As we begin our journey through Lent this year, some of us will be using this book, “Images of Grace” as a source of inspiration for our thinking, praying, and reflecting. As we go travel towards Easter we will be considering different images that occur in the Bible, and what new perspectives they might give us on our relationship with God and with each other.
Tonight, as you might expect for Ash Wednesday, we will be thinking about images of sin and repentance. The images of sin that we are going to look at tonight are drawn from Psalm 51, a poem written by King David after the prophet Nathan had come to see him and called him out for his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah. The image of repentance we are going to look at comes from Jesus’ longest parable – the famous story of the son who demanded his inheritance early, left his family, and wasted all that he had been given.
“Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”
I wonder what stains you live with. A few years ago someone gave Liz a small bottle of nail polish, in one of her favourite colours – turquoise, for her birthday. In all the excitement of the day it got put with the birthday cards on the mantle piece, and forgotten. That is, until the day came a couple of weeks later, when it was time to take down the birthday cards. Unfortunately it wasn’t remembered until the card containing it was swept from the mantle, and the bottle fell, spiralling turquoise nail polish onto the fire surround and carpet. It’s really hard to get nail polish out of carpet – so we live with it. And who knew that Monster Energy drinks were so good at colouring carpets pink when they’re spilt. We do, now.
Sin stains our souls. We can’t get it out on our own. We might try and live with it, but we know it’s there – our eyes are drawn to it. We might try to cover it up – a well placed rug perhaps, but we know it’s there.
The good news is that the cleansing David pleaded for is available. We can be made clean of every stain of sin. That is what Jesus won for us at the cross. There is no stain so shameful, or deep, or ingrained, that Jesus cannot forgive and wash away. We don’t have to live with stained souls.
“Let me hear joy and gladness, let the bones you have crushed rejoice.”
I wonder if you have ever broken a bone. I broke my little toe once. It was very painful. Such a tiny little bone, in such a peripheral part of me, with such a big effect. I limped for weeks. Of course, with a broken toe, there’s not much you can do to treat it – just strap it to the toe next to it. With other breaks there are casts and splints and all kinds of other cumbersome things that support the bones while they heal. Try and get along without the cast, or if the bone is set badly, then the bone may not knit properly, or the limb might be crooked for ever. I was watching the Six Nations rugby the other week, and I reckon that the new English Rugby Coaching team do have a most impressive selection of broken noses.
Sin breaks us. It’s not God that breaks us, though sometimes it can feel like that when we have to live with the consequences of our sin, when we are limping on through the brokenness of our guilt and shame.
The good news is that the restoration and healing that David was looking for is available. We can be healed of every break that sin causes. That is what Jesus won for us at the cross. There is no break so severe, or old, or misformed that Jesus cannot reset and heal. We don’t have to live with broken souls.
“Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”
I wonder what kind of separations you have had to live through. At the moment my wife, Liz, is in hospital in Birmingham. Because I’ve had Covid, I had to start isolating from her last Monday. I haven’t seen in her in person for over a week, and I won’t get over to see her until Friday. For some of us, we’ve been separated from loved ones by death. Almost all of us have some experience of being separated from ones we love, and who love us.
Sin separates us from God. From the very first rebellion story of the Old Testament, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and then hid from God in the garden of Eden, sin has separated us from God. God didn’t cast Adam and Eve from the garden until after they had withdrawn from God.
The good news is that David’s prayer for God’s continued presence with him is answered for all by Jesus, also called Immanuel, which means God with us. We can be reconciled to God, our sin doesn’t have to separate us from God. That is what Jesus won for us at the cross. There is no divide so deep, so wide, so complete, that Jesus cannot close it. We don’t have to live apart from God.
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you”
We do not have to live with stained souls. We do not have to live with broken lives. We do not have to live separated from God. Stains can be cleansed. Breaks can be healed. Separation can be closed. All these things are dealt with by Jesus on the cross. His blood cleanses. His wounds heal. His abandonment reconciles. It’s done.
All we have to do is repent. To see the stain, to acknowledge the pain, to lament the rebellion. That’s what the son did. He woke up. He took stock of where he was. He stopped trying to persuade himself it was OK. He took responsibility for his actions. He stopped running away, turned round, and started walking towards in penitence. He was sorry, not just with his words, but in his heart. He felt the depth of the sorrow of his sins and their consequences. He knew he didn’t deserve anything else, and yet he chose to trust his father.
For some of us, this might be the first time that we are coming face to face with our sins, and we have never come to God before, sorry for our sins and ready to receive forgiveness. The Father’s arms are open wide. For others of us, it might be that we’ve caught sight of a stain that we never realised was there before. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit, to continue to convict us as we walk with Jesus. Until we’re perfected in the resurrection, we will be works in progress, and that’s OK. Whatever it is for us tonight, let’s leave here cleansed, healed, and reconciled in a new way, in a way that frees us to live more as God intends us to live.
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