Lent is the liturgical season during which we lift up our need to confess, repent, and forgive. This can be a time we choose to reveal our deepest troubles as well as choosing to receive God’s greatest gifts. We journey with Jesus Christ toward Jerusalem and the cross. Along the way we seek to connect with God and one another. We walk together, knowing that we need the Holy One and the holiness that lives in each other.
They say that one day three friends met privately to share their innermost confidences and to pray for one another with respect to their major weaknesses and personal stumbling blocks. The first frankly confessed to his friends that he had a serious problem with alcohol. He shared with them a number of times that he found himself inebriated, and told how he was frequently stumbling in this area, literally and figuratively. He asked them for special prayer to help him recognize that he was powerless of alcohol. They promised that they would. The second, encouraged by this display of candor, admitted that she, too, had a problem, only with money and not alcohol. She found that she just couldn’t resist skimming occasionally at work, and was guilty of a number of indiscretions regarding this weakness. She confessed her need to practice faithful stewardship and honesty, and asked for prayer. They promised that they would. The third friend then reluctantly responded, “I must confess I appreciate the remarkable candor of both of you. My weakness is gossip, and I can hardly wait to get out of here!”
What is sin? Sin is anything that separates you from God, your neighbor, or yourself. God in Christ has conquered sin, has overcome death and separation, and shows us daily the way to reconciliation and a new and right spirit. Consider the guidance we find in Psalm 51.
Psalm 51 was written by King David right after he committed a series of sinful acts in the sight of God and the whole people of God. David begged for forgiveness; he sought a new spirit and a new way; afterward he celebrated the restoration of his life and relationships. He prayed:
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you. (Psalm 51: 10-14)
You, my friends and family, church and city, have repeatedly received this faulty and repentant soul just as I am, and you have repeatedly and unconditionally extended forgiveness, fresh chances, and the freedom of a new life in Christ. Thank you for empowering one soul in your midst to strive for God’s heart. Your own faithful striving to live into the heart of God has softened my edges, smoothed out rough spots and times, and honed my corners. Mine is a story of a journey, not of arrival; a story of movement, not motion; a story of new beginnings and renewed life.
How about your story? Where do you find yourself in this psalm, in this story, in this process of renewal? Are you open to experiencing being a renewed soul as a direct result of God’s mercy being lived out in community?
The past does not determine the future. Our past does not determine our future. A poor decision or words spoken harshly and with haste or something we have done or said which we later look back with embarrassment or regret does not eternally set you outside God’s good graces. A call refused can be reconsidered. A wrong word or bad decision or a sin committed can be forgiven. A broken relationship may be healed. Prodigal Sons return home, lost sheep are found, and broken hearts are healed.
God will and does put a new and right spirit within us. This is what happens when you allow a loving people to love you. Allow a forgiving people to forgive you. Allow a healing and hospitable people to aid and welcome you into the Great Banquet of God on earth as it is in heaven. If you don’t already have such a faith community, then you are most welcome to visit and connect here at First Christian Church of Decatur.
As always, First Christian Church of Decatur, I am delighted to be your pastor. Shalom, James L. Brewer-Calvert