December 3, 2016 – 21 Days Until My Head Explodes, Or Devotions to Prepare Us For Christ’s Coming

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:18-22

Why? Why would you want to buy a “chicken leg” ornament, unless you are the “Colonel” from KFC (trademark). And even if you got such an ornament for a Christmas gift, why would you feel the need to hang it from your Christmas tree? Unless you received it from your mother-in-law – then you do it for the sake of a happy marriage. There is nothing more unforgivable than making your mother-in-law angry.

Forgiveness is a tricky thing – anyone who lives on this planet knows how true this is. Relationships should be constant work, they are sometimes a struggle if not a juggling act; but within the church they can be that much more difficult. Chapter 18 of Matthew has so much “rich” dialogue from Jesus about church relations, about forgiveness, and the wideness of G-d’s mercy. But of all of the advice we receive from this text, I think the most challenging, if not important is how Jesus seeks to be in relationship with us – and wants people to be in relationship with each other. Every relationship that we establish, every conversation, every gathering must be executed as if Jesus were right in our midst. And active, open communication is the key – even in the midst of disciplining another member. Remember, we are called to forgive, and forgive, and forgive and forgive…ad infinitum – that is not easy, but it is our calling.

Pastor Dave