Matthew 18:21-35 page 1
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Matthew 18:21-35 page 1 |
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America has been gripped by the trial of serial killer Dennis Rader, who tortured, abused and murdered ten victims over a 30-year period. 'Monster' is an overused word when it comes to criminal cases, but this chilling chap surely fits the bill. He was sentenced to 145 years in prison, and he will not be eligible for parole for 40 years. What compounds the tragedy is that he describes himself as a Christian, and until recently was president of a Lutheran congregation. In a rambling statement, Rader quoted from the Bible, read a few lines from a daily devotional book, and suggested that his three-decade killing spree was inspired by demons. He thanked his defense team with the gushing gratitude of an Oscar winner. But not once did the ex-deacon ever pause to make a serious, considered apology to the relatives of his victims. The best he could manage was, "As for remorse, well, that's obvious." But obvious it was not. Sorry would have been a small but welcome start.
The American court system permits the relatives of victims to make a statement
at sentence hearings; 15 individuals decided to speak up. Most of them were
professing Christians, this trial being held in America's Bible Belt. In most
cases, their hatred for Rader was palpable; through gritted teeth, they told
Rader he would burn in hell forever. The most vitriolic statement came from a
man who had authored a Christian book on suffering. He rained down insults on
the killer of his mother with glee, and pronounced yet another "you'll roast
forever without possibility of parole" sentence. There was something obscene
about the relish with which he spoke the words, his face twisted with rage. For
just a second, it seemed like there was more than one monster in the courtroom.
"Hell will freeze over before I forgive", he told reporters later. None of us knows how we would feel if someone had done to one of our relatives what Dennis Rader had done to his victims in the United States. But at the same time we probably feel a sense of revulsion as Christians not only at his crimes but also at the reaction. And how much worse for us to hear the professions of faith both by Rader and by those who spoke out at the sentencing hearing. But it's that last horrifying fact - the professed Christianity on all sides - that made the particular link for me with this Bible passage. The story begins with Peter asking Jesus,
‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I
forgive?' Now granted it isn't literally in the Greek 'another member of the church', it's 'my brother', but it amounts to the same: Christians are capable of sinning against one another and causing great hurt. And this is the problem Jesus addresses in his parable of the unforgiving servant: hurting one another in the family of God. How many churches have been split by sin and unforgiveness? How many times have you come across people in church who no longer speak to one another? And how often does this problem hold up the entire mission of a church? And so this is what I want us to explore today. It's important early on in our relationship as church and new minister to make sure we have no barriers here.
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Copyright © David D Faulkner, 2006 except where other sources are attributed or noted as inspiration. |
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