The Rev. Charleston Wilson
In the Name of the Living God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away.” Those words are from the opening lines of Psalm 32, and they are prominently displayed in big, bold type on a plaque hanging on the wall above a dear friend’s desk in his Birmingham office.
That word “happy” also means glad, joyful, and blessed. So, really, it’s: “Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away”; “Joyful” are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away; “Glad” are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away; and “Blessed” are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away.
And in the seventh chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, we see a woman who is indeed so “happy, glad, joyful, and blessed” by the fact that her sins have been put away that it manifests itself – bubbles over, if you will – in what our Saviour calls an act of “great love.”
The scene is more than extraordinary. Our Saviour is invited (and accepts) a dinner invitation to the home of Simon the Pharisee. And, as He’s sitting down eating, a sinful woman (we don’t know who the woman is nor what she’s done, and it’s not really important, although I know we’re all nosy and want to know)…Anyway, she comes in with some really fancy ointment (and if it helps you understand the profundity of the situation, think about some fancy cream she bought from Neiman Marcus or Saks) and she anoints Jesus’ feet with it and then bathes them with her tears before wiping them with her hair.
So I suppose, in some sense, Simon the Pharisee is rightly upset that a woman with such ill-repute around town has shown up and has done something at his party so seemingly bizarre.
And yet our Saviour praises her acts of love and humility, saying, “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love.”
We might say that Jesus is basically saying, “Those who are forgiven the most love the most.” Or, better still, “Those who know what it means to be forgiven are indeed the most “happy, glad, joyful, and blessed” people on the planet.”
But, I’ve got to tell you: I’ve got a problem – a real problem with all of this. And the problem is in my own life, and it’s in yours, too. And it has to do with this whole forgiveness enterprise.
I think we spend way too much time talking about forgiveness – and by talking, I mean paying lip service – in a sort of abstract way – to the notion that God is merciful and forgiving instead of spending enough time experiencing the sheer power of forgiveness.
Too much talking, not enough experiencing!
Or, put more bluntly, we’ll never be those “happy, joyful, glad and blessed” people of God unless we (a) recognize the situation of our own brokenness and (b) that God almighty has, can, does and will forgive us!
I’m looking at you, and I’m looking in my own life now.
Have we internalized it; have we harnessed the power of forgiveness – the power that comes from knowing all our debts are cancelled on the cross!
Just last week we sang that great line in “Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven” – “ransomed, healed, restored and FORGIVEN,” but, I guarantee you by brunch time, guilt and fear had taken control again.
I know one lady in Wisconsin who still can’t get over the fact she cheated on a test in the fourth grade in 1934! And she is even more scandalized that God can and does forgive her!
Yes, only our wounded pride would fight against receiving such a gift!
But Christians – if we are anything at all – we are forgiven people!
On Tuesday a friend and I were chatting. He’s not from here, and we’ll call him Bill, for purposes of this little homily. He was actually calling me from England to talk about something. Bill and I have been sort of mutual accountability friends for years. (As a side note, I have no idea why we are holding each other accountable, because, when we’re together, we get into nothing but trouble). Nevertheless, he was all wound up about this very issue of forgiveness.
How could God forgive him, he asked me, given what he thought was the severity of His sin?
Honestly, I was getting a little bored with the conversation, because we re-hash this same issue every time we talk, so I was actually scrolling down and killing time on Facebook while he unloaded. I was just kind of saying, “yeah, ah, okay, uha” when, believe it or not, the perfect meme popped up on a friend’s timeline.
Who knew the Holy Spirit now worked through Facebook?!?
As it popped up, I totally stole it, and applied it. The meme had a picture of someone smiling and over it were the words:
“Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away.”
Then it said: Jacob was a deceiver, Peter denied Christ, Noah got drunk, David had an affair, Jonah ran from God, Paul was an accomplice to murder, Miriam was a gossiper, Martha was a worrier.
And that really got my juices flowing, and then I added my own to the list, remembering Rahab the Prostitute, the Prodigal Son, and the sinful woman in today’s gospel.
Every single one of them: “ransomed, healed, restored, and FORGIVEN.”
Now, if God’s forgiveness is good enough for them, why isn’t it good enough for you? Why isn’t it good enough for us?
You see, it turns out that God delights in dealing with people with troubled pasts, shaky presents, and uncertain futures.
Archbishop Justin Welby said it so well on Friday at a service for the Queen’s 90th birthday at St. Paul’s Cathedral: “Nothing is outside God’s understanding. Nothing is beyond God’s grace. Nothing is too broken for God’s transformation.
And he said to the woman – no, he SAYS, to you and to me – your sins are forgiven. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Sermon preached by the Rev. Charleston D. Wilson
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
4th Sunday of Pentecost
12 June 2016