Monday Manna - The Art of Forgiveness

By Rev. TJ Lucas

You know that "anonymous complaint department" we’ve all dealt with at work, in our families, or at church? The classic "people are saying..." move, where someone hides behind a crowd instead of just being honest about how they feel. It usually boils down to a lack of vulnerability or a total lack of self-awareness.

That’s why Jesus gives us such a clear, direct roadmap for conflict in Matthew 18. He says go straight to the person first. If that doesn't work, bring a couple of witnesses, and then the community. It’s a process built on genuine care, not control, and it proves Jesus never called us to be doormats for ongoing abuse or deception.

Right after that, Peter asks Jesus how many times we should forgive someone—suggesting seven, probably thinking he’s getting an A+ for picking the ultimate biblical number of completion. But Jesus completely flips the script and says, "No, seventy-seven times." He completely destroys Peter’s numbers game and pushes straight to the heart. He follows it up with the parable of the unforgiving servant—a guy forgiven an unpayable debt of 10,000 talents who turns around and chokes a fellow servant over pennies. It’s a reality check on power trips and self-righteousness. To truly forgive, the real debt has to be named first before it can be let go.

The core breakdown to hold onto is the difference between three things we constantly mix up:

• Forgiveness: Releasing the debt of revenge, resentment, and judgment from your heart to God. It’s an act of obedience that unburdens you.

  
  

• Reconciliation: Restoring a safe, mutual relationship.

  
  

• Exoneration: Pretending no wrong ever occurred and wiping the slate completely clean.

  
  

Here’s the reality: forgiveness belongs to the heart; trust belongs to time.

Forgiving someone doesn't mean abandoning wisdom, truth, or boundaries, and it definitely doesn't mean enabling bad behavior. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, so you leave justice in His hands and drop the gavel. But trust? Trust is a two-way street earned through demonstrated change, safety, and truth over time. You can fully forgive someone and still say, "I don't trust you yet."

Think of that story of the painter I told. When he put his artwork out asking people to mark the flaws, it came back covered in red ink. But the turning point came when he put the same canvas back out—this time with brushes and paint—asking people to actually fix the mistakes they saw. It went completely untouched.

People are so quick to name wrongs when they don't have to do the work of fixing them. It's easy to criticize what you don't know intimately or take responsibility for. But Jesus calls us to something far deeper: to do the actual work of bearing with one another in love, changing what we can in ourselves alongside each other.

So forgive their ignorance and hand them back their judgments—that's their work to do, not yours. Be grateful for the clarity tension brings, because when people show you who they are, believe them. Release their debt to the Father, give them space to demonstrate true change, and walk forward in your own freedom.

Paint your own walk, and let them paint theirs. And maybe together, we can make a masterpiece.

This topic is a challenging one to encompass so we will go deeper in a sermon series on forgiveness in October. Stay tuned for details.

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So now that we've recapped our message from Sunday, let us prepare our hearts for the week ahead and for the scriptures to come. Find a lot of value in the spiritual practice of lectio divina AKA dwelling in the word. As I was modeling it in some live videos on our Facebook, I adapted the instructions a little bit. So I'm going to put those adaptations here cuz I feel like it makes the practice just a little bit more accessible.

Please remember that this way of reading the text is a spiritual practice. It is not reading it for historical context or theology or anything that is academic. This is purely trying to tune your ear to hear a word from God. It is supposed to deepen your relationship with God and make reading your Bible less daunting.

Steps:

Lectio — the Inhale

Read the passage through once, slowly. This is your lectio. I like to think of it as a holy inhale of the Word. Remember the Divine breath of God carries and sustains each of us through our whole day. So just breathe it in. Let the words settle into you before you do anything else with them.

Meditatio — the Word That Shimmers

Read it a second time. This time, you're listening for one word or phrase that shimmers for you — something that catches, that stands out, that you can't quite let go of. You don't have to search for it. Just notice what finds you.

Oratio — Talking It Over

Now sit with whatever shimmered, and talk to God about it, openly and freely. You can read the text again before you do this, but you don't have to. This is your practice. Take these instructions and adapt them to whatever feels most natural to you. Let the prayer come out of you however it wants to. If we're doing this with other people this is also when we share out loud what stood out to us and what it's stirring in us.

Contemplatio — the Exhale

And finally, let it go. Rest in it. This is your exhale, your contemplatio — you're done working the passage now, you're simply resting in God's presence and letting whatever shimmered for you do the work in your daily life. You will find that whatever stood out to you in your time with God. In this practice, we'll find a way to speak to you as you go by your regular day. Just don't force it. It will come as you deep in and strengthen this practice.

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Below are the scriptures for this upcoming week summarized in one line so you can select one more easily or you can find them in their entirety here:

• Exodus 16:2-15: God hears the complaining of the hungry Israelites in the wilderness and provides them with evening quail and morning manna.

  
  

• Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45: A song praising God for His historical faithfulness, reminding Israel of how He protected, guided, and fed them in the desert.

  
  

• Jonah 3:10-4:11: Jonah throws a tantrum because God shows mercy to the repenting city of Nineveh, leading God to lecture him on compassion.

  
  

• Psalm 145:1-8: A prayer extolling God's greatness, glorious deeds, and boundless mercy toward all generation after generation.

  
  

• Philippians 1:21-30: Paul reflects on his tension between dying to be with Christ and staying alive to encourage the church to stand firm through suffering.

  
  

• Matthew 20:1-16: Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who pays all vineyard workers the exact same wage regardless of how many hours they worked, proving that the last will be first and the first will be last.