(All our songs this morning are from Singing the Faith (StF) numbers will be given where available)
Welcome to our Sunday Service, this week comes courtesy of The Vine at Home and Twelve Baskets
Click on the blue links to follow them for bible readings and associated links
Opening Prayers
Just take a moment to quieten yourself, make sure you are sitting as comfortably as you
can, have a bit of a wriggle if you need to.
Close your eyes and take a breath,
Take another breath, a deeper breath, in through your nose and out through your mouth,
Together let’s try to breathe in for a count of four, hold for a count of two, then breath out
slowly for a count of four, just repeat a couple of times.
Imagine you are sitting on a river’s edge, in your mind’s eye imagine the river, the trees,
plants, birds and animals all around.
Can you hear the sounds, feel a gentle breeze. Listen carefully can you hear the river, the
tinkling sound as it journeys on, making its way to the sea.
What is weighing you down?
What would you like to let go of?
Can you imagine placing one or two of your concerns in the river, letting go.
As you imagine letting go, you might like to pray:
Lord, often I hold on too tightly to things I can’t control, holding onto hurts, regrets, fears,
help me release my grip, this and every day.
As I worship you, this day, God of the full rainbow,
Help me to see something of your kaleidoscope of wonder and joy,
This and every day, I pray.
Amen.
You may now wish to say the Lord’s Prayer in a version or translation with which
you are familiar.
Reading:
Matthew 18:21-35
Responding to the reading
Peter asks what seems like a generous question:
“Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As
many as seven times?”
Seven sounds more than reasonable, surely there must be a limit, right?
But Jesus replies:
“Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
He is not asking Peter to keep a tally until he reaches a particular number. He is inviting
him into a completely different way of living.
Jesus then tells the story of a servant who is forgiven an unimaginably large debt. It is a
debt he could never hope to repay. The king simply chooses mercy. Yet almost
immediately, that same servant refuses mercy to someone who owes him a tiny fraction of
the amount. It is a story of astonishing contradiction: having received grace, the man
cannot bring himself to offer it.
At first glance, this parable can feel uncomfortable, especially if we have been deeply hurt
by others. It is important to remember that forgiveness is never permission for abuse, nor
is it an invitation to remain in unsafe relationships. Jesus never asks people to ignore
injustice or pretend that harm has not happened.
Forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation. Reconciliation requires truth, accountability,
and, where possible, repentance. Forgiveness begins somewhere quieter. It is the slow
work of refusing to let another person’s actions define our future. It is choosing, often over
and over again, not to allow bitterness to become the deepest truth about us.
That is not easy. Sometimes forgiveness comes quickly, but more often it arrives in small
steps, over months or years, helped by prayer, honesty, support, and grace.
Perhaps the heart of this parable is not, “Try harder to forgive.” Perhaps it is, “Remember
how deeply you are forgiven.”
When we recognise that we ourselves live by grace, that every day we receive mercy we
have not earned, this can slowly reshape the way we see other people. Grace becomes
less like a possession we guard and more like a gift that keeps flowing. Because people
who know they are deeply loved become people who find it easier to love. People who
know they have been forgiven become people who can begin the long journey of forgiving.
So today, you might like to reflect on these questions: —
- Is there someone whose actions still have too much power over your heart?
- Where do you most need to receive God’s forgiveness for yourself?
- How might God’s grace help you take one small step towards freedom, without
- denying the reality of what has happened?
Forgiveness is not about pretending the wound never existed. Rather, it is about trusting
that the wound does not have to write the final chapter of your story. The grace of God is
always writing something new.
May you know yourself to be held in the limitless mercy of God. May you have the wisdom
to keep healthy boundaries where they are needed, the courage to begin the slow work of
forgiveness where it is possible, and the freedom that comes from living not under the
weight of resentment, but in the light of God’s abundant grace.
Song – STF 615 – Let love be real, in giving and receiving
Blessing
Holy, creative God,
Help me to follow in your ways this week,
That I might set myself apart from the systems of greed and corruption that rage in your
world,
And join in with the story of love, grace and peace, that flows from your heart,
This and every day,
Amen.
