The Flow of Grace

The Flow of Grace

-Being Graceful Citizens of The Kingdom of God-

Matthew 18.21-35

DBC 8-27-06

Are there obstacles to receiving God’s grace? If so, we need to identify them because theKingdom of God requires that we become graceful people.

We’re to seek to live as graceful citizens of the kingdom of God in this world.

In our immediate world

In the our extended world

What would that look like?

The flow of grace is exhibited in forgiveness, peace, and acceptance (inclusion) toward our neighbors, locally and globally. We, as followers of Christ, are like taps of grace; we’re to be tapped into the God of grace and let grace flow freely out of our lives to all we come into contact with.

What does grace look like when it flows out of the follower of Christ? Grace takes the shape of the Kingdom of God: Peace, Love, Joy, Acceptance and Forgiveness.

When I was a kid I use to get the Labor and Memorial holidays mixed up. I was always unsure which month each occurred in, September and May or vice versa. Nowadays, September is no longer just the month of Labor Day; it’s also a month for memorial as well. We are now charged with remembering the awful destruction of Katrina and Rita from last year and also still (and forevermore) the painful recent memory of the 911 terrorist attacks of 2001.

A few days following 911, I went to be a part of a prayer/support rally to lead one of the public prayers that nearby neighborhood sponsors had requested. There was a big banner that people were signing and writing prayers and encouragements on for the victims of the terrible 911 terrorist attacks. As I was passing the banner, I noticed a third grader that was kneeling down and scribbling out his message; I watched, in disbelief, the little boy write out, “We will find and kill the people who did this.”

Similarly, the other day I read about an East Texas Baptist preacher during a stump speech in support of Israel rattle off, “We Will not turn the other cheek!” (Christian Century, August 2006)

Are these kind of attitudes fit for followers of Christ, members of the Kingdom of God?

Today’s scripture tells a story of how the follower of Christ and citizen of the Kingdom of God should show grace in this world and life.

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

[Peter, as we mentioned before, has always strikes me as a strong guy that would never back down form a fight. It’s noteworthy that he is the one who asks Jesus this question concerning forgiveness. It’s also noteworthy that he’s inquiring about how many times he should forgive his covenant brother (fellow Jew).

It amazes me how hard it is for some Christians to be graceful to each other, much less those outside of the church. Holding grudges and having grace cannot coexist in the follower of Christ. Christ calls us to be graceful, peaceable, and forgiving towards all inside and outside of the church.

Peter generously recommends 7 times of forgiving the same brother for his offenses. The Babylon Talmud commanded three times (three strikes and you’re out). Jesus says 77 times or in another translation (NKJV) 70 times 7. Was Jesus literally saying to forgive 491 times? Jesus was speaking using the tool of exaggeration to make the point that his followers of his Father’s Kingdom should always be forgiving and graceful people.]

23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

[Looking back over the last three Sundays I’ve noticed how the subject of the kingdom of God has repeatedly come up. A few Sundays ago, the sermon was about running after peace (1 Peter 3.8-12); it very well could have been subtitled “The Peaceable Kingdom of God.” A couple of Sundays ago, the sermon was about the end of all things and with that we acknowledged that announcing the end of all things was really a way of announcing the beginning of God’s kingdom (God’s kingdom is here and now). And last Sunday the sermon was about how the Kingdom of God is spacious and how the host of the great banquet invited in all who could not heal (save) themselves (Luke 14.21).

The Kingdom of God was the new Gospel that Jesus was proclaiming and ushering into reality.

The Kingdom of God is the true follower of Christ’s heartbeat.

The Kingdom of God is the true follower of Christ’s a life-mission.

The Kingdom of God is the true follower of Christ’s heart’s prayer. “Your Kingdom Come and your will be done.”]

24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. [600 Talents was the yearly tax in Southern Palestine; so 10,000 Talents would be roughly 16 and half years of taxes.]

25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.

[Pity can be translated compassion. Christ was compassionate and we should be too; that’s an expression of grace.

There is a peace and power in the letting go of grudges and debts in life. When your heart is empty of bitterness, grace can overflow in your life bringing the greatest sense of peace, love, and joy. When you let go of past offenses, grudges, and bitterness you then can experience God’s grace. Bitterness has a way of enslaving the one who holds grudges in their life.

A hundred denarii was the equivalent of 100 days of wages; so it was no small debt in and of itself.]

He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. 29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' 30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

In order to receive God’s grace we need to be willing to be graceful ourselves; to receive God’s forgiveness we need to be willing to forgive (Matthew 6.16). In fact, God’s grace transforms us into a graceful and forgiving people the more and more we yield to God’s grace.

I was thinking of what God’s grace in action, in the flow of this life, would look like in the church or the community of followers of the way of Christ in this world.

There is a character in the book, The Story We Find Ourselves In that is preaching the Sunday following 911:

“It Strikes me that what we’re learning about terrorist cells has something to tell us about what it means to be a community of faith. Terrorist cells involve small groups of people secretly banding together, willing to give their lives for their cause, plotting how they can spread fear and violence to achieve their own ends. In much the same way, but with completely different motivation, the church brings cells of committed people, willing to give their lives for God’s mission, plotting a spiritual revolution of God’s love and hope and reconciliation to achieve God’s dream.” (McLaren, The Story We Find Ourselves In, 135)