TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
(All Saints’ Day)
Readings:
Key Verses (using the World English Bible):
Php. 1:6, 7, 9: “He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ… I have you in my heart… you all are partakers with me of grace… I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment.”
Matt. 18:33: “Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?”
Reflection
We’re now in the final weeks of the Season after Trinity. And, as we reach that end goal, a sense of finality, or of “wrapping things up,” begins to permeate the assigned readings, especially those from the Epistle. About seven weeks ago, Paul prayed that we may “walk in the Spirit”, and that “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Now he is “confident” that “he who began a good work in you will complete it,” and that “you all are partakers with me of grace.” There’s also the hint of a farewell that accompanies the close of any journey: “I thank my God whenever I remember you… I have you in my heart… I long after all of you.” With just two more “passions” to go in this final cycle of union, we can feel that we are just steps away from entering into the mystical fullness of God.
Today we return the passion of greed, or covetousness, exploring it through yet another of Jesus’ parables. Thankfully, this one is a little tamer and perhaps more relatable than that of the murderous king a few weeks ago! Jesus likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a certain king who, moved with compassion, forgave the debt of a servant who couldn’t pay him back. However, when this forgiven servant does not show that same compassion to one of his debtors, the king asks him “Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?” Then the king delivered him “to the tormentors”—whoever they are—until he could repay the debt.
We can relate to this parable more because, sadly, we’ve all met people like the unforgiving servant, someone whose wrongdoing was excused, but who refused to “pay it forward.” Maybe we’ve been that person ourselves, grateful recipients of compassion and forgiveness, but then unable or unwilling to give these to someone else in need. Jesus says we need to forgive others not just seven times, but “seventy times seven,” and it’s funny to realize that none of the characters in his story ultimately did that. The king is set up as a role model of forgiveness, but when he finds out about his servant’s hypocrisy, he changes his mind, reinstates the debt, and throws him into prison. Had that been the king’s final straw? The 490th time that he’d forgiven that particular servant?
And while I ponder this point, another comes to mind—the connection that Jesus makes between forgiveness and debt. We may have encountered this connection before. Some versions of the Lord’s prayer, following Matthew’s version say “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” And traditionally, Christianity has claimed that Jesus’ sacrifice paid our debt of sin back to God. I don’t subscribe to this “substitutionary theory of atonement,” but I do find merit in reading between the lines here. The king in Jesus’ parable threw away the compassion he had felt for his servant, and in doing so, he became indebted to resentment, anger, revenge, and maybe even superiority. And only forgiveness can cancel that debt.
“Forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free—and realizing you were the prisoner!” says Max Lucado. And so we enter into union with greed/covetousness by releasing all debt. We release others from the debts they owe us through their wrongdoing. But, perhaps more importantly, we release ourselves from the debts we take on by bearing grudges, wanting to teach others a lesson, or holding on to anger and pain. Again, our goal hasn’t been to completely get rid of the passions, but to realign them with God’s purpose. So if we are to be covetous, then let’s covet others’ compassion and generosity—like the saints', whose day we celebrate today—and not forget these when others need them. If we are to be greedy, then let’s be greedy for canceling the most debts, and not keep count of how many times we forgive. That’s how we can become, in the words of today’s collect, “ready both in body and soul” to accomplish what God would have us do.
Prayer of the Day
Almighty God,
you have knit together your elect
in one communion and fellowship
in the mystical body of your Son, Christ our Lord.
Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints
in all virtuous and godly living,
that we may come to those ineffable joys
that you have prepared for those who truly love you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit
lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting.
Amen.
—Collect for All Saints’ Day, in the Book of Common Prayer, 1979
Almighty and most merciful God,
we pray you,
keep us, in your bountiful goodness,
from all things that may hurt us,
that we, being ready both in body and soul,
may cheerfully* accomplish those things
that you would have us do;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
*literally, “with open hearts/minds”
—Original Collect for Trinity 22 from the 6th-century Gregorian Sacramentary.
(Words: “Wer sind die vor Gottes Throne” by Theobald Heinrich Schenck, 1656-1727; translation by Frances Elizabeth Cox, 1812-1897; adapted by Joseph A. Soltero, 2013
Tune: ‘Zeuch mich, zeuch mich’, from Geistreiches Gesang-buch, 1698; harmony by William Henry Monk, 1823-1889)
Who are these like stars appearing,
These before God’s throne who stand?
Each a golden crown is wearing;
Who are all this glorious band?
Alleluia! Hark, they sing,
Praising loud their heav’nly King.
These before God’s throne who stand?
Each a golden crown is wearing;
Who are all this glorious band?
Alleluia! Hark, they sing,
Praising loud their heav’nly King.
Who are these of dazzling brightness,
These in God’s own truth arrayed,
Clad in robes of purest whiteness,
Robes whose luster ne’er shall fade,
Ne’er be touched by time’s rude hand?
Whence comes all this glorious band?
These in God’s own truth arrayed,
Clad in robes of purest whiteness,
Robes whose luster ne’er shall fade,
Ne’er be touched by time’s rude hand?
Whence comes all this glorious band?
These are they who have contended
For their Savior’s honor long,
Wrestling on till life was ended,
Following not the sinful throng;
These who well the fight sustained,
Triumph through the Lamb have gained.
For their Savior’s honor long,
Wrestling on till life was ended,
Following not the sinful throng;
These who well the fight sustained,
Triumph through the Lamb have gained.
These are they whose hearts were riven,
Sore with woe and anguish tried,
Who in prayer have often striven
With the God they glorified;
Now, their painful conflict o’er,
God has bid them weep no more.
Sore with woe and anguish tried,
Who in prayer have often striven
With the God they glorified;
Now, their painful conflict o’er,
God has bid them weep no more.
These, like priests, have watched and waited,
Offering up to Christ their will;
Soul and body consecrated,
Day and night to serve Him still.
Now in God’s most holy place
Offering up to Christ their will;
Soul and body consecrated,
Day and night to serve Him still.
Now in God’s most holy place
Blest they stand before His face.
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