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Note: You can also find Matt's Weekly Devotional on our website.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2024

“O you who answer prayer!

To you all flesh shall come.

When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,

you forgive our transgressions.

Happy are those whom you choose and bring near

to live in your courts.

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,

your holy temple … 

you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.”

–– Psalm 65:2-4, 8b


You messed up. You did something or someone wrong. You botched it, flubbed it, screwed up, committed, offended, broke, ruined, fumbled it. You’re embarrassed if someone witnessed it; humiliated if a crowd knows it; and at wit’s end if nobody knows it, terrified someone will discover it or suspect it. It is among the most isolating experiences in life, and yet, you are not alone. In fact, you are surrounded by people experiencing the same thing, whether you are at work, on vacation, at home, at school, or in church. Quite literally, everyone you see, meet, pass, bump into, view from afar, greet up close, hear about, read about, or fume about carries the same burden of blunders. 


In 1 John 1, we read –– If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Denial may provide space for spin in the media, and maybe even in the courtroom, but excuses are useless before the God who knows our iniquity even in its development. As the psalmist confesses, “You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.” We live in a world where the evasion of blame remains a higher priority than admitting wrong, taking responsibility, acknowledging fault, or making amends. Our justice system even makes room for our refusal to confess our complicity or duplicity, ––Nolo contendere/no contest –– We’ll pay the penalty as long as we don’t have to countenance any blame for the crime. 


The late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once wrote about society’s tendency to “define deviancy down,” implying that as misbehavior or iniquity increases, society reacts or adjusts by normalizing it. You can see how this works today as public figures increasingly do not let facts get in the way of whatever story they promote. The highest priority is to never admit wrong.


Thus, there is a significant percentage of the population that cannot wrap their heads around why a group of people would take any of the precious free time of a Sunday morning to gather in the colored light refracted through stained glass and join voices as one in acknowledgement of their sin. –– “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”


Years ago, I met with a young couple, intrigued by the thought of joining the church, but baffled by the communal practice of confessing our sin. “I’m not a sinful person. What if I haven’t done anything wrong that week? Why should I join with the others in confessing sins of which I’m not guilty?” I managed to stifle a laugh as I realized they were completely serious. I was also struck by their utter lack of self-awareness. These were highly educated professionals, and yet, they did not possess the self-awareness to recognize the great reservoir of mixed motivations, micro-aggressions, blame, the omission of words or deeds that heal, or the commission of words and deeds that wound which reside within every one of us.

  

They thought it was such a downer that we would waste time dwelling on such negative ideas that were not a part of their world. Why would we do that? Because the first step toward wholeness is to admit you are broken, and like Humpty Dumpty, can’t put yourself back together again. Ironically, a few years later, their world would crumble from the weight of betrayal, iniquity, dishonesty, and harm. 


When we are together in worship why do we take the time to collectively confess our sin? Because the first step toward wholeness is to admit we are broken, but are never alone. We are broken, but through God’s grace at work in community, we support each other as we heal over time in the company of the One who makes the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

Grace and Peace,

Matt  


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