SAPATE ‘EPELELI 5, 2026
2 SAMIUELA 1-3; MATIU 18:21-35
Since we have been granted such grace from God, we should always respond to others with grace, even those who have mistreated us.
Koe’uhi ko e foaki kelesi kuo fai ‘e he ‘Otua ma’a kitautolu, ‘oku taau ke tau tali ‘aki ‘a e kelesi tatau ki he kakai kehee, ‘o a’u kia kinautolu ‘oku nau ngaohikovia kitautolu.
If I had been in Jesus's place - suffering the mistreatment, injustice, and torture he faced - I wonder what I would have done if I had had his power at my disposal. Even being tortured on the cross, Jesus expressed forgiveness for his torturers. Grace is the way of the cross. We cannot allow ourselves to take vengeance into our hands, by thought, words, or actions. We cannot allow ourselves to wish for or gloat over the demise of someone who has wronged us. It's wrong for us to celebrate grace while we wish condemnation on others. We cannot be content with loving our friends and hating our enemies when our Lord has called us to love our enemies, to pray for those who mistreat us, and to look for ways to do good to them. We all must fight the temptation to keep a record of wrongs, to allow bitterness to harden our hearts, and to fantasize about the suffering of others. Spite is not in our Lord's vocabulary of grace. To resist these things we need to be met by the very same grace that we are called to give.
We have an example of such grace in 2 Samuel 1:17-27, which records David's lament over the death of Saul and his son Jonathan. David chose to remember and recount the great things about this warrior king and his son. He wrote of might, valor, and conquests. He talked of how the children of Israel were blessed during Saul's reign. It's true that Saul made David's life very hard. Saul's jealousy made him long for and work toward David's death. But David did not use the occasion of Saul's demise to air all the evil that Saul had done to him and all the ways, in his pride and rebellion, that Saul had failed as God's appointed representative over Israel. This is not a poem written by a bitter man. David was a man of peace because he trusted in the Lord and, because he did, he was able to look at the life of Saul with grace. Here is a portion of David's lament:
Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles;
they were stronger than lions.
You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet,
who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
How the mighty have fallen
in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your high places.
I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
very pleasant have you been to me;
your love to me was extraordinary,
surpassing the love of women.
How the mighty have fallen,
and the weapons of war perished! (2 Sam. 1:23-27)
May we, upon whom great grace has been poured, have such gratitude in our hearts and rest in our Lord that we find greater joy in granting grace than we find in fantasizing about or celebrating the demise of those who have troubled us.
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