Peter: Teach me
March 17 2024, Lent 5
The Wandering Heart
Lighting the Christ Candle
Welcome and Announcements
Call to Worship
Why are you here?
I am seeking God with my whole heart, with my entire mind, with a fire burning in my bones.
I see it! You’re in the right place! This is God’s house. The door is open to you.
Why are you here?
I am seeking God with my whole heart, with my entire mind, with a fire burning in my bones.
We see it! You’re in the right place! This is God’s house. The door is open to you.
Let us worship God.
Let us hear from the Holy Spirit.
Hymn: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
(See projection screen)
Prayer of Adoration
Teaching God, we have come to worship you, and to learn your ways for forgiveness. WE have come to learn the ways of your grace. We want to learn the way you love.
We come, week after week, not only to worship you but because we are hungry to be more like you.
We can think of no other way to adore you and love you as you deserve, than by becoming more and more like you.
Now we ask, prepare our hearts to hear your word. Show us how to focus on your Spirit so that your will may be revealed.
As we meet with you, we ask you to meet with us, speak your truth and help us to listen. Amen
Call to Confession:
When we study Peter’s story it is impossible to ignore how many times Peter asked questions. Peter was full of questions because he was eager to learn.
Let us endeavour to be more like Peter as we return to Christ Jesus with the eagerness of a student, the humility of one who knows their own sinfulness. Let us make our confession together:
Prayer of Confession:
Holy God, we long to be lifelong learners. We long to approach you with curiosity and an open mind. Instead, we often live as if we know best.
We forget that the disciples called you, “Rabbi, Teacher”.
Forgive us for the times when we fail to be curious. Forgive us for the times when we assume we know best. Forgive us for the moments when we imagine that our learning is done and that we have all the answers.
Like Peter—who was brave enough to ask, “How many times should we forgive?”—make us brave. Spark a desire in us to learn, and may our curiosity carry our faith into deeper waters. With hope and humility we pray. Amen
Assurance of Pardon
No matter what we have done, or left undone, no matter what lessons we are still struggling to learn, God’s grace is always available for us.
So let us hear and rejoice in the good news
God always walks with us and never leaves us to flounder on our own. We are forgiven. We are loved. The grace of God continually flows in our lives. Amen.
Passing the Peace
May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you…
Hymn: 636 When voices are confusing
online Hymn: Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
Scripture:
Psalm 119: 9-16
Matthew 18: 15-22
Sermon: Peter: Teach me
Today in the Psalm we were reminded of the importance of living according to God’s word, to base our learning upon God’s laws, and to obey everything that the word is teaching us.
When we turn our attention to the Gospel lesson, we see that Peter is trying to qualify the boundaries of that obedience, not just to the law but to the ways in which it places demands on our lives.
Here Jesus is talking about the requirement in the Church to call one another to confession and repentance. This is an important consideration for the health of the congregation. It is important to learn, know, understand, and apply the grace and mercy of God to one another. It is our love by which we are known, and the ways in which we love one another are how the world that is watching will judge us.
I have heard people express their frustration by saying such things as, “Surely knowing God should make a difference in how people behave.”
We know better than that right? We know just how very human we are and how a bad sleep, a headache or an emotional upheaval can affect the ways in which we respond to one another.
Our humanness is a very important reason for us to remember to live so that we communicate the grace and mercy of God, to one another and to the world.
I wonder if Peter is aware of how his humanness affects his relationship with others. Last week we saw how Jesus brought him up short, after Peter not only questioned what Jesus was saying, but also demanded that Jesus not do what he was called to do by God.
More than that, we see those times when the disciples are arguing among themselves about who is the greatest among them. When the Church is going through its growing pains, we see the differences that occur between Peter and Paul about the need for all people to be circumcised. It led to a split in the Church.
Does he know the many ways in which his ability to live in grace and mercy will be tested in the future?
Perhaps not. If we ever knew the limits of how we would be tested, we would like refuse to go down that road.
Peter’s ability to offer grace in the Church and grace to those outside of the Church would be tested to even the limits of Peter’s life. Far worse than the disagreements about doctrine within the Church, would be the persecution from the Temple authorities.
Perhaps the first big test of the ability of the Church to forgive, would be by accepting and embracing Paul when he changed his life from persecutor and assassin of the Church, to one who was called by Jesus to help grow the Church. That had to have been a huge stumbling block for Peter and the other leaders as they evaluated the veracity of Paul’s conversion to the way of Jesus, and learned how to trust him as one of them.
Then Peter himself would know the full brunt of the force of that persecution, as the Church is expelled from the Temple, and he himself is arrested, imprisoned and crucified.
How do you live the grace and mercy of God in such horrific circumstances?
Perhaps some of the qualities that Peter embodied, would be helpful to prepare Peter for the future. His wandering heart and the many times Jesus called him back, forgave him and reminded him of his calling was important. If Peter could be forgiven over and over again, then maybe he could forgive over and over again.
Which brings us to a second of Peter’s qualities. He questioned everything. Maybe sometimes it was a sign of his wandering heart and refusal to believe; but just as often it was a sign that Peter really wanted to learn more.
Questions, such as: are there limits to grace?
How far does mercy extend?
Who deserves to be forgiven?
How many times do we need to forgive another?
Perhaps the answer to that last question contains within it the answer to all the other questions.
Jesus responds, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. In the Message the amount is greater, as Jesus says, “Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.
Sometimes I wonder if Peter was tempted to do the math, and ask, so the limit is 490 times. Not 491, not 500. So there is a limit, right?
Well maybe, but how many of us ever keep that kind of record. Can you imagine what that would look like?
What if I kept a huge notebook, with each of your names listed, and on the pages a mark made for every time I forgave you for x, and how many times I forgave you for y or z. Or, a, or b or c. As soon as your tally reaches 490, that’s it. You are done! I no longer need to forgive you.
However, Peter is in a mood to learn. And Jesus always understands temptation. So, Jesus tells a parable that points out that there are no limits on the number of times we forgive. How can we put limits on how many times we forgive one another, when there is no limit to the number of times that God forgives us.
We didn’t read the parable this morning; but we know it well. Lets listen to it again, as it is translated in the Message.
“The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn’t pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market.
26-27 “The poor wretch threw himself at the king’s feet and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt.
28 “The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, ‘Pay up. Now!’
29-31 “The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ But he wouldn’t do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king.
32-35 “The king summoned the man and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn’t you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?’ The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that’s exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn’t forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy.” Matthew, 18: MSG
This is a strong reminder to Peter and to us, that we need to learn that there are no limits to giving forgiveness. I know that this comes up hard on our understanding of free grace and cheap grace. We are reminded that a request for forgiveness comes hand in hand with a desire for repentance that results in us changing our lives.
This is why Jesus began the discussion about teaching about forgiveness in the community of the Church. If after a discussion the person consistently refuses to change their behaviour, we let them go. In the Message we read: If he won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love. But in the NIV we read: if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
I believe that either translation is teaching the same thing. Keep reaching out to that person. We have the example of Jesus who was always reaching out to pagans, prostitutes, and tax collectors. In one very dramatic case he reached out to Paul who was a persecutor of the Church.
If Jesus never stops getting people to repent no matter how hurtful they are, or even how dangerous they are, who are we to stop telling them about the grace that is theirs, if they confess, repent, and live as Jesus calls them to live?
Grace is only cheap, if after a person repenting and promising to change, their behaviour does not change. and we just accept it. Grace may be free, but it comes with accountability. Jesus forgives us in order that we may enjoy the grace to live a better life.
Poor Peter, that one question, and the desire to learn more about grace and forgiveness has shown him just how difficult the path of faith will be. It is not easy to live in a way that makes the grace of Jesus available to all. And yet that grace is what we are called to offer, 3 times, 7 times, 490 times and even unlimited numbers of times.
That means that we will have to learn to toss out our notebooks and to offer grace like Jesus offers grace. And, more than that, we will need to learn to be discerning, as Jesus was discerning. When the rich young ruler asked about how to gain eternal life, Jesus told him “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mark 10: 21 NIV
We know that the rich young ruler walked away that day, sorrowing because he had great wealth. And Jesus let him go.
We cannot force anyone to repent and change their lives. All we can do is offer grace. If they turn away, it may break our hearts, but we must let them go and trust that with God all things will be possible, even the change of heart that person needs.
We can’t talk about Peter’s questions that lead to learning, without also looking at one more example, because it also points out something that we need to know about forgiveness.
It actually came up in the parable of the unforgiving servant, when the king says I forgave you of much, and you didn’t forgive of little and threw the unrepentant servant into jail.
Our forgiveness is linked to the forgiveness we give.
The question: Lord, teach us how to pray comes with the answer that is the Lord’s prayer. You have heard me say before that the Lord’s prayer is not so much an exact prayer, as an outline for making sure that our prayers are aligned with the will of God. But you don’t want a second sermon here, do you?
In the Lord’s prayer we have another lesson on how we are meant to forgive. When we pray, we are to ask God to forgive our sins as we forgive the sins of other. Some translations use the word “trespasses” or the word “debts”. The intent is the same, we who have been forgiven of much are to be forgiving in our living. And when we ask for God to forgive us with the same measure with which we forgive, it is a stark reminder that when we have an unforgiving attitude, we are sinning.
The questions Peter asked on the ways in which we are to live as forgiven and forgiving people remind us that we have been given the keys of heaven. Everything that God has given Jesus he has given to us. Living in grace means living with grace. Living in forgiveness means living with a desire to be forgiving.
We are called to love and forgive within the church. But we are also called to love and forgive those who are outside of the church. Living with the love that God has for the whole world, will demand a lot from us, every day of our lives.
Aren’t you glad Peter asked the question?
Let us, like Peter, desire to learn all that we need to learn to pursue the calling of being a disciple.
Amen.
Hymn: 641 One more step along the road I go
Offering and Doxology 830
Offertory Prayer
Gathering Prayer Requests
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Gracious God, full of compassion and mercy, we thank you that you are always with us, guiding us, teaching us and showing us your heart. Every lesson we learn from you is another building block for our faith. Whenever curiosity opens our eyes, you teach us yet another thing. In all that we do we ask that our faith will continually invite us seek you and learn from you.
JOYS
Listening God,
Hear the prayers as we bring before you.
Hear the ones who are crying with pain in their heart.
Hear the ones who are weeping with grief long into the night.
Hear the ones who are sobbing in their loneliness.
WE PRAY FOR OUR COMMUNITY
Loving God, Heal their pain. Restore their lives Mend their broken hearts.
WE PRAY FOR OUR WORLD AND THOSE WHO GOVERN IT
Loving God, Heal their pain. Restore their lives Mend their broken hearts.
Leading God,
Lead us through the dark valleys.
Lead us through troublesome times.
Lead us to our home with you.
Teach us to listen to your voice,
That we may hear the cry of the needy and respond.
Teach us to love that
We may offer care that brings others to you for healing.
Teach us to lead,
With your vision so that we not lead others blindly through life.
Through your son who taught us to pray saying: 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 debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever. Amen
Hymn: 663 God whose giving knows no ending
Unison Benediction
Beloved wanderer, as you leave this place, may you carry your curious heart on your sleeve. May you look for God in every face. May you find the courage to get out of the boat, to run to the tomb, and to speak of your faith. And when the world falls apart, may you hear God’s voice deep within, saying, “Take heart, it is I, be not afraid.” You are called. You are blessed. In both your ups and your downs, you always belong to God. Go now in peace. Go trusting that good news. Amen.
Blessing Song: 209
O love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee I give thee back the life I owe that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be.