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Third Sunday of Easter Luke 24:36b-49 April 30th, 2006
An Order of Bold Confession and Bold Forgiveness Today, in our readings, there is an underlying (perhaps secondary) theme which I would like to draw your attention to: A theme which calls for Christian patience. Psalm 4:3-4 instructs us not to sin when we are disturbed, but to “ponder it on your bed and be silent,” to take the time to remember and trust and believe in God…To pray. Again in our Gospel reading, after appearing to his disciples after his resurrection, promising them a gift from the Father—power from on high (code name for the Holy Spirit)—he tells them to, “Wait!” Wait! Sometimes this is the most important thing for us to do in our faith…to wait upon the Lord’s guidance. To me these are very comforting scripture, telling us that God—and God’s divine guidance—will come to us when we wait for it patiently. I think this is another sin that we all struggle with from time to time: the sin of forgetting to pray, forgetting to ponder things upon our beds, forgetting to let God in on our thoughts and actions, forgetting to keep God in our hearts, we take matters too quickly into our own hands… But…this being said…what happens when there is no time to loose? Doors open and then close in our lives—sometimes quite quickly. Opportunities to do good things come and go. What happens when you are called upon, by circumstances of the world, to act before you are prepared? With no time to pray and no clear “right choice” that you can see? Yet something must be done…What happens then? I believe it was precisely this kind of struggle/conundrum that Martin Luther was addressing when he spoke of (what he called) “Bold Sinning” or “Brave Sinning.” No, Marty was not trying to encourage people to sin, but he was encouraging people to live out their faith boldly, trusting in a merciful God. I prefer the phrase “Brave Living” myself—living with the conviction of God’s grace. What it comes down to is this…You can’t let your fear of sinning paralyze you. Sometimes the worst thing we can do is nothing. Every Sunday (page 56 in the front of the Green Hymnal) we confess our sins: those things we have done and those things we have left undone. Finally, this is where the rubber meets the road: God’s grace is real grace. God’s forgiveness is real forgiveness. And both are for people with real sins…real sinners. So, the question is “are you a real sinner, in need of real forgiveness?” Do you allow yourself to think of yourself this way? Does your ego/pride allow you to receive God’s grace as a convicted sinner? Again, every Sunday morning we confess (something like), “those who say they have no sin, deceive themselves and the truth is not in them.” You see, in order to be filled with God’s truth, we must admit our falsehood. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus gives a commission to his disciples, “that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:47).” Sisters and Brothers, preparing for Holy Communion today, let us humble ourselves before God, acknowledging that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. That is, that we too are real sinners in need of and desiring real grace…real forgiveness. Accepting our weakness, we empty ourselves and allow the Holy Spirit to move around within us—the powerful Spirit which Christ promised his first disciples. We make room for God to act in our lives, trusting that God will provide guidance, even when we don’t understand where the Lord is taking us or which direction we should go. Trusting that the Lord will fulfill the promises he has made to us and to the world…redemption…and peace which surpasses all earthly understanding. Now, before we celebrate the covenant with God, that we are drawn into through the body and blood of Jesus Christ, let us prepare ourselves to receive him…
Absolution: Now,
hear again the good news: God forgives you (and me) all of our
sins, freeing us from all fear (of sin or any other thing) so that
we might strive for the Kingdom of God in word and deed, for the
sake of Christ, Our Lord. Amen --------------------- Joshua W. Magyar, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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