bringing justice to the ends of the earth

Good afternoon sisters and brothers,

Today's reading is the first of the "servant songs" in Isaiah. Christians have always seen Jesus as a fulfillment of these songs because of the servant's gentle, yet authoritative way. Here we see the persistence, gentleness and grace of God working steadily through the servant (and through us) to bring forth justice in the world. Our work is never finished, but we are not alone in it.

God bless,
Sam

Isaiah 42:1-12

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. ²He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; ³a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. ⁴He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

⁵Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: ⁶I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,⁷ to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. ⁸I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. 

⁹See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. ¹⁰Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. ¹¹Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the tops of the mountains. ¹²Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands.

forgiven and forgiving

Good afternoon friends,
Today's reading is one of my two favorite passages about forgiveness (the other one is tomorrow's reading, and both will be our worship texts for tomorrow). Peter asks Jesus if he should forgive another brother or sister in the church as many as seven times when they sin against him. The way he asks the question, he seems to think forgiving seven times is a stretch, and sometimes it is. Jesus pushes him further (what a surprise) and illustrates the point with a story about God's forgiveness for us. When we ask God's forgiveness, God is immediately willing to forgive. God also expects us to treat others the same way. Jesus warns us not to expect to be forgiven if we clutch our grudges against others to our chest. Challenging words, but also a beautiful invitation to lay down the burden of self-condemnation, because Jesus welcomes us home.

God bless,
Sam

Matthew 18:21-35

²¹Then 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?” ²²Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. 

²³“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; ²⁵and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. ²⁶So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.

²⁸But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. ³¹When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.

³²Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. ³⁵So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”