amen!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
** Additional resources on bruceprewer.com
THREE BOOKS BY BRUCE PREWER
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