Psalm 32 (NRSV) Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you. Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
Easter comes early this year. Ash Wednesday comes early as well. Our penitential season will cover February and March. The psalm chosen for this month is one of the seven penitential psalms. The psalmists knew how to say “I am sorry.” But to say “I am sorry,” one must have a frame of reference. If I bump into you, I will hopefully say that I am sorry. But who expects every tackle in Super Bowl 50 to be met with “I am sorry” that I just smashed you to the ground with a good hard hit? When we reflect whether we sinned and are sorry, we may find ourselves negotiating with God (ourselves?).
Our business as Christians is not to try to control ourselves. Repentance begins in the heart of God. We reflect through the Scriptures about thinking and living as God created us, to love and serve. Aware of the Triune God as our creator, redeemer, and sanctifier, we see that our lives do not naturally revolve around pleasing God, worshiping God, loving God. Our relationships with others are not naturally shaped by their needs. Life revolves around us, our needs, desires, goals. We ask God to renew us daily, to act as His children.
Our old sinful NATURE and what comes from it is what we confess. We acknowledge that our old nature draws us into ourselves. The specific details are different each day. God has delivered us, in Jesus’ death and resurrection, so that confession leads to absolution, having it proclaimed that we are delivered from ourselves to look to loving God and others with joy, as a response to His love. Lent is to be a time of honest reflection, with a desire to have the Lord move us in faith and love, so that we are not chewing ourselves up inside all the time. It is also to be a time of quiet joy to know that the Triune God moves us to act according to His will. Bottom line is that His righteousness and forgiveness is at work to take us beyond ourselves. Take time this Lenten season to find a psalm to read each day (or aim to read the entire book during Lent). Let the prayers of others help you to reflect on your life as His redeemed child.
Pastor Tom Trapp, Mission Pastor
Walking the Emmaus Road with the Risen Lord
(Originally published in Emmaus Footprints, Vol. XVII, Number 7, February 2016)