Psalm 103:1-6 on February 23rd, 2025
Above is audio of the sermon pulled from the video and amplified.
Below is transcript pulled from the video and formatted by artificial intelligence. There may be inconsistencies or errors.
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How much have you been forgiven? Are you in the 500 dinari? The 50? Less? How much have you been forgiven? I'm not sure we think about that too much. And yet that's the question that we ponder here today. Jesus is parable helps us to explore our level of forgiveness.
This bit. Simon, a Pharisee invites Jesus for dinner. Everything is going on until an unexpected guest crashes the party. Who is known to be a sinner. She walks in, weeping, and starts rushing Jesus' feet with her tears, drying them with her hair, and anointing them with oil. Simon is not impressed. Jesus, however, isn't faith. He said, he feels a little story.
Two people owe money. One owes ten times more than the other. Neither can pay so the lender forgives both debts. Now, Jesus. Think we'll love the lender more. Simon sees where this is going. Well, he says, I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven. Like a... Bingo, Jesus says. And just like that, the point... This woman had a huge debt yet she's been set free. She's been forgiven, and she knows it.
Which could have been enough. Jesus stopped right there, and the message would have been conveyed. Her huge debt is forgiven. But Jesus doesn't stop right there. He gets on. It's not that it has been forgiven much. He's forgiven much, so she loves much. Then he goes on some more. He points out that those who are forgiven love little. Jesus doesn't say this with judgment or law in his voice. If you love little, then you'll be forgiven little. He just describes the truth as he knows it. Those who are forgiven little love little.
To me, though, that's not really... It's not really that people are only forgiven a little. That they don't notice that they've been forgiven at all. Perhaps they think they don't need it. They haven't done anything really wrong, have they? They're okay. And if they're okay, that's pretty good. And people who are pretty good don't need forgiveness. Forgiveness is for people who are woman in the store who's clearly a sinner, clearly in need of someone to forgive them. But us who are pretty good, forgiveness, please.
So back to the opening question. How much have you been forgiven? And I'm not trying to guilt trip anyway. I just simply want you to think about it. And so maybe you're starting scrambling through your brain, coming up with the list of missteps that you had this week. Let's see. I lost my temper that one time. I stepped on the dog's tail. But I wouldn't fall because of the stupid thing which lead me alone. I was cooking dinner. I called the dog stupid. How many is this? Three. Three I guess. So how much denari is that? Probably not 500.
But that way that we count our sinfulness. We often think of the sins we do. The big ones count more. Little ones count less. So holding up a bank or planning a genocide, those are big. Calling someone names or talking behind their back. Little sins. And we like this process because we can count it. We can quantify it. And then we can compare it to everybody else. Which leads us back to where Simon was. We probably didn't think that he had that much to be forgiven for. Especially compared to that really bad woman who was there. If we just do all these little things, they don't really add up to much.
Now this sounds a little bit better. But my favorite way of understanding sin takes a different slant. Sin isn't doing something wrong as much as sin is missing the mark. So sin then is not just breaking a rule or a law. Sin is missing the point of what God intends for us and what Jesus models for us.
For example, it's your great time for quality time together to read books and say prayers. But you have a few work emails that you need to get to. And so you just send your spouse in to go handle the bedtime routine. Well, you knock off a few things so you won't have to do them tomorrow. Now, is it sinful to reply to a few work emails at bedtime? No, no, there's no commandment against that. But is that missing the mark of what God would intend for us as a parent? Yeah, I think so.
Did God intends for us to simply not to murder someone or does God intends for us to foster life, build up life, not nurturing and not enriching life for our neighbor is missing the mark. It's sin. Did God intends merely to refrain from taking things that are powered? Or does God intends for us to help others improve and protect their property and their income? Not helping others is missing the mark. It's sin.
And we could go on and on and on. And taken that way, we are steeped in sin. How often do we miss the mark of what God wants for creation for humanity? Yes, sin does encompass those things we have done, but it also entails those things that we have left undone. We miss the mark all the time. And often we think we're okay. And if we're okay, we don't need forgiveness. And if we don't need forgiveness, we... We've got this on our own. Thank you very much. That's just yet another one we miss. Because we are in need. We do need God.
So one more time. How much have you been forgiven? 50? 500? More? Too much to count? We're all there. We all fall short. We all miss the mark. And what we proclaim is that Christ covers it. Christ forgives it. Christ releases us from it. Despite our sins, despite... We miss the mark. Despite our knowledge of need or not Christ covers it. Jesus takes care of it. God forgives it.
And the point for today then is knowing that we are in need of forgiveness. And then once we know that we are in need, we can truly know that we are forgiven, forgiven much. And then the good news becomes good news. Grace abounds. Jesus turns to us and says, your sins are forgiven. And knowing that we are forgiven much, we love much. We live out that great love that we have been shown. We focus on hitting the mark as best we can. Not just living out the letter of the Lord, but the importance of God.
God's forgiveness creates a love where we falter, and we build up life like through serving a meal to those who are hungry. Forgiveness initiates a love where we help others improve their state and life by providing them essentials. Forgiveness launches us into a love where our mindset shifts from don't do bad things to do loving things.
And when we're down, when we know we miss the mark, we again hear that good news of God and Christ Jesus. Your sins are forgiven. We again, we take our place at the table and we eat with Jesus and hear that his body and his body. You, we look to the cross, that place where we as humanity really missed the mark with Jesus. And we hear that God will slate as clean as an empty tomb.
The more we miss the mark, the better that good news is for we who need it. For we who are sinners. For we who are Pharisees. For we who are pretty good and for we who are pretty broken. For we who are too complex and for we who are too ashamed. For we who stand tall and for we who are on our knees. For we all need forgiveness. And we all are forgiven in Jesus. Your sins are forgiven. Now go in peace to love and serve the Lord.