Pastor's Corner

AS SIMPLE AS THAT

Mark 2:1-12
"How can this Man talk like that"

Once upon a time a woman set out to buy a silver soup-ladle. The silverware sales person was very obliging. She showed the woman many ladles. Some were very fancy, gilded pieces with heavily embossed curved handles. The price seemed right, but the woman couldn't decide.

Finally, the salesperson said, "Perhaps you would like to see something like this." She brought out a ladle that was plain and unadorned. This one pleased the woman very much. She wanted to buy it. But the price! It was nearly double the cost of the others she had been shown. She asked why, and the salesperson said, "You see, in fancy ornamental ware, the flaws in the material don't show. The defects are covered up by the ornamentation. As you can see, the plain ladle is free of defects. If there were any, you would see them easily. It's as simple as that."

When you strip away the fancy words about what it means to be a loyal disciple of Jesus, it all comes down to whether you are a loving, caring, forgiving person. And no amount of ornamentation, no amount of superficial, displays of piety can cover that up. It's as simple as that.

The Apostle Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?" Jesus answered, "Not seven, I tell you, but seventy times seven" (Mt. 18:21-22).

Jesus' answer means that in the matter of forgiveness there should be no mathematical calculation at all. Jesus sets no limits on forgiveness. He tells us we must keep forgiving again and again. Consequently, there is no possibility of a Christian forgiving too often.

Jesus' answer must have been as difficult for Peter to take as it is for us. And, although we pretend to go along with the teaching, we have our ways to try to get around it. We may say to ourselves, "I'll forgive him / her for what he / she did to me because my faith says I must. But I'll never forget it." And the resentment keeps churning up inside. And there is no real forgiveness.

The word "resentment" means "to re-feel" -- to feel again a wrong that has been done to you by another, to re-feel again the wound.

The Bible is simple, yet deep, and unchanging. But our understanding of its message and its application to our lives is a process of daily discovery of the character of God that rivals any exploration in history.

In my journey as a Bible student I have learned to have a "wide-eye (an eagle eye so to say) in the midst of the wonders of God, his character." The truth that has stuck to me over the years is that: “When we make God shallow, we become shallow, when we make God cheap, we become cheap.”

When we struggle with faith issues, or have trouble with forgiveness, a loved one, a bad report from the doctor, or a crisis at work- God usually enlarges our hearts, our spirits and we learn new dimensions of God’s faithfulness to us and new lessons about our walk of faith. In such situations, when there is nothing left but God; that is when we find out God is all that we need.

God is infinite. His wisdom is limitless (God’s character), and we don't grow up in Christ in a day. His ways are deep and wonderful, and it takes years of prayerful experience to search them out. Every day we should be making more discoveries and discovering new mercies. For God’s mercies are new every morning and great is His faithfulness. Loves that reaches up is 'Adoration’; Loves that reaches out is 'Affection'. Ah, But Love that stoops is 'Grace'.

May God continue to bless you all, and have a great summer. Until then Only Christ's salvation can change us from spectators to participants, Only Christ's perspective can change us from spectators to participants.

Sincerely in Christ,

Pastor Samuel King-Kabu

Web Page prepared by:
Roger Kenner & Jette Blair.
Content-New Topics Last Updated: 2007/07/181
St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church - Montreal