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Conversations On the Way to Heaven: Get Along Back There!
this was the destination of so many of our trips, My Aunt and Uncles home in North Andover…..those trips had some great times, and some challenges…
Conversations on the Way to Heaven:
#1 Get Along Back There!
Matthew 18:21-55
† IHS †
May our journey together always be filled with God’s joy and peace, as His mercy flavors every moment!
A Bajillion Hours crammed in the back seat…
I remember every twist and turn, as if it was yesterday, and not 42 years ago.
Everyone went and got in the old yellow Dodge Dart. Up two miles on Brookdale Road, the right onto North Policy, then right onto Pelham Road. Up onto route 93, then route 213, then southwest on route 495, off the highway on Mass Ave, then right on Fernwood to my Auntie Lanie’s and Uncle Wally’s house, where Thanksgiving Dinner and my favorite French onion dip awaited.
I remember so much of the drive, the rest area we never stopped at, the Mall and the golf course, going over the Merrimack River on the double decker bridge, and along its banks the dump and the reform school, My dad always remembered to point that out for some reason. Some great memories, and well some challenging one’s as I squeezed into the middle seat between my older brother and little sister.
I looked it up on google maps this week – it was 12 miles, 18 minutes in no traffic. I swear there were times that it seemed like a bazillion hours.
And as we look into conversations that occur on the way to heaven, this was the often heard phrase,
“Get along back there!”
Which was usually followed by something like, well we will hear those in the weeks to come!
Why is it so difficult to get along with each other? Why do we hear these same kinds of conversations today? As Jesus, guiding our journey, hears not only our words, but our thoughts, it is difficult to hear him asking us to get along!
Get Along back there?
In today’s gospel, the words of Peter so sound like one of my siblings. “Do I have to forgive my brother? Do I have to forgive my sister? Peter’s not as blatant as my brother and sister were, he asks, “how many times do I have to forgive?” But you know if Jesus said 7, Peter was going to go to his brother Andrew and tell him he was at 7 already…and so the next time? You do it again Andrew, and you will pay for it!
But the base question is the same – do we have to forgive those who sin against us?
The answer is, of course yes. We are people that believe in reconciliation.
It’s not a measure of the law, but a description of those who live the life of the baptized, those who live in a relationship where Jesus has reconciled them to the Father, and they are His children together.
That Is why Jesus tells the parable about the two slaves, they both belong to the same household, they are, legally, family. Yet the first man, although forgiven that which he was to pay back, refuses to forgive the debt of the other man. Even to the point of visiting violence on the other slave.
Sounds like one of those backseat things – even up to the contact.
Why do we fight, and why do we struggle to forgive each other, when the dust settles? Haven’t we heard jesus’ 7 times 70 enough, or this parable? Don’t we realize that we’re the ones who sins cannot be paid for in a thousand lifetimes, and we are willing to collect the debt for what is petty in comparison?
That sin you are holding onto, that pain, that resentment, how does it rate against the pain that your sin has caused God? You have decades of it? Do you really want that sin dividing the body of Christ Jesus?
I realized something this week as I was going over all three readings today. There is account after account in scripture of how we are bound together, how we worship together, how we feast and fellowship together, how we endure together, how we face persecution and even die, together. In all these things we are together, weeping together and rejoicing together. What happens to one, happens to all. What happens to all effects each one?
One exception, verse 12 of our epistle.
12 Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.
Hearing that, we come back to the gospel….
33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters* from your heart.”
Faith if God is where we find the strength….
So what do we do? How do we find the ability to really forgive, to give no more thought to the debt incurred by sin?
Well Peter and Andrew weren’t the only brothers in the readings this morning. There was also Joseph in the Old Testament Reading. You know, the guy who his loving brothers kicked out of the back of the family station wagon, and sold to wandering merchants?
Look at how he forgave his brothers…
19 But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. 21 No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.
Can you see those words of Joseph coming from your mouth, to those who have sinned against you? What do you think their reaction would be? What do you think yours would be?
The sinners who thought their brother would grab them by the neck in revenge, he gave up that right, because of the work of God in all their lives. A work that saved their physical lives.
We have something more incredible, something more beyond thought, in the work of Christ, who doesn’t just forgive 490 sins of ours, Heck, that is just this week! He’s the master who forgives us all, who brings us home to the Father in heaven, cleansed, pure, holy. Who gave up everything to make that happen, because He loves us. Who endured the pain of the cross, because of His love for us.
If Joseph could forgive, knowing the blessing of God seen in the saving his people from famine, we should be even more eager to let them know the gospel. That every sin was paid for on the cross, that we have been forgiven a world of sin. That is what the communion feast celebrates!
We are a forgiven family, we are brought together on a journey home, to heaven, to a feast. We are called to love each other, even if for a moment we struggle with it – we still love, and we shall forgive, even as we are forgiven.
For that is what the Holy Spirit is transforming us into, giving us the ministry of reconciliation, the ministry mercy. The Spirit’s transforming all of us who trust in Christ’s work, and the promises made to us, which we hear in His word.
So drop all the burdens, drop all the sins an rejoice in Christ’s peace…look to Christ, and find that we are all getting along on this journey in peace! AMEN?
Have We Failed to Treasure a Blessing Which Saves us From Brokenness, Stress and Anxiety?
Devotional Thought of the Day”
John 20:21-23 (NLT) 21 Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
James 5:14-16 (NLT) 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
Article XI Of Confession they teach that Private Absolution ought to be retained in the churches, although in confession an enumeration of all sins is not necessary. For it is impossible according to the Psalm: Who can understand his errors? Psalms 19:12.(2)
45 You wrote to tell me that you have at last gone to confession and that you experienced the humiliation of having to open the sewer—that is what you say—of your life to “a man”. When will you get rid of that feeling of vain self-esteem? You will then go to confession extremely happy to show yourself as you are to “that man”, who, being anointed, is a Christ—Christ himself—and gives you absolution, God’s forgiveness. (2)
In the Church History class I am teaching, we talked a significant time about the third quote above. We were dealing with some of the issues at the dawn of what some call the Reformation.
Back then, people in the Roman Catholic Church, and in the Evangelical Church (what we now call Lutheran) understood the Sacrament of Reconciliation’s importance in the life of the believer, in the life on one who knows and follows Jesus. Melancthon, in writing the Augsburg Confession, was brief and short in Article XI. Private Confession and Absolution should never fall into disuse. it must be retained. Not because it is easy, not because pastors and priests just love to hear of the dark parts of your life. But because the result of having heard your struggle, we can assure you that you are forgiven. We assure you that God hasn’t abandoned you, that you are still His children, still loved, and that He is faithful to you.
That assurance is needed, it eliminates much of what troubles us, much of what causes us anxiety, the guilt and shame that stresses us out, and robs us of peace. To hear that God is committed to forgive you, to heal your brokenness. For as St Josemarie speaks of, though it is a brother in Christ, a fellow sinner (for all clergy still struggle with sin, from popes and mega-church pastors, to common priests and pastors in ordinary places) we speak for Him, in His stead, by His command. For that is why we are sent, that is our mission, our apostolate, the good news we preach – you who have been granted repentance, are forgiven in Christ.
You need this, and those around you need this – for the peace you know, having been assured that God will restore us in Christ. Having been assured of that, our relationships change. We find ourselves more patient, more willing to forgive, desiring reconciliation.
We find ourselves in the presence of God, in His peace, we find His rest….
A blessing that changes everything. …..
It is no wonder that Luther, and Melanchthon, and so many others throughout the church’s history talked of our need for this gift, this time……to hear of the depth of God’s love…for us.
(1) — Augsberg Confession, The
(2) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 415-420). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Ash Wednesday Sermon: Treasuring God’s Gifts: Being Content, not Covetous
Treasuring God’s Gifts:
Results in Living Content with What He Provides!
Exodus 20:17, Eph 2;!0
† IHS †
My friends, my desire for us for this Lenten Season is this, that from us is removed all that hides that we are the Masterpiece of Christ. For that is what God’s grace and mercy does, leaving us in His peace.
Lent’s Beginning
From now until Easter Sunday morning, we find ourselves in the time of the year know as Lent. Some think it is a time to sacrifice, to give up something, to embrace some suffering, and doing without, to help us realize what it costs to give up pleasure, to suffer. So they give up candy, or caffeine, or some have even suggested giving up all things electronic!
As I look at it, its not about sacrificing that which is good, or even that which we treasure in order to suffer. It’s about seeing our idols sacrificed, the things we give control over our lives, a time of testing them. Because if it is a god, it can be killed off and rise again, without our help, without our desire.
Lent is about purifying ourselves from our self-centeredness, not because we have to, but because we know these things have power over us, they take our attention off of God. In doing so, they rob us of remembering God’s grace, of remembering our access of Him.
As we journey through this particular year of Lent, it is going to be a journey where we begin to treasure God’s gifts to us more, to treasure the promises, and the life He has created us to live, the work of our lives that with Him are glorious.
The works that sin would mar, that self-centeredness would hide from us…
That is why we hear in Luke, that the life God commissions for us, the masterpiece He’s designed can be summarized in two statements.
Love Him,
Love those He brings into our lives.
All of them.
We are going to look at the 10 commandments, in a way that we don’t often talk about them. To see them as God’s blessing of our lives, as the Old Testament version of the Beatitudes. We are going through them backward, seeing them confront our lives, not to condemn or judge us, but to free us, in order to love each other, in order to love each other, and those who so desperately need the freedom we rejoice in.
So let’s get at it.
The Challenge of Contentment
In the ninth and tenth commandment, the issue is described as not coveting, not desiring that which others have been given, the blessings and curses with which they have to live. That’s one of the odder things, we often desire what those who have them consider great burdens!
The opposite of coveting, of desiring what others have, is knowing contentment.
Be satisfied with what you have, not letting some thing or someone so consume you, that your thoughts are consumed, and eventually your heart and mind by possessing it, by getting their affection. To believe that your life will only complete if you get that car, or can live in that kind of house, or get that next promotion, or if can have a relationship like the ones you have with others. Or simply have their life, or their health.
Contentment, a hard thing to have, its completely contrary to the environment we live in, that we’ve been raised in. Today it might be having the Benz, or the BMW, or going to that school, or on that vacation, or having a spouse that looks like, acts like, etc.
The Real Challenge – Will We Trust God Completely?
Do We Believe His promise?
As we will see with every single commandment, there is a challenge that is far deeper than the challenge we see. The “rules”, the shall nots and shalls, are often misunderstood as regulations, even as we often see religion and relationship with God somehow divided.
But the basis of the commandments, or the Decalogue as it used to be called, is not a list of impossible commands, it is the life that God described through the apostle Paul.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago!
The commandments, the Decalogue is about trusting God has made our lives into that masterpiece, into something where we can do the good things that He has planned, to live our lives in His presence, to love Him with all we are, and to love those around us fully, and with abandon.
TO live content is nothing less, than to see God’s blessing of each of us, and to realize He knows what He is doing. That if one person has more, or less, then God has given them a burden. It is there in contentment we find the healing that comes when we give up the desires that dominate and oppress us. The desires that somehow turn into what we deserve, what we have a right too, will slowly disappear as we see Christ, and the cross, and His gifts to us.
Contentment is about trusting God’s wisdom, trusting what He given us, from our talents and abilities, to the blessings of our homes and all in them, to the blessings of the relationships He has called us into, professionally, our family and friends, even our romantic relationships.
As we realize these treasures, given to us by the One we treasure above all, we find ourselves trying to help others realize how they are blessed, more than we chase what they have. More than we let desire consume us, we can help them, and they us, enjoy our blessings, the different things God gives us.
You see, the masterpiece God has commissioned, like a rich person commissioning an sculpture, or a painting, or a musical, is not about restricting us from fun, or living the good life. These commandments are about living a full and abundant life.
Lent is realizing that we need His presence to live this way, to have Him fix the times we fail to, to bring healing to the times we ignore His presence.
We can’t live this way, without Him, we don’t have the strength, or the power, or the ability to. But as we journey to the cross, as we realize His care and His design, and His desire to see us this way….
We find ourselves treasuring His ways, because we treasure Him. Because we know His love, and His work transforming us, and we trust Him because of it.
and there we find peace….
Let us pray..
A Most Overlooked Blessing…
Devotional Thought of the Day:
28 Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today. 29 May you watch over this Temple night and day, this place where you have said, ‘My name will be there.’ May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. 30 May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive. 1 Kings 8:28-30 (NLT)
20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21 Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”John 20:20-23 (NLT)
If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and truth has no place in us; 9 if we acknowledge our sins, he is trustworthy and upright, so that he will forgive our sins and will cleanse us from all evil.1 John 1:8-9 (NJB) 8
192 If ever you fall, my son, go quickly to Confession and seek spiritual guidance. Show your wound!, so that it gets properly healed and all possibility of infection is removed, even if doing this hurts you as much as having an operation. (1)
It is one of the major events in the history of Israel. it is right up there with the events at Mount Sinai, and the walk through the Red Sea.
As one of the wonders of the Ancient World was dedicated to God’s glory, the thing that the king prays for… is… forgiveness?
Really? Not to dominate the world? Not to have all his people become wealthy and successful, not for the kids to all be brilliant and well behaved… but blessed?
Forgiveness?
That’s the key to the Temple?
A Jesus appears before them in the upper room, after assuring them that there is peace – the very first thing He does there, is bestow on them the responsibility of fogiving (and retaining) sins. Even as He breaths His spirit on them, this incredible ministry becomes theirs…this ministry of reconciliation, this ministry of forgiveness.
Forgiveness again? Really – that’s the first thing Jesus wants them to know they have the power to do – as His apostles?
It’s still a amjor issue with John when he rights his first epistle – an epistle devoted to love. Because I tell you something – you can’t love others, if you don’t know the forgiveness of God in your own life. if you don’t know you are forgiven and cleansed, if you don’t get that God isn’t out to “get you” and “condemn you” for those sins, but would so much rather clanse you and bring healing into your life – you won’t get life. You will live defensively, your cynicism will rule over you, and anxiety will so cause you to defend yourself, that you won’t see the people you are called to love – much less be able to love them.
Forgiveness. God’s forgiveness. Complete, cleansing, healing, redeeming, reconciling, restoring…
Forgiveness.
I need it, you need it, we need to hear that we are forgiven, that God will make all things work for good, that everything is okay.
Years ago, there would be lines of people at Lutheran Churches, at Catholic Churches, waiting for private confession at mourning benches in Methodist and Holiness churches, people seeking the freedom of knowing their sin was forgiven, that they were purged of all unrighteousness, of all unholiness. That God kep His promises. That’s what happened at the dedication of the Temple, it’s what the Tabernacle celebrated, it’s the story of the upper room – both on the night before He was betrayed, and on the night He appeared, wounds in His hands and side.
it is a blessing we need….
So as Josemarie is quoted above – even if it hurts to confess your sin – rush to those who are set apart to help you with this – to proclaim on God’s behalf that you are forgiven. Don’t let it rot your soul, your heart, your mind…. Rush, confess your sins – as James says in his epistle – to another… and hear that you are forgiven.
And know the depth of the love of God, is greater even than your sin……
God’s peace… for you were meant to live in it.
Forgiveness?
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 866-868). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
What if We Treated Those Who Gossip Like We Treat… (insert favorite sin to condemn)
Devotional Thought of the Day:
28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. Romans 1:28-32 (NLT)
10 Whoever breaks one commandment is guilty of breaking them all. James 2:10 (TEV)
800 This is the prayer of a soul who wanted to belong wholly to God, and, for his sake, to all mankind: “Lord, I beg you to work on this sinner, to rectify and purify my intentions, to pass them through the crucible.” (1)
In the church at large, there is a very unhealthy tension that I am noticing grows more and more each day. On one side of it, there is a tendency to overlook sin, to justify it, to claim that it cannot be overcome, that it is even natural. On the other side is the reaction to sin (espcially the sin of others) that wants to immediately condemn and execute the sinner, and purify our church and our communities of those who do “those” things. The first are like those in the days of Noah, or the churches in The Revelation who need to be called to face their sin, not to hear words of condemnation, but to know mercy, and the transformation and healing that God would bring to them. The second, well, like the men gathered around the adultress, with stones in their hands, our condemnaiton of others seems little more than hollow words.
In the former case, a treatment which would bring about healing is found in simply asking the question, where do we find the authority to overturn scripture here? Some will fight it, but again our efforts need to be, not to condemn, but to provide the way yo be free from condemnaiton, to know grace, to say – yeah that’s sin, I own it is as mine, and Lord, have mercy on me a sinner. Then having confessed it, to walk away rejoicing in its absolution. No more hiding, no more justifying, no more denying what we know to be true, and try to deceive ourselves. Quickly, let us confess our sins, confident that He will forgive them and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.
I often frin the other case, more frequent. We would condemn others, for a sin, and for their lack of mercy towards our sin. A rule I often use in the latter case, when one sin is being singled out, is to ask whether gossips deserve the same treatment, the same attitude as those who repeat other sins. Most of us know gossips – some quite intimately, even perhaps caught a glimpse of them this morning, as we looked in a mirror to comb our hair. Do we want to treat the gossip like the murderer, the abortionist, the adulterer, those who have sex outside of marriage between husband and wife, those who hate based on race and ethnicity, those who lie, those who disrespect authorities, those who schedme to take what is others, those who commit very public sins, those who commit them very privately, etc etc,
Do we?
Do we want the gossip to hear the same words as “those” people? Do we want to treat them the exact same way, with the same words?
YES!
The more I see people, entrapped by sin, enslaved to it, no matter the sin, the more I want us to hear the same words…
Your sins ARE forgiven, Go in peace, and sin no more….
That’s the Father’s desire. That is why Jesus came and lived and died, and was raised from the dead. It is the mission that God has given us, the church, for it is saving them, delivering them from sin and the fear of death, into the presence of God, our Creator, the One-in-Three who calls us, the beloved….
Lord have mercy on us, the sinners. AMEN.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2854-2856). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Pastors, Christians and Enforcing “the” Law
Devotional Thought of the Day:
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:13-16 (NLT)
15 This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them, 16 but God was merciful to me in order that Christ Jesus might show his full patience in dealing with me, the worst of sinners, as an example for all those who would later believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 To the eternal King, immortal and invisible, the only God—to him be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen. 1 Timothy 1:15-17 (TEV)
Yesterday, on the way to church, I stopped by my usual fast food restaurant at 6 am. This has become, if not tradition, something close to it.
One of the reasons is the manager, who at 6 am always has a smile and a warm greeting for me, something I imagine is part of her – for who else is cheery and bright that early in the morning! ALthough I have noticed her staff is usually that way as well, perhaps because hers is contagious. About a year ago, I started to notice that she was discounting my large Ice Tea from on the ticket, and thanking me for serving others. You see, on Sundys, especially, I am wearing my clerical collar. It’s a nice thing – but the reason I return is their friendliness and attendtiveness – even when I am wearing a polo shirt with the church’s name on it, or even old raggedy clothes.
Yesterday, I actually looked at the receipt and noticed that the discounted Ice Tea was labelled. “Law Enforcement Discount” and I had to chuckle, actually laughed quite a bit. Because I know that is how some perceive pastors, and far too often, Christians in general. Matter of fact, people often ask me why I don’t slam those who regularly flaunt God’s law with their very public behavior. The Miley Cyrus’s, or the politicians, or those who would shut Christmas celebrations and signs, those who would justify killing, whether euthenasia, or abortion, or depriving the poor of food. I get the sense that many Christians are disappointed when I don’t single out one sin, and that non-Christians often expect me to condemn them.
My primary mission isn’t to condemn people, or to enforce the law. In fact, it is just the opposite. It is to comfort and free sinners from shame and guilt, carefully using the Bible and the sacraments, the ways in which God has promised His grace to be be delivered.
Neither is “law enforcement” the mission of Christians, it is not in our job description, for were we to do it well – all would stand condemned. That’s why Paul points out that he is the chief of sinners, so that others who have sinned (IOW all of us) can know the joy and peace of being freed from sin’s effects. That is the light we are called to be, the grace that is the “salt’s” flavor. Condemning others robs them, and us of the grace of God, which should be so predominant in our lives, that others know it, even before we begin to explain the reason we have this hope.
Yes, there are times, as a pastor, where I ahve to confront some specific sin, some problem that is on going and is wrekcing people’s lives. Yes there are times where it helps to identify the sins and temptations that overwhelm us, to warn of the dangers, to encourage people to come and confess them – so that they can hear those beautiful words, “your sins are forgiven”. So they can realize the need for Christ’s grace, at that point in their lives, allowing Him to bring healing, restoration, and enable them to peacefully rest in His presence. Perhaps then, as we understand that pastors are priests aren’t law enforcement officers, we will be less anxious when the guy in the black uniform with the little plastic “badge” at his throat shows up,
So that together, free in Christ Jesus, we can praise and glorify God
Law Enforcement is a good thing, and I thank God, and often those involved in it, for fulfilling their calling.
But mine is different, as is the church’s.
May we get this – and may Christ’s grace bring light whereever we go! AMEN
Can a Christian Leader let his people fail? He must!
Devotional Thought of the Day:
And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: 2 Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. 1 Peter 5:1-3 (NLT)
If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and truth has no place in us; 9 if we acknowledge our sins, he is trustworthy and upright, so that he will forgive our sins and will cleanse us from all evil.1 John 1:8-9 (NJB)
402 People have to be taught how to work, but their training need not be overdone, for actually doing things is a way of learning too. They should accept in advance their unavoidable shortcomings: the best is the enemy of the good. (1)
It is one of the hardest lessons that pastors and other Christian leaders have to learn. I still struggle with it, the guys I mentor, yes they do as well.
It seems a paradox, counter-intuitive to the responsibility for them that we have been given. We want them to succeed, we want them to grow, we want them to rejoice in all things.
So we have to let them fail?
Yes! And yes, it hurts, yes we want to go in and fix everything, to make an event succeed, to help a couple before they need counsel, FOr oto wait, the problems will be worse, the pain to correct them more intense. The question then arises, will they blame us for their failure?
But I think it is caring even more to embrace the pain of their failure, to be their, waiting for the prodigal to come home.
Two reasons for letting them fail.
1. We learn better from our mistakes. It stops the learning process if everything always goes smoothly, They have to learn when to ask for help, when to admit they are overreached, and how to do the work to correct their errors, For it is there, that the most significant
2. They need to learn about God’s presence there, ready to cleanse them. They need to know that failure doesn’t result in condemnaiton, but in reconciliation. People have to realize that God loves them, (and so should we) even when we fail, so that we run to Him first, so we know we will encounter grace not condemnaiton. That they will realize what it means for God to be God. To be their Father. They have to get that, and it is more important than their doing everything right the first time.
Two reasons for those around them…
1. We all need to learn to be graceful to those around us. If failures are treated with grace this will happen. We don’t want to encourage people to fail, but we want them to know that some failure, some shortcomings is unavailable.
2. We, as servant leaders, need to grow in our faith of God. Every servant leader in scripture failed, some dealt with it (King David, St. Peter), many didn’t (king Saul for example). But to let our people fail, to even stand by and watch it happen, requires us to have both a pastor’s heart and a deep faith that knows that all will work for good for those that love God. That in failure, our people will have to meet Christ crucified, that they will adore the God who knows their sufferings and will rescue them. We must trust God…. and that trust has to grow…that expectation of His grace has to be so ingrained in our lives, that it is lived in view of our people. THat we realize that the sins of the people of God and all unrighteousness and evil is cleansed from us.
So let them fail, and be there with God to lovingly pick them up, be there to see the wounds heal, and to help them learn the lesson.
FOr that is what we do….
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1816-1818). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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Suck it up… and go talk to Jesus
Devotional Thoughts of the Day:
Psalm 32:1-7 (NLT) 1
When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. 4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude 5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude 6 Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. 7 For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.
253 That sick person, consumed by a zeal for souls, said: sometimes the body protests a little and complains, but I also try to transform “those moans” into smiles, because then they become very effective. (1)
A lot of people out there are paralyzed, not physically, but spiritually. Simply put, they know what they want to do, They have no strength to do that which they want to accomplish, they can’t escape the pain and the brokenness of their lives. They say they are believers, that they are Christians, they even may sit in church this morning. They may even say they have a zeal for souls, and give money to missions…
But can they love their neighbor?
Can they forgive their family?
Can they reach out, even as St. Josemaria describes, in their physical weakness?
Can they sacrifice themselves, so that they desire to see others know Christ can be fulfilled?
How much of their spiritual weakness comes from not dealing with their own sin, as the quote from the psalms describes? How much of it comes from hiding their guilt?
Why can’t they just suck it up, and turn to God, knowing His promises, knowing His love, knowing He has promised that He will forgive?
I am presently on a elders retreat – and it is amazing, as each leads a devotion, as we do our impromptu Bible Studies (go find a passage – and explain what it says to you) The theme for the retreat is that we are “sent”. But each section has shown us not that we are… but that we are sent from the place where God deals with our sin, with our brokenness, our pains.
It is from that place –quickened by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, made alive in Christ, freed from sin and delivered into a place full of joy and peace, that we find ourselves ministering to others without thought, serving others, sharing with others, with everyone, the glory of God in which we live.
So suck it up ( a phrase that was often used in past retreats – but the elder who used it has moved south) go to the Father… confess your sins… and go from there… and know He is God.
AMEN
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1241-1243). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Do We Sin with Boldness?
Devotion/Discussion of the Day;
3 When I did not confess my sins, I was worn out from crying all day long. 4 Day and night you punished me, LORD; my strength was completely drained, as moisture is dried up by the summer heat. 5 Then I confessed my sins to you; I did not conceal my wrongdoings. I decided to confess them to you, and you forgave all my sins. 6 So all your loyal people should pray to you in times of need; when a great flood of trouble comes rushing in, it will not reach them. 7 You are my hiding place; you will save me from trouble. I sing aloud of your salvation, because you protect me. Psalm 32:3-7 (TEV)
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. 9 But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make a liar out of God, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10 (TEV)
If you are a preacher of grace, then preach a true and not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world. As long as we are here [in this world] we have to sin. This life is not the dwelling place of righteousness, but, as Peter says, we look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. It is enough that by the riches of God’s glory we have come to know the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. No sin will separate us from the Lamb, even though we commit fornication and murder a thousand times a day. Do you think that the purchase price that was paid for the redemption of our sins by so great a Lamb is too small? Pray boldly—you too are a mighty sinner. (1)
It’s one of the best known partial quotes of Luther, the line “Sin Boldly”. Misquoted, used to justify all sorts of sins and perversions, but it is not about sinning.
It’s about God’s Faithfulness. It’s about God’s desire… it’s about the joy of knowing that we are cleansed, forgiven, absolved, made new.
But in order to know the peace and joy that comes from being saved from sin… we have to realize we have sinned, we need to confess it, so that we realize we can be cleansed of it, that it can be purged. Otherwise it will overwhelm us, it will drown our lives… the anxiety will overcome us…
But if we confess it – if we allow that sin to be revealed, it we know Christ will take it away… we can rejoice and be at peace.
So why hide it? Why shrink in shame from God? Why act like He is not involved in every part of our lives?
Why not let Jesus break the hold it has on our lives?
Portrait of Martin Luther as an Augustinian Monk (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Luther, M. (1999). Vol. 48: Luther’s works, vol. 48: Letters I (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.) (281–282). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
Can we take sin seriously, that we may rejoice in being forgiven of it?
Devotional?Discussion Thought of the Day:
1 That is why we must hold on all the more firmly to the truths we have heard, so that we will not be carried away. 2 The message given to our ancestors by the angels was shown to be true, and those who did not follow it or obey it received the punishment they deserved. 3 How, then, shall we escape if we pay no attention to such a great salvation? The Lord himself first announced this salvation, and those who heard him proved to us that it is true. 4 At the same time God added his witness to theirs by performing all kinds of miracles and wonders and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his will. Hebrews 2:1-4 (TEV)
Domine!—“Lord!” Si vis, potes me mundare.—“If you will, you can make me clean.” What a beautiful prayer for you to say often, with the faith of the poor leper, when there happens to you what God and you and I know may happen. You won’t have to wait long to hear the Master’s reply: Volo, mundare!—“I will! Be made clean!” (1)
In Sunday’s sermon and in Sunday School where we took the passage a bit deeper – we heard Solomon’s words about prayer – and the primary use of the temple. It was that God would hear the words of believers (and unbelievers – but a different answer there) and when He hears them….
Forgive.
We talked of how powerful that forgiveness was – that as Christians we need the assurance that God will not abandon our souls in sin, that He will forgive, that He will call us back, that His desire is to be with us.
Yet it is amazing, how like little kids, we can’t take that forgiveness seriously, we don’t rejoice in absolution like we should. We ( and I mean the church – Lutheran, Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox ) don’t take advantage of private confession anymore – something Luther saw coming and dreaded!
The reason is, I believe, that we don’t take sin seriously anymore. We make take this sin or that seriously (watch the explosion over the recent election of a practicing homosexual in the ELCA as a BIshop) but will we take our own sins, the ones we commit, seriously. Or will we like act like little children and say,
1. “I didn’t know!” Somehow thinking that if we claim ignorance, we will be justified. Or
2. “It’s not fair/right” Somehow we think of God as some great kill-joy, a God who takes pleasure in making sure we don’t enjoy life, or get what “we need” from it.
3. “It’s their fault” How often do we try to find someone else to blame, some other sin that is worse, some other thing that would distract God from our sin, so that we could continue to enjoy it.
Why not just go – yeah – I sinned – and God please – please forgive me….
And hear His love pour out through the words, “Yes my child….”
Can’t we just cry out as St. Josemaria encourages us to pray, “Lord, make me clean!” and trust in His answer… “I will – be made clean!”
What joy there would be, if we took sin seriously – that we might hear that we are forgiven!
So my friends – no matter what the sin, (see the list below (2) let us rush to our Father, asking Him to revive and restore us in faith! If you struggle – even if you don’t – run to your pastor, your priest – and cofness your sins… and find yourselves healed. And then rejoice – like there is a tomorrow – walking always with God!
Luther Bible, 1534 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 463-466). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Romans 1:24-32 (NLT) 24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. 28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
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