The Power of New Life

 

Psalm 32

 

     The writer of Psalm 32 was a person who had lived a long full life.  If we were to find this person at Waverly Road it would be one of the charter members or one of the many families that joined in the late forties or early fifties.  It would be a person who has had a chance to look back over his or her life and think about the meaning of it all.  As the Psalmist looked back over his life he believed that one of the most important things was being forgiven. 

 

      The assumption that the Psalmist makes is that sin is something that is a part of all of our lives.  For him the guilt from his sin was a great burden, it kept him from living a full life.  In fact, the Psalmist wrote that the guilt from his sin was ruining his life.  His body would not be deceived by his wrongdoing.  It had destroyed his health.  Before he confessed his sin, he was stuck in a bad place and he found it difficult to move to a better place.  It was like trying to walk in quicksand.  What he discovered was that the only way his life got better was by acknowledging his weakness. 

 

      Oftentimes we choose not to acknowledge our mistakes because we are afraid people will use them against us.  A worker may refuse to admit a mistake for fear of being fired.  A spouse may be afraid to admit a mistake for fear of being hurt.  A doctor may be reluctant to admit a mistake for fear of a lawsuit.   And then once we doing something wrong and choose not to admit it, we have to cover up our lies.  That experience is nothing new.  That is exactly what Adam and Eve were dealing with in the garden.  They tried to hide from God.  Then when they were confronted by God they tried to place the blame on someone else.  Adam said it was Eve's fault and Eve blamed the serpent.  They would not admit their guilt.  They discovered that in the end they could not hide their sin from God.  God knows the truth about us.

 

       Many people believe that Roger Clemens is guilty of using performance enhancing drugs that allowed him to pitch longer and better than if he had not used them.  I don't know of Clemens is guilty or not but he continues to profess his innocence.  Now he may be telling the truth.  Or he may by lying because he is afraid that if he told the truth his entire legacy will be tainted.  In reality major league baseball is stuck in a scandal and it will have a dark cloud hanging over it until the truth comes out.  Until then no positive movement is going to take place in the world of baseball.

 

       The Psalmist believed that the only to move to a better place in his life is to admit wrongdoing and be forgiven.  And the truth is that it is easier to admit our sins to God than to one another because we know that God won't hurt us. God's interest is in restoring us.   Isn't that what the Lenten journey is all about: recognizing our need of God, admitting our weakness, experiencing forgiveness, moving to a better place in our lives? 

 

       I think the Psalmist would say that we have a choice.  We can live in pain unrelieved or we can be restored.  Like Adam and Eve we can try to hide from God and make believe we have done nothing wrong.  We can place the blame on someone else.  Or we can be honest about our shortcomings and experience the joy of forgiveness. 

 

       Forgiveness is the power for new life.  It is offered to every one of us through the body and blood of Jesus.  Take, eat.  This is my body broken for you.  I forgive you!!!