From the Pastor |
2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:13
Back in May, my husband went on a golf trip to Pennsylvania with our neighbor, Bruce. Greg drove, and on the way home, Bruce, who is in his 70’s dozed off. My husband, being the kind and caring friend that he is… looked over… saw Bruce was asleep and… naturally… drove over onto the shoulder and purposely hit the “rumble strip.” Bruce was startled awake and according to Greg, was none too pleased by that little joke. Now, if you have ever hit those “rumble strips” you know that they are pretty loud and they shake the car. It can be quite startling if you hit them by accident. But they serve an important purpose… those lines of small cuts in the pavement can keep you alive by making you refocus your attention back on the area of road you SHOULD be on. You hit the rumble strips and pretty quickly readjust your direction back onto the right path. God used the prophet Nathan as David’s “rumble strip.” Last week, we heard about how David had seriously strayed from God’s path. He coveted and slept with another man’s wife, then when he was afraid the news of that deed would get out, he plotted and schemed to try and cover it up. When that failed he had Uriah carry his own death warrant back to the front lines and was killed. This week, David continues with his cover up by taking Bathsheba as his wife… making the child she carried legitimate. Time passes and the baby is born. It seems that David’s plan to save his reputation (and himself) was complete. He had managed to avoid a great scandal. He was safe! Or was he? The torrid events of Chapter 11 end with a single ominous sentence: “But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.” So God sends the prophet Nathan to shake things up. It was time to let David know that he could not hide his sins from God, and that God was NOT happy. However, rather than simply confront David and put him on the defensive… Nathan takes a different approach. As King, David is the final judge over matters of justice in Israel. So Nathan tells him a tale of a great injustice. A rich man with much steals a poor man’s only lamb that “was like a daughter to him” and slaughtered it to feed a traveler rather than use one of his own. “David as greatly angered by this story and “said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity. Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” The wealthy man… the one to whom God has given everything… David… was the one who was guilty of forsaking the ways of God and has done this great evil. As a result calamity is promised on David’s house and family. David seems to have jolted at this… through Nathan… David hit those rumble strips and was startled awake. He recognizes how far he has fallen and admits his guilt. He says “I have sinned against the Lord.” To this Nathan assures him that the Lord has taken away his sin… he is forgiven… and although his punishment will not be the death David declared for the rich man in the story… his punishment… the consequences of his actions remain. Though David lives a long life… he eventually pays a bitter price by the implosion of his family and the horrors that follow. We too are sinners… we too have been given so much and yet we still seem to want more. The problem is that we fail... we are weak. We stumble along through life… never quite living up to our own standards, let alone anyone else's. We fail to follow God’s ways… failing to follow God’s laws… violating not only God’s laws but God’s love as well. Like David, we too need to stop… we need to hit that rumble strip and be startled out of our selfishness and complacency and turn back to the Lord to openly admit “I have sinned against the Lord… Forgive me.” This is the reason Psalm 51 is a wonderful prayer. It is a song of penitence… a reminder that we are… in fact… imperfect sinners. That we all need to cry out: “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.” God loves us and graciously forgive us when we repent and turn back to him with penitent hearts. Like David… God will remove our sins from us… But also like David, we need to recognize that there will always be consequences to our words and actions. Even though we are forgiven… our sins can cause harm to others and the repercussions of our sins will linger on. 1 John 1:8-9 states it plainly, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The good news is that God doesn’t give up on us. By Grace, God calls us to actively seek out what is best within us. If we, in humility, come before God in repentance, God will forgive us and work with us and within us. So we can rejoice because God is merciful and offers forgiveness. If we come before the Lord and ask for mercy, we will receive it. But this is more than simply saying “I’m Sorry!” We need to be willing to not only say, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me,” but to also be open to receive it… to allow God to cleanse our hearts. But what does that mean? Create in me a clean heart? It means to create within us a new life… a new life that comes from the creation of a new inner being… a clean heart. A new life that receives a right and loyal, steadfast and generous spirit. It is this new life that brings great joy. This… THIS is the new life we receive in Christ. Not simply the promise of eternal life in heaven at some future date… but a new life here and now… a cleansed… renewed… inner being… that brings transformation to our whole selves… our whole lives. Repentance is not just about what I have done… but WHO I am… Jesus came to offer new life… transform our hearts with the love of God. With clean hearts and right spirits, we are called to spread hope throughout the world, both individually and as a community. Cleansed by God’s grace and renewed in Christ’s love, we truly are capable of greatness. So today… as we come to the Lord’s Table of Grace… think about what is holding you back… what is getting in the way… what sins do YOU need to confess to the Lord? Then open yourself to the healing power of forgiveness and grace. Let Jesus into your heart to continue the transformation. Ask the Lord Our God… with humility and awe… to “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me… Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
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Yeon Shin
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