All Parts are Essential

Sermon for March 19, 2023

We had a good week at the river. We were there for a couple snowstorms, but didn’t have to go anywhere, so we just watched everything get beautiful. I used the captive time to do my taxes. Am I the only one who still does their own taxes? I started investing right after we were married and decided then that I couldn’t invest knowledgeably without knowing the tax implications. So, I have been doing them ever since. I am not sure why they have to be so complicated. The IRS minions who write the instructions should all be exterminated. If the tax instructions were written by English majors instead of finance majors, taxes would be much less daunting.

I’m still working on the parables. I have chosen three for today. The first is only recorded by Matthew. It is the story of the unforgiving servant. When you read the parables, it usually helps to read the paragraph preceding the story. Jesus frequently piggy backs on previous lessons.

Prior to this parable, Jesus is teaching about forgiveness. Jesus outlines the legal procedure to follow if someone wrongs you. He first suggests taking the wrong doer aside and quietly informing him of his transgression. If he refuses to listen, treat him like a non-believer or tax collector. Remember who is telling the story. It is Matthew the ex-tax collector. Coincidence? I think not. Then Matthew snitches on Peter asking a dumb question. Every group has a pecking order and petty politics. Anyway, Mathew says that Peter asks: “How many times must I forgive …?” You all Know the answer and so did Matthew – and Peter if he had stopped to think about prior lessons. You forgive as many times as you need to. Then Jesus told the story about the unforgiving servant. A king had a servant who was in debt to his eyeballs; and when the King came to collect, the servant was broke and begged his master for mercy. The king forgave the debt and let the servant go free. Then the story goes on to the person who was in debt to the same servant who just had his debt forgiven. Rather than show mercy, the servant had the man thrown into prison until the debt was paid. When the king heard about it, he was not pleased and took action against the original servant. Everybody got that? Then Matthew finishes the story with a quote from Jesus that summarizes the lesson, “This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

You all get the message. You need go no farther than the golden rule to find the moral of the story. Why only in Matthew? Why did Matthew record this story while other gospel writers didn’t? We know that Matthew was a traditionalist, conservative Jew. Matthew was not one of those who argued to admit Gentiles into this Christian movement. The old establishment had been very good to Matthew. He was not one to buck authority; he was the authority. He was a tax collector for the Romans. So, this new teaching of forgiveness and love your enemies had to be difficult for him. The fact that he embraced this new doctrine is a testimony in itself. He would have been like a reformed smoker. How many of you can relate to that. There is nothing more righteous that a new convert. Forgiveness would have been a big deal for him. He had a lot to forgive. Do you know how the Roman tax system worked? The Romans first appointed collectors and gave them a quota. It was sort of a franchise. Anything over the quota was theirs to keep. Tax collectors also had access to the Roman army to make sure citizens paid up. I think the IRS is heavy handed, but the Roman system was more like a Mafia collection agency. Matthew commanded a gang of thugs and leg breakers. He had a lot for which to be forgiven.

Would it surprise anyone to know that the next lesson of Jesus is about divorce? I will leave that for another day or maybe never.

The next parable I will discuss today is only found in the 13th chapter of Mark. You may know that Mark was Peter’s scribe. Mark was just a kid during the ministry of Jesus. The young man who ran away naked when Jesus was arrested and later traveled with Paul and Barnabas until Paul decided Mark was unreliable. Mark eventually hooks up with his relative Peter and it is believed Mark wrote his gospel in Rome while Peter was in prison. So, it mostly contains the observations of Peter.

There are only two parables that are contained solely in Mark. We have covered planting seeds, so I have chosen the one about the homeowner who goes on a trip. Just prior to the parable, Jesus is in the temple and talks about the end days and time of troubles. It is a full page of dire prophesy. Brothers will turn against each other; false Christs will lure people away from God. The sun will grow dark and stars will fall from the sky. Then The Son of Man will send angels gather His chosen people. Jesus says it will happen, but no one knows when except the Father, and He’s not telling. So be ready; and He tells this story to empathize His point. It is about a master who left his servants in charge while he went on a trip. He gave each one instructions and individual responsibilities. They know if the owner comes back and catches them sleeping or negligent, they will pay an awful price. Then Jesus finishes with, “I tell you this, and I say this to everyone: Be Ready!” Peter was chosen by Jesus as the leader of the Disciples. He was the first one to recognize Jesus as the Christ. He grew in faith after denying Jesus the night before He was crucified. But Peter felt the need to be reminded that everyone needs to remain ready for judgement. Everyone. Even the most faithful.

The third parable I want to talk about today is found only in the Gospel of Luke. In chapter 7, Jesus is invited to dinner by a Pharisee named Simon. I picture the dining in a courtyard open to the public where a woman begins to minister to Jesus by washing his feet and rubbing them with perfume. Simon rebukes Jesus by telling him that the woman touching him is a sinner. Then Jesus tells a story about two people who owed money to the same banker. They were both penniless, unable to pay. The banker took pity and forgave both their debts. The Jesus asks who will love the banker more, and the Pharisee answered, “I think it would be the one who owed him the more money.” Jesus acknowledged he was right. Then He told the woman her sins were forgiven, then he told those watching, “… the person who is forgiven only a little will love only a little.”

I think this parable can easily be misinterpreted, but that could be the subject of a future sermon on easily misunderstood parables. The point I want to make here is that Luke tells the story of Jesus through the eyes of the women. This is a woman’s story. It is not a story a man would tell.

So, we have three story tellers who document the parables of Christ. All three bring different backgrounds, and biases into their narrative. It takes all three to tell the full story. You have heard over and over that the Bible is the word of God. But, folks, it was written by men. Men chosen by God because they were perfect for the job. Matthew records the parables that speak to the conservative men who cling to tradition. Mark was a screw-up, fired by Paul and rescued by his uncle Peter to become his scribe. Peter was a fisherman and few if any fishermen at the time could read and write. Peter needed Mark to record the parables aimed at those who like Peter welcomed everyone to follow Christ, but needed reminded to keep loyal to their new faith even when no one was watching. Mark was perfect for his role. He was literate and indebted t Peter. Why did God choose Luke? He was not one of the followers of Jesus. He wasn’t even there! He wasn’t even a Hebrew! He was a Greek! I believe he was a slave of a Christian convert named Theophilus who loaned Luke to Paul. Luke, however, was a writer, and writers have a need to write. If families were affluent enough, they sent their firstborn son to school. But never the women. Their job was to stay home and have babies. But the female faithful who followed Christ were also were a big part of His ministry, so God chose Luke to tell their story. He was perfect for the job.

What task has God chosen for you? What task is perfect for you? We never know, but we do know we need to love our neighbor as Matthew tells us. We need to be ready when called as we are reminded in Mark, and we need to be servants who love our God as the woman did in Luke’s story.

Pray with me. Lord, I continue to be amazed at the lessons of the Bible. There is more there than I can ever learn in a single lifetime. I believe it is a perfect handbook for daily living even as I recognize I am incapable of a perfect life. I will trust in your guidance, your love, and your forgiveness. Amen