September 13, 2008
A sermon of The Rev. Dr. Christian F. Brocato
Matthew 18:21-35
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our strength and Redeemer. Amen.
How healthy is your heart? How healthy is my heart? How often do we take for granted that heart that beats deep within us, that pumps blood through our arteries, that enables the human body to be sustained? When that heart is interrupted for any appreciable amount of time, the body can shut down or at least be derailed for a time and then significantly damaged as well.
Recently, a seemingly very healthy and fit colleague of mine at the college where I work, had a heart attack. Though he is an older gentleman, no one would have ever suspected that his heart was in trouble. Indeed, one of his arteries was 100% blocked, and another was 90% blocked. He was very surprised because he had not one inkling that there was a problem with his heart. Post-surgery, he is recovering slowly but surely and hopes to return to us as soon as possible. His heart will likely mend, and he will be well again.
Being well, having a heart that is healthy, being attentive to the needs of our bodies, all these things are extremely important to the well being of our physical health. But, what about that other ‘heart,' that heart that isn't tangible, that heart that beats alongside that organ in the body and that nourishes our spiritual health?
What about that heart that is linked to the mind and the soul that can be a barometer of whether we are healthy in our interior lives as well as our exterior world or not? What about that heart with which we cry out to God that our mouths and our meditations are acceptable to God? That heart is greatly in need of health and well being, nourishment and sustenance, regular check-ups and attention to intermittent attacks. That heart is the organ of forgiveness, of mercy, and of compassion.
In our Gospel from Matthew today, we hear familiar words about forgiveness, mercy and compassion. There are essentially two parts in the parable. The first expresses the great and abundant goodness of a master who has the capacity to forgive over and over again, seemingly without limit. The servant begged for forgiveness, and the master heard his cry. The master had pity on him and forgave him his overwhelming debt, a debt that scripture scholars indicate would have been so huge that clearly the story is about God and humanity's need for God's forgiveness.
The second part of the narrative is perhaps even more crucial for our discernment. The very same servant, forgiven for his sins, clearly does not experience a change of heart. The abundant and overwhelming forgiveness that he was offered seems to have had only a superficial impact on him. He turns on his own servant and shows no mercy. The community, then, intervenes to bring justice and resolution because the community recognized the intolerance and lack of mercy and sprang into action.
The community of All Saints Parish is one that is in tune with God's gifts of mercy, love and compassion, as was evidenced in last Sunday's tremendous surge of children signing up for Church School. Over the past six years, my partner, Jeff and I, have participated in the life of this great Parish in many and various ways. We have come to know so many of you, to interact with so many of you in worship and music, on committees, on retreats, at special events and the list goes on and on.
As we have given of ourselves to the Parish, so, too, have we been grateful recipients of great kindness, generosity, love and friendship over these past several years. Jeff and I have already begun our transition to the Parish of the Epiphany in Winchester where I am an assisting priest. But, we are abundantly grateful to you for who you are as a people of God, a people who strive to be all you can be in the sight of God and in the midst of the community, a people whose light cannot be extinguished, a people who continue to be a beacon of God's love and forgiveness to others.
The Word and Eucharist that are shared in this lovely church week after week nourish that love and forgiveness. But, the heart often resists transformation. It resists being redeemed. The egocentric nature of who we are as human beings tends to get in the way of our being able to fully embrace the love and forgiveness that is ours in Jesus, who "came in to the world to forgive sinners." Rite I in our Prayer Book says it so very beautifully that God "hath promised forgiveness of sins to all those who with hearty repentance and true faith turn" unto God, and God will "have mercy ... pardon, and deliver" us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness and bring us to everlasting Life… (BCP, p. 332)
The key in this powerful and elegant statement is that we must first face our sinfulness head-on for what it is, the gossip we commit against our neighbor, the harboring of jealousy or prejudice toward a sibling, a co-worker, or someone we have never even met, the anger and bitterness that can come from years of mistrust, an inability to communicate well with those we say we love, our spouse, our partner, our friends and our enemies. The human heart cannot maintain these stumbling blocks in the face of the overwhelming love and forgiveness of the One who knows us better than we know ourselves.
Hearts, humbled before God, make present the redemptive nature of God's forgiveness that can transform us and enable us to be sources of transformation for others. The first servant in our Gospel did not experience that transformation and therefore was unable to be a source of reconciliation and forgiveness for others.
This parable is an acute example of human nature. It is an acute example of how we are to be grateful recipients of God's mercy and forgiveness in our lives and how we are to demonstrate that mercy and forgiveness to others. But we have stumbling blocks, stumbling blocks in our lives that need to be removed so that the grace of God can flow deep into our hearts to enable us to be who we are called to be, bearers of light into our world.
The prayer from our Prayer Book encourages us to face our limitations. We are challenged to confess and offer to God those shortcomings, those character flaws, those petty jealousies, and those deep disappointments and defeats that can shape our lives and direct us accordingly. We are challenged to turn to God and like the servant in today's parable, ask for mercy and forgiveness.
This past week, we remembered the tragedies of the events of 9/11. We watched Hurricane Ike ravage island countries and move ashore in Texas with ferocious power. We watched deeper cuts in the job market and indicators continuing to signal more economic bad news that will especially affect those much less fortunate than we.
However, the sadness of these events and others needs to be balanced by the wonderful things that happen to us and to this parish community on a daily basis. When we as a people embrace such events in light of who we are called to be as a people of gratitude for all that we have been given, then, we allow God to transform us.
When we truly embrace the forgiveness and mercy that God has shown us, then, we can demonstrate that forgiveness and mercy to others. When we make the decision not to pass judgment on others, when we stand against injustice, when we choose mercy and compassion over anger and vengeance, when we reach out to others in need, when we attempt to be bearers of light and goodness, then, our hearts beat with the very heart of the living God, and we bring life into our world.
Week after week, we come to this table to be nourished, fed and sustained. We come to be filled and readied for the journey of life, the journey toward transformation of heart that is offered to us in Christ Jesus. My prayer for you is that this joyous journey continues to be enriched by the knowledge and love of God who is our strength and our Redeemer, our source of abundant light, goodness and life.
Amen.