Isn't it Only Fair? Only Just? by Peter L. DeGroote
Notes for Bible Talk: August 24, 2005 Please read: Matthew 18: 21-25
Bible Talk is an informal discussion of biblical passages, ideas, and related material. The discussions are on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 pm, following the Service of Word and Table. Occasionally, they will not be held due to special events. These Notes are intended to assist participants in thinking about the passages and some of their implications prior to the gathering. Usually, the Notes are prepared and the discussion is led by Rev. Peter L. DeGroote The sources for biblical quotations are labeled as follows: NRSV: The New Revised Standard Version, Copyright ©1989, The National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States. SV: The Scholar’s Version; i.e., The Five Gospels, The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus, Robert W. Funk and Roy W. Hoover, and The Jesus Seminar, Copyright © 1993 by Polebridge Press. TM: The Message, The New Testament in Contemporary Language, Copyright © Eugene H. Peterson 1993. navpress, Colorado Springs. M: My paraphrase.	1. Matthew records a challenging parable that may be thought of in three acts. The scene is set when a king decides to call in the debt of one of his servants. Most understand the word servant to mean one of the kings officials; some suggest a supervisor of tax collectors who mismanaged his duties, resulting in a loss to the king. As a parable is a fictitious illustration using images that all would understand, the servant's actual duties are not significant. 2. Parables intentionally exaggerate images to help the memory. In this case, the debt is both enormous and beyond the ability of a servant to pay. In today's calculations, we might say $10 million. Act 1: As the servant cannot pay, the king tries to recover some of his losses by ordering that the servant, his wife, and his children be sold into slavery. Also, his property is to be sold. Despite knowing that he will never be able to repay the amount, the servant begs for patience. The king also knows that he will never be repaid, but chooses mercy. He cancels the debt and sets the servant free.  Act 2: On his way out the forgiven servant met another (servant) who owed him $100 (in today's comparison). The forgiven servant demanded repayment, the other asked for his patience, but the forgiven servant went to the courts and had his colleague thrown into debtor's prison. Act 3: Other servants reported the man's behavior to the king who called the first servant back in. "You are a wicked man," he said. "You asked for mercy and I gave it to you. Isn't it only fair that you treat your fellow servant in the same way I treated you?" 3. The question at the end of a parable is meant to engage us in the message of the parable—it gives us something to respond to. It is the way Jesus ended parables, although the early church often added some of its own conclusions. We can approach that final question from several perspectives. Some suggestions: A. Matthew reacted by offering a concluding sentence reflecting the notion of a God that punishes: "And the king was so angry he handed him over to those in charge of punishment until he paid back everything he owed. That's what my heavenly Father will do to you, unless you find it in your heart to forgive each one of your brothers and sisters." The notion that God punishes is different from the understanding that we suffer from our own failures to love as we have been loved. Also, the language suggests that Matthew thought of that only those brothers and sisters in the church required the Christian’s forgiveness. In a society that was largely hostile toward them, early Christians found it difficult to think about how the lessons of mercy and forgiveness were to be applied to the larger society. We often have similar problems, sometimes thinking of ourselves as persecuted people even when we exercise great power in our society. B. The parable needs to also be seen in light of Jesus basic rule of love, from which we never get very far. The love of God is inextricably tied to the love of others. To live in harmony with God means to live in harmony with what God has created. It requires that we do more that honor, respect, and care for friends and family—we have to move do the same for everyone. Even when we try to do so, we often do not know how to think about honoring and respecting those who have done us harm. The spiritual task is in the trying. We have to begin with the unpleasant knowledge that our enemies are not God's enemies. God does not accept a person's anger and hostility toward us anymore than God accepts our anger and hostility toward another. Despite our human enmities and hostilities, God remains ready to receive all of us, waiting for us to move beyond common human distractions so that we can perceive and respond to God's presence. Jesus tells us that any love for God will be demonstrated by our being living examples of what God's love and hope for humanity means. That is part of what Jesus meant when he spoke of his followers as the salt that seasons the world. C. There is also the obvious lesson that while our mistreatment of others introduces chaos into their lives, it does the same for our own. The king's question was "Isn't it only fair…?" another way to say, "Isn't it only justice…?" Justice in the bible is about a well-ordered society that treats everyone equally and fairly. Without justice, we have both personal and social chaos. All biblical quotes are Scholar’s version (SV) Peter L. DeGroote