GETTING READY FOR THE WEEK
SUNDAY, JUNE 1
READING: MATTHEW 18:21-25
The ideas of “Cancel Culture” and a Culture of Forgiveness are so opposed to each other that it is difficult to put them together. While the one focuses on the actions of an individual to seek justice and retribution enacted by the masses, the other focuses on the individual themselves and who they are as an image bearer of God. One approach seeks to cancel, ignore, or even shut down the opinion of others, while the other seeks reconciliation and relationship. To allow Justice to be meted out by the only BEING capable of justice AND mercy simultaneously is to let go of a likeable lie which Pastor Harrison taught about — a lie in which we are the “main character”.
The point of an individual seeking to benefit from each situation and elevate themselves to the detriment of someone else, because of an action deemed unacceptable by society, is nothing new. This behavior of capitalizing on someone else’s actions was ingrained in the culture during the time of Jesus. Roman citizens often sought to know and be known by important people, but if the “important” ones committed an act deemed wrong by the masses, they would seek to distance themselves as quickly and completely as possible.1 Christians, both during the time of Christ and now, are to look completely the opposite of this. As we go through this week, we will continually reflect on the question, “Am I living as Jesus has called me to live, set apart and different from this world?”
The point of an individual seeking to benefit from each situation and elevate themselves to the detriment of someone else, because of an action deemed unacceptable by society, is nothing new. This behavior of capitalizing on someone else’s actions was ingrained in the culture during the time of Jesus. Roman citizens often sought to know and be known by important people, but if the “important” ones committed an act deemed wrong by the masses, they would seek to distance themselves as quickly and completely as possible.1 Christians, both during the time of Christ and now, are to look completely the opposite of this. As we go through this week, we will continually reflect on the question, “Am I living as Jesus has called me to live, set apart and different from this world?”
RESOURCES
The Intolerance of Tolerance - D.A. Carson - Book
1 Garnsey, Peter, et al. The Roman Empire: Economy, Society and Culture. 2nd ed., University of California Press, 2015. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt9qh25h. Accessed 13 May 2025.