Today’s Scripture

Psalm 32:1-7   2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-14 Galatians 2:15-21; 3:10-14                Luke 7:36-8:3

 

            You are driving in traffic and at whatever speed traffic is going.  The brake lights start going on and everyone slows down to the speed limit.  As the cars pass the police vehicle along the side of the road, all eyes are checking the mirrors.  The squad car sits still.  There is no pursuit, no lights, no tickets. 

            Were you speeding?  Yes.

            Were you subject to the law?  Yes.

            Did you try to hide your offense from the law?

            Were you a little nervous about the law?

            Were you spared from the law?  Yes.

            How did it feel to be “forgiven?”

 

            King David had all that one could want.  King David was a faithful and God-fearing and God-loving man.  Little did he know as he was out watching his father’s sheep that God would send Samuel to anoint him “king.”  Little did he know that one stone from his sling would drop a giant and make him a hero to all of the people.  Little did he know that King Saul would pursue him as relentlessly as he did.  Little did David know that his kingdom would grow to be the kingdom it would be.  Little did David know that God had made and chosen him to be the exemplary model and ancestor of the savior of the world and the king of all in heaven and on earth.  Little did David know that one day he would look at the wife of one of his best and most faithful friends and have the affair with her that he did.  Little did David know that he would do everything possible to cover up that affair, including having that best friend killed as he did. 

 

            David knew the penalty for adultery.  Both parties were subject to stoning to death.  Imagine that!  Stoning the king and his best friend’s wife for their affair!  No wonder David went to the extremes he did to cover up this affair.  At the onset, we can see different high profile people covering up atrocious sins as David did.  Looking at David in relation to the traffic officer, we see ourselves trying to cover up the countless sins of all proportions in our own lives.  Aren’t we glad that God made our bodies so that others cannot see what really goes on inside these bodies?

 

            When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long…Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”—and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” [Psalm 32]

 

            Psalm 32 takes us to David and Nathan.  “I have sinned against the Lord.”  David knew he had sinned with Bathsheeba.  David knew he had sinned against his best friend Uriah.  David knew that he had sinned against his own marriage vows.  David knew he had sinned against his people who looked up at him in the esteem he held.  David recognized the bottom line, he had sinned against God.

 

            Joseph, centuries earlier, recognized temptation when he said to Potiphar’s wife, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"  [Genesis 39:9].  That is what sin is, anything thought, said and done against God.  Remember SOS – the law shows our sin.  It is there to do just that because God loves you.  When you fail to see it yourself, God sends the Nathan’s into this world to open your eyes.  It is all because God loves you just as he loved David.  When you are overwhelmed seeing your sin, God sends out another SOS signal as he “Shows Our Savior.” 

 

            Nathan’s immediate response to David was, “The Lord has taken away your sin.  You are not going to die,” [12:13]  That is what Jesus is all about, taking away your sin.  That is what Paul writes to us in the Galatian letter today, we cannot do it but Christ has done it all for us.  That is what the account of Jesus with the lady anointing his feet is all about today, someone who knows how many her sins were forgiven.  With David it was not just his adultery and murder, but all of his sins.  With the weeping woman it was about all of her sins.  With the Galatians and you today it is all about setting the record straight, in Christ your sins are forgiven.

 

            Confession.  At the beginning of the service we confess our sins trusting God’s forgiveness.  At the end of the service we receive what won that forgiveness, the very body and blood of Jesus. 

 

            But what about those sins that you have done so well to cover up but they won’t stay covered up.  What about those sins that cause doubts in your mind whether they are forgivable or not.  What bout an incident you wish you could take back but have never been able t resolve.  That is what private confession is all about.  Your pastor is here for you to lay those sins at the foot of the cross with you.  When you need to hear those comforting words one-on-one, “your sins are forgiven in the name of Jesus our Lord and Savior,” that is the moment for private confession.  Many times we conclude that time of confession and absolution with the Lord’s Supper, sending you out strengthened again with the very body and blood that does this all for you.

 

            Is it a sin if you do not get caught?  Just as with David, it certainly is.  Do you wear the weight of sin even if you do not get caught?  You certainly do.  Does God love you and want you to be his forever?  He certainly does.  Are Nathan’s words for you as well as David?  They certainly are.  That is God’s greatest joy.  Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 

 

            God wants you to go out today burden free.  God wants you to know that the weight, guilt, and shame of sin has been taken away from you.  God wants you to rejoice and give thanks and give openly and freely to him to honor and praise him before others.  That is why the woman with the expensive perfume.  That is why we have a beautiful facility to maintain.  It is to show others how great God’s love is so they will believe it too.

 

            In Jesus’ undying love.              Amen.