March 18, 2018            Written on our Hearts                               

You may have noticed this morning, that our prayer of confession came from Psalm 51. Psalm 51 is probably the best known prayer of confession in the bible. It is the prayer of confession that David prayed before God, after the he had Uriah killed so that he could take Bathsheba as one of his wives. The prophet Nathan let David know, that in his pride and arrogance, he had strayed from God, and done what was evil in God’s sight.

Psalm 51 shows us a David who is truly repentant. A person who understands that his actions have separated himself from God, and that only by acknowledging that separation, and turning back to total reliance on God, for the living of his life, and for his behavior towards others, can he be forgiven. And that is why Psalm 51 is such a powerful prayer of confession for those who pray this prayer regularly, because all of us have some guilt about how we have acted in our lives, how we have treated others, how we have gone astray. All of us, in our lives, whether we know it or not, are seeking forgiveness.

This past week, at our DeKalb Clergy Meeting, our Prairie Association Minister Kathy Lawes, asked me about my being from the more confessional side of the UCC. And I talked to her about the german pietistic tradition of recognizing our sins, so that we might turn from them and live – as in the story of Moses and the serpents. I also noted this week’s Psalm 51, as an example of our need to confess our separation from God, so that we can turn and live anew. This confessional theology, is not an attempt to riddle us with guilt, but is in fact an attempt to free us from the stranglehold that guilt has on our lives, so that we can be the people God calls us to be.

Perhaps the most important part of this confessional theology, is that in order to accept forgiveness, we must believe in a God who has the authority to forgive us. And that is where our reading from Hebrews this morning comes in. It speaks of our high priest, and who became our high priest not through an election, or through money or power. Our high priest came into power through obedience, through humility, through suffering, and even death upon a cross – for us! Our high priest lived his life, showing forth the glory of God’s love for each and every one of us, and that is what give Jesus the authority to forgive our sins. For in Jesus we have the example of one who met sin in the world, and time and time again, in obedience to the God who loves each one of us, turned from it. Only through faith in this one who was worthy, who lived in a sinful world and was without sin, can we accept forgiveness for our sins, find peace in our lives, and live anew.

Now some skeptics may argue that this whole forgiveness thing is a scam. They will point to priests and pastors and politicians, and laugh at those who are willing to give a “mulligan” to these people for past deeds. But those are political arguments, in which we find men forgiving other men for politics or power, without repentance, and acceptance of Jesus Christ. What I am talking about is the genuine spiritual experience of  accepting God’s love for us in Jesus Christ, being freed of the guilt and fear of past actions, and turning to live a new life. And that is where we meet our reading from the book of Jeremiah this morning.

 Jeremiah is writing to an Israelite people who had forgotten their God, trusted in themselves, and for it, were being deported to Babylon. Jeremiah tells them, that even now, after all they have done to break the covenant, their God still loves them, and is still willing to make promises to them. One day, God’s law will be written on their hearts – they will act in humility and obedience to God.  One day, all people will know God, and they will act in love towards one another. One day, God will remember their sin no more – they will accept God’s forgiveness and not allow the sins of the past to rule their lives.

    In every church, including this one, I meet people in whom God’s promise has already been fulfilled. You know them as faithful, humble, God fearing, compassionate, caring people, who are willing to suffer themselves for the work of the church, for those who are struggling, and even for those who are new to our community. They are amazing people who have made God’s love for us known in our lives when we most needed it. God’s promise is that one day all of us will be like this, and what a wonderful day that will be! And I encourage all of you to seek this day, by accepting God’s forgiveness of your sins, and becoming disciples of Jesus Christ!