Saturday November 20 Pentecost 25
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Psalm 33
A psalm of praise for God creating the earth, and for being equally in charge of the nations and for rescuing us. We rejoice in this God!
Isaiah 65: 17-25 What’s Isaiah about?
The readings for the next couple of weeks now focus on the anticipation of the birth of Christ and prepare us for Advent. One of the themes of Advent is that for God to come to the earth, much will have to change. These readings ask us if we are ready to change. This famous poem was written to encourage people to hope when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians about 600 years before Jesus. The early Christians interpreted this passage to be a prophecy about a new world being created in the birth of Jesus.
Matthew 18: 21-35 What’s Matthew about?
Peter has realised that an expectation of extreme generosity is the norm in Jesus’ new society but Peter (like us) is sure there have to be limits.
In response, Jesus makes the expectation of generosity virtually infinite. He illustrates this with a story about a slave who is the Chief Financial Officer of the owner’s business, and who has embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars. When he is caught and pleads for mercy, his owner cancels the whole amount as if it were a trifle. But the same slave is merciless to a poor slave and his family who owe him a trifling amount of money and imprisons him.
Peter is right, Jesus is saying, there are limits. Just not in the way Peter imagined. If we do not enact without limit the forgiveness we have received, then we put ourselves outside the kingdom of Jesus’ new society, the kingdom of life. That’s how serious Jesus is about enacting inclusion of all—including those who have hurt us.
This week’s collect:
Almighty God,
you sent your Son Jesus Christ
to be the light of the world.
Free us from all that darkens and ensnares us,
and bring us to eternal light and joy;
through the power of him
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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