Thursday, January 28, 2016

Homily for 29 Jan 2016

29 January 2016

Psalm 51 is an honest psalm: “Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness . . . I have done such evil in your sight.”  And what else would we feel in our heart but that one line: “Turn away your face from my sins” . . . turn away, don’t look!  I’m too ashamed; I’m too embarrassed of my mistakes.

But, of course, that was part of David’s problem after he committed adultery; he didn’t want his sin to be known.  He kept it from the Lord.  And so, it only compounded and got worse . . . kind of like a sliver that gets in your finger—a sliver that hurts too much to pull out, and so just leave it there.

But, to that situation, Jesus says: “Pull the splinter out, even if it hurts.  Get it out so you can heal.”  And that’s what he tells us when it comes to our sins.  He says, “Let me see what you’ve done.  Tell me what you’ve done.”  Of course, what we want to say is: “Turn away your face from my sins, Lord . . . turn away, don’t look!”  But Jesus, like the loving person he is, will keep on saying: “Let me see.”

And then there, when we open ourselves to the Lord and just tell him whatever’s weighing on our hearts and mind—there, in that intimate sharing and trust between two friends, life is renewed.  Integrity of spirit is renewed.  Peace of mind and joy in the soul are refreshed.

All because we said: “Lord, look what I’ve done.  Lookit!  Have mercy on me Lord, have mercy.”  And he does.  Thanks be to God, he does.          

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