Hello and welcome to Wednesday’s podcast, I’m Bryony and today we are carrying on from where we left off yesterday in Matthew 18. Today’s passage verses 15-35 contain some of Jesus’ key teaching on conflict resolution, reconciliation and forgiveness.

On Monday we talked about ‘the power of faith’, yesterday we looked at ‘the power of position’ and today we are going to consider ‘The Power of Forgiveness’.

REFLECTION:

In my final year of University I studied at a film school in Finland. The aim was to come home having produced a short film. For our film we needed some shots in cellar, we went all out Scandi thriller! We found a cellar that worked and spent several long days filming down there. As will most things in Finland it was pretty clean other than getting a bit dusty I wouldn’t have described it at dirty. However I was pretty shocked when I got home from the first day’s shoot, I sneezed and realised that the tissue was covered in soot, the same happened when I coughed. We realised that those little particles had been in the air all day and though they weren’t noticeable to us they had infiltrated our air ways. I had a similar issue on the London underground but that can wait for another day!

The problem

Unforgiveness is pervasive. Unforgiveness is not just an attitude it ends up being the very air we breathe. We might think we’re not holding of someone in unforgiveness but then another situation causes us to see that the bitterness is still there, we cough and the tissue is covered in soot. But joy of joys forgiveness can also be the air we breathe, forgiveness can be pervasive, it can reach all the places in our hearts and the world where we would never expect forgiveness to reach.

I love the way that Jesus calls the church to be modellers of the power of forgiveness. And goodness doesn’t the world need it. The racial tensions of 2020 have shown us the deep need in the world AND in the church for reconciliation to be taken seriously, for as the prophet Amos said for ‘justice to flow like rivers’. As the world stands more divided than ever, the church is being called to keep living out the kingdom values and solutions.

So what’s Jesus’ solution here. Well in this passage we see Jesus explaining the specifics of forgiveness and then he tells a parable to show the overarching principle.

In verse 15-20 he instructs believers to deal with issues quickly and privately. This is the classic passage that anyone who says I need to do ‘matthew 18 with you’ is referring to. If anyone says that to you, run! I’m joking! Jesus says if we need to address a sin with someone, there’s a need to challenge someone we are first off to do that one to one. Let’s just think about how radical that is for a minute. When was the last time you knew you needed to address something with someone and without delay you went and sought them out? I mean I think for most of us the story would go more like…we need to address something, firstly ignore said issue, maybe someone else will deal with it, stew for at least two day, talked to a couple of people about your frustration, write passive aggressive email and or text message, don’t press send, save to draft, reread, stew some more. Decide that maybe you don’t need to address it, stew in your own resentment and bitterness for 4 years. Ok that sounds dramatic but seriously, is this only me?! Jesus says go, just go. Go and speak to the person and what’s more do it between the two of you.

I went to a great communications class led by a guy called Paul Scanlon who is a speaker and used to lead a church in Bradford. He was sharing the worst mistakes he’d made while speaking, which first off was a very brave and inspiring thing to do. One of his points was ‘ranting at a few I have a problem with but making everyone listen’ – he spoke about how rather than deal with issues face to face he would weave his individual rebuke into public t...