Forgive Seven Times or Seventy Times?

Gospel of Matthew 18

On the same occasion the disciples came to Jesus, and asked him: “Who is really the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 Jesus called a little child to him, and placed it in the middle of them, and then said: 3 “I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven at all. 4 Therefore, all who humble themselves like this child shall be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And anyone who, for the sake of my name, welcomes even one little child like this, is welcoming me.”

6 “But, if anyone who puts a snare in the way of one of these lowly ones who believe in me, it would be best for them to be sunk in the depths of the sea, with a great millstone hung round their neck. 7 Woe to the world because of such snares! There cannot but be snares; yet woe to you who is answerable for the snare! 8 If your hand or your foot is a snare to you, cut it off, and throw it away. It would be better for you to enter the life maimed or lame, than to have both hands, or both feet, and be thrown into the Aeonian fire.”

9 “If your eye is a snare to you, take it out, and throw it away. It would be better for you to enter into life with only one eye, than to have both eyes thrown into the fiery pit. 10 Beware of despising one of these lowly ones, for in heaven, I tell you, their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man is come to save that which was lost.”

12 “What do you think? If you owned a hundred sheep, and one of them strayed, would you not leave the ninety–nine on the hills, and go and search for the one that is straying? 13 And, if you succeed in finding it, I tell you that you would rejoice more over that one sheep than over the ninety–nine which did not stray. 14 So, too, it is the will of my Father, who is in heaven, that not one of these lowly ones should be lost.”

15 “If your brother or sister does wrong, go to them and convince them of their fault when you are alone together. If you are listened to, you have won them over. 16 But, if you are not listened to, take with you one or two others, so that ‘on the evidence of two or three witnesses, every word may be put beyond dispute.’ 17 If they are refused also, speak to the church; and, if the church is refused, treat the wrong–doer as you would a Gentile or a tax–gatherer.”

18 “I tell you, all that you forbid on earth will be held in heaven to be forbidden, and all that you allow on earth will be held in heaven to be allowed. 19 Again, I tell you that, if but two of you on earth agree as to what they shall pray for, whatever it be, it will be granted them by my Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three have come together in my name, I am present with them.”

How to Teach the Lord’s Prayer?

To continue reading Chapter 22 of the Gospel of Matthew, please click on page 2 below.

Understanding The Lord’s Prayer: Hallowed Be Thy Name

Chapter 2

Hallowed be thy name…

(Understanding God’s Identity)

Jesus establishes God as a heavenly father figure, but that’s not enough for most of us. Without a name, he seems lost in abstraction. Try as we might, we simply can’t bring him into view. There is only the vague presence of someone hovering around us—like the adult of a Charlie Brown Peanuts Special, always outside the frame, speaking in a strange indecipherable language. Jesus understands our predicament, but unlike Moses, who chiseled the Word to fit the hardness of our hearts,¹ he isn’t going to bend the gospel around our weaknesses. He’ll allow for the idea that God has a name, but he isn’t about to tell us what it is.

Why the secrecy? Because Jesus understood that once God is given a name such as Yahweh or Elohim, it doesn’t take long before we start asking for special favors.² Jesus, as we know, wanted to break the belief in a God that plays favorites. He wanted his followers to realize that in the Father’s eyes all races of people are equal: the gospel of Christ beating at the heart of all true religions. “He who is not against us are for us,”³ proclaimed the carpenter’s son. That includes Buddhists, Muslims, Taoists, Jews, and others. What we label ourselves isn’t important as long as we follow Christ’s gospel of love, charity, and good works—as long as we climb the mountain and live up to our potential as God’s children.

Our journey though is hard and steep—especially at the beginning—which is why when churches offer a shortcut to the kingdom of heaven we are quick to accept. It’s quite comforting to think that Jesus did all the legwork, and that we can just coast into heaven on the belief that he is our savior. Unfortunately, Jesus never made such a claim. In fact, he makes it quite clear that he expects us to do our own walking, carrying our own crosses.⁴ The obstacles we face on the way are our responsibility to remove because, more often than not, they are of are own making.

One obstacle to the kingdom is our habit of seeking God from without rather than within. In Old Testament days, this habit regularly took the form of idol worship. Today it is much the same, except we’ve replaced the golden calf with images of Jesus of Nazareth—fetishizing his likeness in our churches, art work, books, and car ornaments.

We’ve fallen into this trap because Jesus, while being cagey about God’s name, says that salvation is to be found through his own “name”.⁵ As usual, we have to be careful of taking Jesus’s reported words too literally. It is clear that he never wanted to be personally honored for the things he did.⁶ Throughout the Gospels he shuns the ego–trip, cherishing anonymity over fame.⁷ He even goes so far as to tell the disciples not to call him “good,”⁸ while urging secrecy from those whom he heals.⁹

When Jesus talks of Christ, God, or the kingdom of heaven, he always speaks in metaphors and parables,¹⁰ expecting us to seek the deeper meaning. When Jesus says that he is the pathway to the Father,¹¹ he is not talking as Jesus of Nazareth but as the Christ child who lives in us all. He is calling each of us to turn our attention inward, to reconnect with that child through the power of the Holy Spirit.¹² What he is not doing, is asking us to bow down and praise him, or go through life as spiritual automatons asking, “What would Jesus do?” If we are to kneel before anyone it is our neighbor, so as to wash their feet and honor them as sons and daughters of the Lord.¹³

This teaching has always been a pretty hard one to…

The Lord’s Prayer. To continue reading, click on page 2 at the bottom.

1. “Moses,” they said, “permitted a man to ‘draw up in writing a notice of separation and divorce his wife.’” 5 “It was owing to the hardness of your hearts,” said Jesus, “that Moses gave you this direction; 6 But, at the beginning of the Creation, God ‘made them male and female.’” – Mark 10:4-6 [↩]
2. Then the mother of Zebediah’s sons came to him with her sons, bowing to the ground, and begging a favor. 21 “What is it that you want?” he asked. “I want you to say,” she replied, “that in your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right, and the other on your left.” – Matthew 20:20–21 [↩]
3. Mark 9:40, Luke 9:50 [↩]
4. If anyone wishes to walk in my steps, let them renounce self, take up their cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34 [↩]
5. And you will be hated by everyone on account of my name. Yet the one that endures to the end shall be saved.” – Matthew 10:22 [↩]
6. Not that I am seeking honor for myself; there is one who is seeking my honor, and he decides. – John 8:50 [↩]
7. “You are the Christ.” 30 On which Jesus charged them not to say this about him to anyone. – Mark 8:30 [↩]
8. ““Why do you call me good?” answered Jesus. “No one is good but God. – Mark 10:18 [↩]
9. Her parents were amazed, but Jesus impressed on them that they were not to tell anyone what had happened. – Luke 8:56 [↩]
10. Of all this Jesus spoke to the crowd in parables; indeed to them he used never to speak at all except in parables. – Matthew 13:34 [↩]
11. I am the door; you who go in through me will be safe, and you will go in and out and find pasture. – John 10:9 [↩]
12. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you always—the Spirit of Truth. – John 14:16 [↩]
13. If I, then—‘the Master’ and ‘the Teacher’—have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet; 15 For I have given you an example, so that you may do just as I have done to you.” – John 13:14–15 [↩]

For the Sake of God

The Gulistan (Rose Garden) is the masterwork of 13th century Persian writer Sa’di (Saadi), a celebrated poet who recently was quoted by President Barack Obama in his 2009 address to the people of Iran. In the Gulistan, Saadi tells a story that goes like this:

A person with a harsh voice was reciting loudly the Koran. A good and holy man went up to him and asked, “How much are you getting paid for that?” The person answered, “Nothing.”

“If that is so,” asked the other, “why give yourself so much trouble?” He answered, “I am reading for the sake of God!” The good and holy man replied, “For God’s sake do not read, for if you chant the Koran in this manner, you are casting a shade over the glory of Islam.

Saadi’s story is an instructive one for Muslims and Progressive Christians alike. All too often we attribute to God human characteristics like jealousy and neediness, which in turn makes us think that God demands that we glorify Him and do things for His sake. By doing so, we paint God in a rather poor light, as if he were akin to an insecure earthly father who demands allegiance and obedience from his adult children.

God (the good heavenly Father) wants us to read scripture and poetry not for His sake, but for our own sake, for the benefit of the Christ seed in us, so that we might grow in our love for one another and the living world around us. It is by realizing our potential as Sons and Daughters of God, and loving our neighbors as ourselves, that we honor Islam and Mohammed, Christianity and Jesus, and God the Father, not by appealing to Jehovah’s or Allah’s non-existent vanity.

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