Sermon May 11th 2008
Jared Rakness
Sermon May 11th 2008
First Reading Acts 2:1-21
Second Reading 1st Corinthians 12:3b-13
Gospel John 20:19-23
“Forgiveness”
Dear hearers of the Word of God, Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Let us pray: Almighty Lord, apart from you we are nothing, apart from you there is no hope in us or for us, apart from you we have no way out of sin and death, but you do not abandon us, you have not left us alone, but you come to us with your word, your word that kills and makes alive, you word that creates that which is pleasing to you. So come now Lord and from the ash of our lives create us new, so that we might live and serve you alone, for it is in Jesus name that we pray, amen.
In the corporate world when times and money grow tight it seems like employees are forever justifying their jobs, explaining to the powers that be why it is that the company should spend money on this position or that position. Having spent a few years in IT this was just a common occurrence for our department as we were a division of the company that was and is forever a sinkhole for capital. At least that is what we were continually told.
Now what if you put this same question to the church? Why are you here, why is it that we should give money to this congregation or that one to support the staff and building? What is it that justifies a congregation’s presence in a community? I’m sure if you asked 100 different people this question you’d probably get 100 different answers. But pressing on we ask why is the church here, what is its purpose and how should it function?
Of course to get to the bottom of how the church functions is to get to the bottom of how Christians are called to live in this life and in this world. Now, so that your hearts are not troubled I’m going to give you the answer, it is forgiveness, specifically the forgiveness of sins in this life with the hope of the life to come, that is the churches purpose, its reason for being.
Of course we live in a world that is completely difference, a world that wants its pound of flesh. Just this past week I was watching as a somewhat famous individuals son was sentenced for his actions in a very serious automobile accident. During the sentencing the mother of the man who was severely injured spoke. As she spoke to the judge you could see her anger as she demanded punishment for this individual.
Did he deserve his sentence, according to the law yes, but will his serving time in jail and years of probation help this mother in her grief and despair, my guess is, no. She received what she wanted, a pound of flesh, but does that pound of flesh ever satisfy, does it ever atone or justify? No.
This of course is how the world operates, according to the law. But what happens when the law cannot satisfy your desire for fairness, or your feelings of anger, justified as they may be. Where then can you turn, to whom can you find peace and comfort? Now to be sure the law must function in this old world, it must operate so that we do not have lawlessness, but when it comes to the individual heart and conscience, you will not find satisfaction in the law.
This now is why we are here for it is to the church that you must flee, or run to if you are going to find these things. The law knows only the letter, but the church knows something about the crazy economy of God’s mercy, the church knows of the spirit, or as Paul writes in 2 Cor. 3, “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life”. It is now in these words, the words given and entrusted to the church that hopefully you can find forgiveness and peace, comfort and understanding.
This now is the sole function of the church, it is the place of forgiveness, it is the place where everyone can come and find a word of grace that unbinds the burdened conscience, freeing you from sin and death. And seeing you all here this morning, many of whom I’ve seen before, some I see Sunday after Sunday, I know that you are the ones who understand your need for forgiveness every day, which is why you come, week after week, for you are the biggest sinners of them all.
That is to say you are the ones who know that you are sinners, and if you didn’t before this morning then I am telling you straight out right now, you are a sinner. Scripture tells us in Roman’s chapter three that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; there are none who are righteous, no not even one.
Having heard this judgment and knowing that you in and of yourself cannot do anything about your predicament must seek a word from outside of yourself, so you now come here so that you might hear an external word, a word that kills the old and creates the new, a word that frees you from your sins and gives you life, for it is through this word that you hear Christ who calls you to a new life in him.
So to further get his point across Christ now gives or hands over to the church this office of the keys by which the church has the authority and the responsibility to forgive sinners here and now, in the present. But why would Christ do this, because there is no other way for you to be forgiven apart from this word?
But we also know that while on this earth we are still bound to sin and death, so there is still the old pious wish that just maybe you can justify yourselves, through your own works or by how much you may feel God loves you and is pleased with you.
But apart from faith this cannot be, so that there is no more pride left in you today I tell you this, you are not pleasing and lovely to God in and of yourself. There is no divine spark in you, that after all is a great myth perpetrated upon Christianity that must be dispensed with. In and of yourselves you are nothing but sin before God; unloved, unlovable in fact, there is no good left in you after the fall, no spark of divinity for you to hope that God will recognize and take pity upon.
What is left in you is sin, death and the devil, this is what you are, sinner. There is no hope left for you, no prospect of pulling yourselves up by your own personal boot strap of faith and making something of yourself. This now is where the world sits, with no hope, only speculation of something that is not.
But you here today and the church have something for this situation, you have something to give, you have Christ and his word, you have the keys, that long abused gift of Christ that is far too often held up but never bestowed is yours today through the hearing of this word. This is why the church is here today, this is what our purpose is, to claim sinners for Christ through this word of forgiveness.
The church is here because you desperately need to hear this word every day, and you know that there is at least one place in this entire city where you can go to find a word, a word that kills the old and in its place makes the new. It is the word that kills the sinner, the unloved, the unlovable and creates in its place something lovable.
You see God creates that which is lovable to God, you cannot create anything that is lovable to God, so a word from outside is what you must depend upon, rely upon, hear and never cease seeking out. This word is the Word of Christ that comes to you and declares your sins forgiven, this word is different from the world, it is different from every other word out there.
And to top it all off, this word is for you this day, it is a word that fully and completely absolves you of your sins, placing them upon Christ and his cross. This you cannot do yourself, you cannot even add to it, for Christ will do it all for you, so seek this word out for faith is created through it, and know that Christ and his forgiveness are yours, today and every day, amen.
There is a rather delightful story about a bothersome pious Roman Catholic lady who kept claiming to her priest that she had regular visions of Jesus. The priest was doubtful of the genuineness of such visions and was hard pressed to get her off his back. So he devised what he thought was a sure test to put her off. The next time you have a vision, he said, you ask Jesus what sins I confessed in my last confession. So some time later she returned and claimed another vision. Did you ask him what sins I confessed the priest inquired. Yes, I did, said the lady. What did he say, then said the priest. She replied, he said he forgot.
http://ilcep.org/ilcblog/public_html/article.php?story=20080602113427248