In the Midst of the Lenten Season - Grace
Dear Family and Friends,
We are in the midst of the season of Lent. A season when we seek to mimic the life of Jesus on earth. To say that we are Christians means that we are striving to be like Christ. As followers of Jesus, we spend these days remembering his journey, and trying to do what Jesus would do. We try to bring our authentic selves into closer alignment with the Christ. Moreover, many of us sacrifice (give up/fast from) something of importance to us to acknowledge and honor Jesus’ great sacrifice! How are you honoring and mimicking Jesus’ life, and what are you sacrificing (allowing to die; leaving behind) in this season of Lent?
For this season, let us consider Psalm 51. Psalm 51 is a song of David’s prayer of repentance from his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and his subsequent killing of her husband. We hear David crying to God for mercy, pleading for God’s covenanted, unfailing love and for compassion, and asking for forgiveness and the removal of his sin. David specifically asks for divine cleansing and a new creation within himself, a new beginning with a willing/strong spirit. He asks God to not reject him, but rather to restore to him the joy that comes with a renewed fellowship and strengthened relationship with God. Finally, this song of David offers that his experience of God’s mercy and compassion will equip him to serve and instruct others in their need to follow God. Let us receive this psalm today as a general prayer of repentance and as a pathway to new beginnings with God.
Too often we run from our sins, we’re too embarrassed to acknowledge our sins. We try to cover them up or justify them when what we should do is acknowledge and confess our sins. We allow the things that tempt us, that we (like David) lust after, to create havoc in our spirits. They cause our peace to get away from us and steal our joy. Our reality as human beings is that we all sin. It is our sin that makes God’s grace (and mercy) necessary. In the gospels Jesus says, “It is not the healthy that need a doctor; only those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” The irony in Jesus’ statement is that the sinners who need him may be the righteous ones, and the ones who call themselves righteous and think they do not need the grace of God may, in fact, be the ones in the greatest need of that grace. I don’t know if any of you need the grace of God, but I surely need the grace of God…and God’s grace is sufficient!
Friends, let us pray that we will be able to recognize and acknowledge that no matter what our situation is, or how grave or deep a sin we may have committed, we can always turn to God through Jesus Christ. God will forgive us, God will give us a renewed spirit, and God will restore our joy! Know that God is more powerful than anything that tempts us. God’s love, compassion, and mercy endures forever! It is my prayer that we come through this season of Lent resurrected in Christ, resting in God’s forgiveness, with clean hearts, renewed spirits, in the presence of God, Holy Spirit intact, with joy and strong spirits to go out and help others, based on our own personal experience, about the goodness and saving power of God’s amazing grace!
Rev. Ineda Adesanya