Devoutly Given

The Twenty-Second Sunday After Trinity

Lord, we beseech thee to keep thy household the Church in continual godliness; that through thy protection it may be free from all adversities, and devoutly given to serve thee in good works, to the glory of thy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Alas! and did my Saviour bleed!
And did my Sov’reign die?
Would he devote that sacred head,
For such a Worm as I?

Our weekly prayer is for the Almighty to keep His household, the body of Christ, “in continual godliness.” (Collect of the Day). We tend to stray and wander, but the loving Father hears our weekly prayer and will keep us near and with Him for His good pleasure. We acknowledge and petition for “thy protection,” because through the loving hands of the Father, we “may be free from all adversities, and devoutly given to serve thee in good works.” (Collect of the Day). Our Father is raising us to be faithful sons, following after the Son of God who goes before us and who saves us. Jesus Christ is always devoutly given to serving the Father, demonstrating His love by bearing and erasing our sins through the blows He absorbed and the cross He bore. Even to death, the Son is devoutly given to accomplishing the Father’s will. Yet the Son is not left in the grave, but “to the glory of thy name,” the Son rose and ascended to the Father.

Thy Body slain, sweet Jesus thine,
And bath’d in its own Blood,
While all expos’d to Wrath divine,
The glorious suff’rer stood!

St. Peter, the always eager-to-please disciple, indicates how greatly he desires to be devoutly given to serve His Master and our Master in today’s Gospel. Peter approaches Jesus and asks, “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” (Gospel lesson, Matthew 18:21). The request seems innocent enough. Our modern sensibilities may scoff at Peter being stingy and asking to forgive our brethren “only” seven times; however, how often have we had the patience to forgive even our closest loved ones seven times after a repeated offense? Our sinful nature is far from forgiving and forgetting. Our default is prone to the old adage, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Therefore, when St. Peter asks if forgiving seven times is enough, he is truly seeking the Father’s heart. The disciple desires to be devoutly given to the good works of the Father, but the Son is about to shatter Peter’s conception of grace, and our own.

Was it for Crimes that I had done
He groan’d upon the Tree?
Amazing Pity! Grace unknown!
And Love beyond Degree!

Our Lord Jesus answers Peter, “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:22). The economy of the Father’s mercy is abundant. His grace is a deluge and extends beyond our imagination and (thankfully) well beyond the generous mercy of St. Peter and any other person on the earth. God’s grace is offensive and offends many outside the Kingdom. His grace is not anything to be earned, but only something to be received as our sins drop from our souls as raindrops from the storm cloud.

We can only imagine St. Peter’s reaction to Jesus’ radical offering of grace. St. Matthew does not record Peter’s response, and it may have been one of shock or even disgust. “Really, Lord, forgive someone forever?!” “Surely there must be a limit?!” Be honest, is this not your natural reaction from your old fleshly heart? Therefore, it is not a surprise that Jesus simply dives into a parable to double down on the Father’s amazing grace for sinners such as we.

Christ takes the opportunity to tell us “the kingdom of heaven [is] likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.” (Matthew 18:23). We learn that the Master’s Kingdom will have an accounting. A reckoning is coming. Advent is on the horizon. Lest we forget the severity of the judgment, we learn that one servant “owed him ten thousand talents,” and when the King learned the servant could not pay, “his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.” (Matthew 18:24-25).

This judgment is great and severe. The servant’s whole household is to be sold. At first, St. Peter and the other listeners must have wondered, how do we reconcile what Jesus just said – forgive seventy times seven with this harsh king? Then enters repentance. “The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.” (Matthew 18:26). The act of contrition from one sinner, one debtor to God, results in the uncanny and unmerited grace of the King: “Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.” (Matthew 18:27).

At this point, the listener may stop. They hear that God is abundantly gracious and therefore take the severity of His judgment lightly. In fact, far too many within the Church pat themselves on the back for this great exchange of Christ for themselves, only to neglect the point of the parable, which is found at its end. This servant who was forgiven much, leaves the king’s presence, “and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.” (Matthew 18:28).

Well might the Sun in Darkness hide
And shut his Glories in,
When God, the mighty Maker dy’d
For Man the Creatures Sin.

Are you a member of the Church of the Pay Me That Thou Owest? It’s a popular church. It is a synagogue of satan. It is full of those with itching ears who hear that God is a lax Father and easy forgiver; therefore, do not worry about judgment, but instead eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. This church is full of sinners who thank God on Sunday for His forgiveness, and ignore the pleas of “his fellowservant” who “fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.” (Matthew 18:29). Are you like the first servant who was forgiven much but forgives little? You may not have the power to cast your brother or sister “into prison, till he should pay the debt,” but how often have you cast someone into a dark prison of your old heart? How many times are you unable to forgive or unable to accept a plea for forgiveness, all the while relishing the Father’s grace?

Dear Christian, if we bathe in the Father’s forgiving heart, then we must have hearts willing to forgive the foulest wrongdoer in our lives. We are the foulest sinner and offender against the Father, and yet He forgave us when we repented. The Son of God teaches us to be ever-forgiving, as He forgave us even upon the Cross for doing what we did not even comprehend. How much more shall we do the same?

Be devoutly given because you were divinely forgiven. Do not be like the first servant, who was hauled again before the King after hearing his unyielding vengeance, and received vengeance in kind. “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.” (Matthew 18:34). Jesus will not tolerate an unforgiving disciple. He is Forgiveness in the flesh and by His blood and wounds, He becomes the endorsed check to pay all our debts. Therefore, the Father of abundant grace calls us, His children, to abundantly forgive those who have trespassed against us, since He hath forgiven us our trespasses. “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” (Matthew 18:35).

Thus might I hide my blushing Face,
While his dear Cross appears,
Dissolve my Heart in Thankfulness,
And melt my Eyes to Tears.

We cannot match the Father’s love for us, for even the rest of our life devoutly given to thank Him is but a drop in the waterfall of grace. Yet, with what little of our life we have left, we should devoutly give it back to the Father as another raindrop in His flood of grace. Take heart, beloved in Christ, for though the Church year nears its end, we are about to begin yet another year of grace. What better time to hear again this lesson about the abundance of the Father’s grace so that we may prepare our hearts to exercise forgiveness, charity, and grace to all whom we encounter in the upcoming Advent and Christmastide seasons?

May our love for each other resound beyond the halls of the parish and into the hearts of every family, friend, and yes, foe we encounter. May the Father of peace and joy fill your hearts so that you bring joy to others as the Philippians brought joyful remembrance in the prayers of St. Paul. (Epistle lesson, Philippians 1:3-4). Do not fret or fear about your past sin and withholding of forgiveness. Let go of your sins, for Christ bears them. Let go of your unforgiveness and go and be reconciled to your brother or sister. Be “confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6).

It is a hard thing to forgive. It is much harder to forgive a second, third, or more times. Therefore, pray again the collect of this week for the Father to keep you in “continual godliness” and gracefully impart His loving and living heart within your flesh. It can be done, for it is His will to be done. And what the Father wills, He accomplishes. Let us pray for the love that God graced St. Paul for the Church in Philippi, to whom he wrote “in my bonds,” that “ye all are partakers of my grace.” (Philippians 1:7). May we love as deep, and great, and as generously as St. Paul loved that Church, whom he prayed for “that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment.” (Philippians 1:9).

The beginning of love is forgiveness, “for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8). A Church that loves abundantly knows the Lord Jesus abundantly. Therefore, let us know nothing of this world, save the love of the Lord Jesus Christ crucified and risen. (1 Corinthians 2:2). By knowing the Lord’s love, then we may walk with eyes cleared from the beam in our eyes so we may pull specks out of our brother. We may judge and judge wisely, and “may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ,” which comes soon. (Philippians 1:10).

Church, our journey nears the end. Jordan is just over the horizon, step by step. There is no time to waste, but good works for us to be devoutly given unto. Henceforth, give no room for the world’s detour nor satan’s roadblocks. Keep your eyes straight ahead on the narrow path of the Lord, “being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:11).

But Drops of Grief can ne’er repay
The Debt of Love we owe;
Here Lord I give myself away,
‘Tis all that I can do.