Forgiveness

Forgiveness!

Redemption!

Means to God’s Graces

Sermon for Sunday, June 17, 2007

1. Good Morning. Let’s Pray – O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to You O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

2. Opening Comments: The overarching theme of today’s Readings from God’s Holy Word is clearly leaning towards the idea of “Forgiveness and Redemption.”

In the Old Testament reading we see God using the prophet Nathan to reveal to King David the fact that his horrific scheme to take Uriah from her husband was seen by God and must now be judged. But David responds immediately with humble confession. Listen to Nathan’s response:

2Sam. 12:13

Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”

Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”

2Sam. 12:15

After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.

What we see here is sin, God’s conviction, David’s repentance and confession and God’s forgiveness and the enactment of His merciful justice!

In our Psalm response this morning we sang “Lord, forgive the wrong I have done” and we heard our reader read:

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven . . . Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity . . . (And we also read) When I kept silent (about my sins), my bones grew old!

There’s an especially poignant verse in this famous old Psalm – look at verse 9:

Don’t be like the horse or like the mule,

Which have no understanding,

Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,

Else they will not come near you.

A dear old friend used this very verse to remind me to be more humble and teachable. It clearly didn’t work in my case – ha!

In the New Testament Book of Galatians we saw Paul take on the hypocrisy of his dear friend Peter when Peter played to the ruling Jewish elite. Even compassionate Barnabas was drawn into this seduction.

But Paul wasn’t and called his errant brothers to do what was right and they did.

Again we see – sin and God’s public conviction of this sin and while this passage doesn’t record Peter or Barnabas’ response we know that they were brought to repentance. And so redemption ultimately won the day.

And finally in our Gospel reading we see Jesus Himself being blessed by a woman overwhelmed with the conviction of her sinfulness but also overwhelmed with the certainty that Jesus could and would bless her and free her from her burden of guild - and it’s to this event that we want to turn with more focus for it’s here that we will enter most completely into the heart of God and discover His “hesed” love – His merciful forgiveness.

Last Sunday we remembered and reflected upon Heaven’s open armed hospitality and this morning we’re going to discover just how far this heavenly hospitality is willing to go!

So please turn with me to the Gospel of Luke chapter 7 beginning at verse 36:

As I read please try to envision the scene. It may help some of us to close our eyes:

Luke 7:36

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. (Draw people’s attention to the video slide of this scene).

Now let me stop for a second and reflect upon this question – “knowing what you know about Jesus how do you think He reacted to what she did?

I think Jesus was deeply blessed and drawn to bless her. What was it that was going on in this woman’s heart? Why was she doing this and when did she want?

We know that she was aware of her state of sin. We know that everyone in the town probably knew of her sinfulness and were judging her by their disdain and shunning. We have to believe then that her life in that village would have been a living hell. So not only was she aware of her state of sin but the world around her knew and judged her. But did Jesus judge her? How did she know that she must go to Him for redemption?

Could she have been led to this action by the Holy Spirit? I think so. It could also be argued that she had heard about Jesus’ love and kindness and perhaps hoped that somehow He would be able to bring redemption into her life.

But no matter what was happening here this woman wanted to get near to Jesus and she, if nothing else, wanted to bless him with her ministrations and with her very very very expensive perfume!

Could it be that this woman because of her state of sin and profound repentance was one of the very few who could really know who Jesus actually was and knowing that to then treat Him as the heavenly royalty He really was?

You see, this repentant sinner, was the only one who, up until now, wanted to bless Jesus and treat Him with the importance He, of all human beings, was truly due!

Let’s keep reading – verse 39:

Luke 7:39

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” And in these words we get an insight into the social disdain in which these villagers held this woman. But did Jesus hold disdain for her? Let’s read on – verse 40:

Luke 7:40

Jesus answered his silent thoughts, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

Ah! Simon thinks of Jesus as a “teacher” but the woman sees who He really is! Reading on:

Luke 7:41

“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Luke 7:43

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Ah! The woman – who was a great sinner, felt the magnitude of Jesus’ love for her and respond in kind with her unmitigated affections! But the Pharasee who felt pretty good about himself – had very little idea of who Jesus really was. You see this Pharisee wasn’t in touch with his desperate need for Jesus and therefore treated Him with something far less than He actually deserved. Let’s read on:

Luke 7:44

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”

Luke 7:48

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Luke 7:49

The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

Luke 7:50

Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Now let me ask you this: “How do you think that woman walked out of that home that night? Mmmmmmmm. . . I think she was floating on a cloud. The weight of her sins had been lifted!

Now do you think anything changed for her the next day? O yes, everything had changed. She had been forgiven by the only One who could forgive her and now no matter what the villagers did – she was not guilty any more! She had been forgiven!

What freedom she must have felt! I believe that no matter how much members of that village wanted to keep her in her state of guiltiness and fear and self hatred she was now free!

She knew that God incarnate loved her! She had felt the embrace of God! She was no longer at odds with Him – with God! He loved her! He had forgiven her! And all – all – was now very very well with her soul!

Drawing Lessons from this: Now what does all of this mean to you and me today?

Guilt is a reality – no matter how much you and I run and rationalize our way out of it – it keeps on a comin’ Sin and the resultant guilt just won’t go away!

But most of this world doesn’t do what that precious woman did with Jesus. Most of the world remains incarcerated in the cold and merciless jail of their own sins! Why?

They don’t know how much freedom awaits them after their terrible encounter with God’s impossibly wonderful love! They can’t bring themselves to believe in such impossible love! And so the world, in the words of Robert Bork, “slouches towards Gomorrah!”

Now let me ask us a very important question: Who can you most relate to? The woman or the Pharisee?

You see that Pharisee may not have got it? But the woman certainly did!

What was the difference? A million miles – the distance between a humble repentant sinner and a self-satisfied citizen of our world who lives in the jail of their own small-minded creation and probably don’t even know it!

It’s the difference between someone who calls themselves a Christian but disdains everyone else including most of their Christian friends and a Christian who knows how much they need God’s constant forgiveness and guidance!

It’s the difference between a pastor who smugly congratulates himself on his happy Christian community and one who is often overwhelmed with his hypocritical affectations, with the distance between God’s calling upon his life and his actual performance! Who sometimes falls to his knees with sadness over his pathetic failures! But who knows that God’s mercies are new very morning!

And he cries out in the words of Lamentations 3:20-26:

. . . my soul is downcast within me. 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” 25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Yes, it is good – very good – to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD!

Let’s pray that we will be a contrite and humble people always ready to fall down on our knees and ask our Lord for His forgiveness!

Let’s pray . . .