Sunday 30th March 2025 – Mothering Sunday
Joshua 5: 9-12
Psalm 32
1 Corinthians 5: 16-21 St. Luke 15: 1-3, 11b-32
“When I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.” Psalm 32: 3
Something like our Jewish forebearers, the Book of Psalms was the first hymn book for the Christian Church…
We’re aware that there are different kinds of psalms: There are psalms of thanksgiving; there are psalms of lament. There are psalm verses in which the psalmist is so rip-roaring angry at his enemies, so that he prays that God will bash his enemies’ teeth in! (We might think, that’s in the Bible?…) The psalmists express all kinds of emotions… Along with the rest of the Bible, I encourage us to get to know the psalms: The psalms often speak into the way we are feeling at the moment – but then we can be led toward a deeper understanding, or a deeper peace… The psalms, I suggest, are largely expressions of the heart…
When the Book of Psalms were printed in the Anglican prayer books, the directions to go along with the psalms were omitted. But these directions are included in the Bible translations… Would you take a moment to turn to Psalm 32 in your pew Bibles?…
After verses 4, 5 and 7, there’s a single word, Selah… We aren’t exactly sure what it originally meant, but most Bible teachers that when Psalm 32 was shared, it was kind of like an interlude, for emphasis… Have you ever heard a southern-style preacher make a point and then says, “Do I hear an “Amen” out there?” The congregation often responds, saying, “Amen. Amen!” Or, “Preach it, brother!” It’s a way to emphasize a point… When Selah shows up in the psalms or the Book of Habakkuk, we think it’s to stress a point in a public setting…
Now let’s look at the beginning of the psalm. Clearly, Psalm 32 is attributed to King David, as many psalms are. It also says, “A Maskil.” What the heck is a “maskil?…” We think that a “maskil” means that it’s an artistic effort… Imagine if, at the beginning of a book of poems, the poet let the reader know, “Hey, you’re about to read some poetry…” It sets us up to know the kind of literature we’re about to read… Of course this poem is translated into English for us, but it’s a beautiful artistic effort by David, the musician who later became a king…
Now, let’s see what Psalm 32 is all about… We can read it right away, because the psalmist joyfully begins, “Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered…” Whatever David did, he had been feeling really bad about what he had said or done; but, he has this great relief that God has forgiven him…
Elsewhere in the Bible, there are at least 2 stories, when King David really messed it up… The story we’re probably most familiar with was when King David saw Bathsheba bathing (because the palace was above the homes on the hill of Zion). David sends for Bathsheba and sleeps with her. Then, Bathsheba becomes pregnant… David realizes that her husband Uriah will realize that the baby isn’t his, because he’s been off at war, so David arranges with the army commander for the troops to draw back, so Uriah is killed by the enemy soldiers… Although David was a good king overall, it’s a story of adultery and murder of the poor innocent husband Uriah…
We might be less familiar with the story near the end of his life, when David arranges a census – maybe to be able to crow, “Look how many people I’m the boss of!…” There’s a judgement against David this time also…
We don’t know if David wrote Psalm 32 after that episode with Bathsheba; or after the “census” episode; or, some other time… Like us all, no doubt there were lots of times when David messed up and sinned really badly… We don’t know what triggered David to write Psalm 32, but we know it was bad! We also understand the relief that David felt, when he experienced God’s forgiveness…
Let’s be honest with ourselves: Can we think back to a time when we really messed it up by our bad words or behaviour, and we felt terrible about it afterwards?… Maybe it was toward a spouse or another family member… Maybe to a friend… We’re unsettled; we’d like to think that our misbehaviour isn’t typical…
When we don’t feel good about something specific we did, that’s the work of the Holy Spirit. It’s called being “convicted…” God doesn’t condemn. If we just think we’re generally a horrible person, that’s “condemnation.” Romans 8: 1 reads, “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” However, if there is something we specifically did or said which is bothering us, that’s not “condemnation;” it’s “conviction…” The Holy Spirit can bring to our mind exactly where we went wrong…
When we are feeling convicted about what we did to someone else, we need to have the courage to admit it to other party when we’ve offended them. (Hopefully, they will be gracious enough to forgive.) We need to apologize… We also bring it to the Lord. The good news is, If we regret our sin and want to do better, we will be forgiven…
First John 1: 8-9 reads,
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The key to forgiveness and relief is when we recognize what we’ve done, and to name it…
In Psalm 32: 3-4, at first, David isn’t admitting what he’s done, and it’s not a good feeling:
While I kept silence, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah.
At first, David tries to keep his silence… But that’s not a good place to stay…
If you’ll excuse a personal story, I remember once, when our younger daughter Laura May was about 8 years old, Laura May had invited another classmate to our home to play after school. The other little girl did something really mean to Laura May (I still remember it!), and Laura May was really hurt!… Even as a little kid, though, Laura May had learned that it wasn’t good to be angry at that other little girl. She forgave the other little girl and tried to reach out to her. That other little girl didn’t know how to deal with Laura May’s response!… I’m sure the other little girl didn’t feel good about what she had done. She expected mean words from Laura May, and she received grace instead… I don’t believe that other little girl had learned how to seek forgiveness, and how to express it. We need to ask. We need to put into words the experience of our hearts…
It’s when David names it, then David experiences forgiveness. Psalm 32, verse 5:
Then I acknowledged my sin to you (God),
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’, and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah.
It’s when we name our desire for relief and reconciliation, that’s when the weight is typically lifted off our shoulders…
David commends this practice of articulate prayer and relief to his readers. Verses 6:
Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.
Speaking from God’s perspective,
I (God) will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
The wicked and the foolish do not understand:
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you.
Many are the torments of the wicked…
Instead,
Steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
These words about forgiveness and relief are inspired by God himself, right? They are authoritative for the Church. God is always trying to get our attention, not to make us miserable, but to make us great…
God knows that we aren’t perfect. We are all sons of Adam, and daughters of Eve… God doesn’t want us to stay in the midst of broken relationships. God wants us to be restored; to experience forgiveness – which ultimately comes from God through Jesus Christ… We don’t have to earn it, for the price has already been paid. Instead, we learn to open our hearts, to receive the gift…
The beginning of our Christian walks are often kind of messy, but they need to include being open to God – of change; repentance; faith; and it’s about belonging to this new adopted family of the Church… Then, we’re called to continue to grow in Christ; to shed those old habits we need to leave behind… We have a prayer of confession regularly on Sunday mornings, a kind of spiritual foot-washing to get rid of the dust of the week…
Let’s not forget the absolution, the pronouncement of forgiveness to each of us in the Body of Christ…
If we’ve hurt someone else, let’s be brave enough to seek reconciliation, and then to move on. Let’s name with our lips the experience of our hearts, to know God’s unending forgiveness and life…
To God be the glory; now and for ever.
Amen.