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Living Word

From our Delaware-Maryland Synod Reads Together Initiative

Today's reflection is by Ron Fairchild, our Synod's Discipleship Team leader and a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Westminster, MD.

We just started a new Lenten series on the seven penitential Psalms in our adult Sunday School class at Grace. Today’s text from Psalm 32 will be the basis of our class this coming Sunday. Suffice to say, we're spending a lot of time thinking and talking together about confession, repentance, and forgiveness.

Our text for today speaks directly to the power of acknowledging that we are bound by sin and cannot free ourselves. Verses 3-5 say, “While I kept silence my body wasted away… 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.” The Psalmist experiences freedom and liberation as a free gift from God when sin is seen for what it truly is.

In our class this past week we talked about how it is often risky and difficult to sincerely acknowledge the wrong we do. We live in a society where the “non-apology apology” is so prevalent that confession sometimes feels counter cultural. How many times have we heard apologies that focus more on the feelings of the person who is attempting to apologize than the person who was wronged? We sometimes hear things like, “I’m sorry you feel that way,” or that “mistakes were made,” or other attempts to defend intentions or otherwise obscure the reality of harm that was done. What generally passes as an apology often boils down to a person being sorrier that they got caught and are dealing with the consequences than being authentically contrite.

The Psalmist shows us another way. Perhaps Ash Wednesday and this season of Lent reminds us that sometimes we should simply call a thing what it is before rushing on to a more positive message. Maybe in our desire to achieve quick-fix forgiveness and reconciliation, we avoid the hard work of reckoning with the truth of who we really are and what we really did.

Yet, when you think about it, it’s hard for me to make any sense of the Gospel as truly good news without the Law convicting us. It’s equally challenging to fully appreciate the resurrection without first acknowledging the cold hard reality of death and dying. And for this week, it’s difficult to understand to joy of forgiveness without first feeling the weight of genuine guilt and repentance.

What do you think?

Members of our Mission Leadership Team met from 9am-1pm on Saturday for a time of retreat facilitated by Rev. Micah Krey. It was a faithful and productive gathering.

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