Fourth Sunday of Lent Year C 27th March 2022
Lectionary Readings:
Joshua 5 v9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5 v16-21; Luke 15 v1-3, 11b-32.
The Joy of Forgiveness
In Psalm 32, King David speaks of the blessing he has received from God in the wake of confessing his sins to him. ‘Our God, you bless everyone whose sins you forgive and wipe away. You bless them by saying, “You told me your sins, without trying to hide them, and now I forgive you.”
(Psalm 32 v1-2).
David recognises that if he follows the way of God, he will be able to maintain the feeling of closeness to God, and the sense of peace he has experienced since God forgave him. David recalls that God said to him “I will point out the road that you will follow. I will be your teacher and watch over you.” (Psalm 32 v8).
The apostle Paul also acknowledged that God’s loving forgiveness had transformed his life and set him on a new path as an ambassador for Christ; telling others the good news about what God had done for us, in and through the person of Jesus.
Paul writes, Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten and everything is new. God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others. What we mean is that God was in Christ offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace. (2 Corinthians 5 v17-19).
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is confronted by some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses who are grumbling about Jesus talking and eating with ‘sinners’. Jesus patiently explains that he has come to reach out to these ‘sinners’ so that they may be drawn back to a closer relationship with God. Not by berating them about their ‘sin’, but by showing them what God’s love looks like in real life. In the stories that follow, stories about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, Jesus gives examples of how God is with us. God rejoices when we are found and restored to a closer relationship with him.
Do we not long to be the son in the story Jesus told? ‘When he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son and hugged and kissed him’. (Luke 15 v20b).
If we are able to acknowledge our need for forgiveness, and are willing to confess our sins, then we will find that God will forgive us, and bless us with his peace, just as he did King David.
John Newton, a former slave ship captain, wrote about his joy of forgiveness in his famous hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ (Singing the Faith No 440, v1,3,5).
Amazing grace – how sweet the sound – that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.
Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come;
God’s grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
And, when this heart and flesh shall fail and mortal life shall cease,
I shall enjoy within the veil a life of joy and peace.
Bible quotations are taken from the Contemporary English Version.