Hello,
How cold was it today (Sunday) in Stahlstown, Pa?
·
It was so
cold that when I dashed the 10 feet from the heat of my man cave to my hot
tub I could feel the goose bumps rise on my bare skin.
·
It was so
cold that when I jumped into my hot tub, I didn’t sit on the seat but sat
my hind end on the floor level keeping as much of my body below the 104 degree
water as I could.
·
It was so
cold that when I finally took my place on the seat level my hair froze up
as if it was sprayed with a couple of cans of hair spray.
·
It was so
cold that when my time was up in my hot tub and I walked the 10 feet back
to my man cave, my flip flops immediately froze to the patio stones with every
step making me tear them off the stones with my steps as if I had put super glue
on them.
·
It was so
cold that when I put my wet hand on the patio door to open it up, my
fingers began to instantaneously freeze on the handle as if making a Velcro connection.
·
It was so
cold that anyone with any brains would not have been so stupid to go
outside dressed for summer, jump into a hot tub thinking it would warm me up,
and then summerly clad hop out and try to get back into the house.
When I got back in the house and told my wife that I had
ventured out to my hot tub in our sub-zero weather, she looked at me with a
deserved look of incredibility and said, “You did what?!”
I imagine that when I come to worship every Sunday and
begin, as we Lutherans always do, by corporate confession of our sins,….I imagine
that Jesus has that same look on his face that I saw on my wife’s. “You did what?!” Although we don’t list the individual
foolish and painful things that we have done in our corporate confession, I
know what my deeds and thoughts were, and I know that I deserve the astonished
look that I envision on Jesus face.
Some might say that my continual repetition of deeds that bring pain to
the heart of God and are evidence of my fickle faith and fickle love of God,
and those things have earned me God’s disdain and desertion…..and they are
right.
But something amazing happens every Sunday. While our knees are locked by our
weight to the ground these words wash across us, “As a called and ordained
minister of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore declare to you the entire
forgiveness of all of your sins…in the name of the Father, and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit.” The ENTIRE
forgiveness….of ALL of your sins. A clean slate. A new beginning.
The shaping and reshaping of who we are by grace.
No words of shock and shame, “You did what?!” No aggravated, “Will you ever
learn?!” No despairing, “This is
the last straw.” No demeaning,
“Just what kind of person are you?!”
No regret-full, “Why did I pick you in the first place?!”
There’s a different outcome that results from shaping a
person’s life with forgiveness and grace than reshaping it with guilt and shame…especially
when that person continues to do foolish things….which is what we are all
destined to do. I am thankful for
the grace and forgiveness that my wife continually shows me (after she swallows
hard). It makes our relationship
more resilient and hopeful.
Likewise, such is the case with me and my relationship with God. Forgiveness and grace are the only
things that can give a recitivist fool as myself any hope and peace, and when the
relationship in question is with God Almighty, thankful is a vast
understatement of the expression of my heart.
So…if you find yourself doing foolish and painful things,(far
more foolish and painful than jumping in a hot tub when it is 3 below zero) and
don’t we all. Make your way to
church, and discover as I have discovered, that the shame and surprise from God
that you might envision and deserve will not be there. What will be there will be forgiveness
and grace….and that will change your life forever. Forever!
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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