just a muse on today's Gospel reading
Our gospel reading for today, Tuesday in the Third Week of Lent, starts out with a phony ring that gives me pause and thought to dismiss it altogether: Peter did NOT say to Jesus, "if a member of the church" because the church did not exist at the Time. So, what's the problem? First, check the Greek text by going to Bible Hub online.
If you consider yourself a Bible student but don't know how to use elementary tools online, get with it!! Bible Gateway and Bible Hub are two of the most helpful and useful tools out there; I wish we'd had them when I was in seminary, but that was before the internet, when we either had to go to the library to search, or maintain a massive personal library ourselves at home or in our office.
I had the massive personal library, which has dwindled as my skills with the internet have improved over the years, such that I'm now down to less than a dozen books that I rely on as trusted sources for Bible study along with all the riches online.
So, first I go to Bible Hub (see screenshot image above), then I go to my second favorite Bible translation, NIV, the New International Version. The NIV has its own agenda, but is not as irritating as the NRSV's driving agenda to be politically correct.
The Greek says Peter said, "adelphos," which is "brother," which the KJV translates "brother," which is literally correct, while the NIV renders it "brother or sister," which is fair enough considering our 20th and 21st century sensitivities; but for the NRSV to bring it as "member of the church" is beyond the pale and, stupidly, makes it jump out as patently fake, because Peter knew d well that there wasn't a church yet when he was with Jesus. So, EITHER the pericope never really happened at all and was only contrived later for reasons of Matthew's agenda when Matthew was writing about 90 AD; OR the translators tried to pull one off to "correct" something politically incorrect - - which turns out to be the case.
Why does this goof-up bother me so, when I know you couldn't care less about it? Maybe because I trained at a seminary that taught us to be inquisitive and dig deeper than the words on the page that would satisfy a fundamentalist literalist inerrantist; maybe because my other seminary blatantly encouraged us, Seek the Truth, Come Whence It May, Cost What It Will. I try to seek the Truth, and I often find that it is indeed very costly in terms of rubbishing what I had always "known."
And in my Sunday school classes and midweek Bible study sessions, I always tried to encourage people to be observant, to think, and to dig, even though what they discovered was not unlikely to be disillusioning and even faith challenging.
That's too much is enough about that. My original intent was to wonder aloud and in writing, about Jesus saying "So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart." I'm confident that Jesus actually told this parable about the imperative of Forgiveness and consequences of not forgiving.
I'm equally confident that Matthew put the concluding threat on Jesus' lips, that Jesus never threatened us that God would not forgive our unforgiveness and condemn us to imprisonment and torture - - which brings God down to our level. One of my trusted sources, The Jesus Seminar, suggested that Matthew, in his misunderstanding certitude, had converted an already harsh parable into an allegory: I think they're right.
RSF&PTL
T88&c
The Gospel - Matthew 18:21–35 (NRSV)
Peter came and said to Jesus, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
"For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, `Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, `Pay what you owe.' Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, `Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, `You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt.
So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."