Date: 12 Feb 2000
Time: 18:15:21
"You have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities. I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins."
[I haven't used this before, and accidently pushed ctrl+tab, & "submit" seemed to happen. Sorry abouyt that.]
ANyway it seems to me that the above text from the first reading, has a lot to say in relation to the gospel [mark 2:1...] Our sins are a burden to God, that wearries him, yet for his ownsake, he forgets our sins and forgives us, just as he did with the paralytic in the gospel. Was his sin a part of his paralysis? Does our sin have a paralyzing effect on us? When someone else's sin burdens and wearries me, am I called by God's grace to forgive and let go of that sin, "for my own sake" - perhaps to let go of my own paralysis? Does anyone have some thoughts about this or know a story to illustrate such a possibility? Preferrably not too long, so it fits as part of a 10 minute homily? Even if it doesn't fit into a homily, it would be interesting to hear.
Phil, Toronto, Canada.
Date: 16 Feb 2000
Time: 04:24:42
For God's own sake. Seems to me God has a plan and no matter how the prince of this world tried to throw a monkey wrench into the works God goes one better and for God sake, His love for those who He created, is even beyond Satan understanding and ours.
Date: 16 Feb 2000
Time: 21:25:46
This sounds like the frustrations of a relationship, even a normal relationship. The people have received but not responded. God is frustrated with the sins and burdens of the people. This sounds very real and very familiar. The difference between this and a human marriage is that God is the one who chooses to redeem and bless the relationship, regardless of what the people do. This is wonderful stuff!
Mark in Texarkana
Date: 17 Feb 2000
Time: 04:55:18
Dear Phil,
I found your post over on the gospel site but it is so full already, I will answer you here. After sifting thru the various opinions as to whether the man was healed for the sake of the friends, or to rub the noses of the scribes and pharisees in it, or out of compassion for the man himself(as with the leper last week), your word hit me like a bolt out the blue! Maybe Jesus did it "for His own sake". Jesus was always being pressed by others' needs. Why not do something to make himself feel better? Forgiving does that? Oh, yes!
I believe this story is told of Clara Barton,"the angel of the battlefield", the founder of the American Red Cross. It seems some aquaintance of Barton was reminding her of some past wrong done to the beloved nurse. Clara responded,"I don't remember it." Her assistant did. "Oh, yes, Miss Barton, don't you recall, such and so...". "No"she said, "I distinctly remember forgetting that." We all know the power of forgiveness on the one forgiven. This story I heard told to demonstrate the power forgiving has on the life and character of the one who forgives.
I certainly feel better when I drop a grudge or greviance agaist someone, and those are petty little things. Imagine how great the burden of all our sin is on God. Why should He bear it, be wearied by it? Why shold pursuing vengence use up all His time and energy(both of which are infinite, I know, but stil...). Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear God asked,"Why did you forgive all those awful people?" and hear Him answer,"Because I could. Why didn't you?"
Date: 17 Feb 2000
Time: 06:56:51
Too often I become immobilized by things of the past like the fear of meeting new people because of some cruel thing said to me or a friend in the past. God says "forget it, I made you for a reason: to declare my praise" Our past can be a prison holding us back from living out our christian potential. This ties in so well with the gospel - Forgiveness breaks open the tomb and we have a new life of walking in the Way. All creation testifies to the glory of God; what's the matter with us? Can't you see the new thing coming? "Somethings coming- I don't know what it is, but it is gonna be grand" (West Side Story) Are we so super-saturated with novelties that God seems boring or are we expecting a miracle? What a wonder: God still loves and forgives us, creates new life for us even while we're looking for something better than God? Wake up and smell the coffee: we have just begun to know the exciting facets of living with God. Peace and Joy, Fisherfolk in OH
Date: 17 Feb 2000
Time: 13:30:12
This is one of those great texts that we almost never hear anything of. Here just in the middle of recounting some of the events of the old exodus, the Lord is setting the record straight about what the new liberation will be like. The verses prior to this are a direct ref. to the wilderness wanderings..and even here there is mentioned the provision of rivers and water in the wilderness. But there is a difference because eventhough in the old days God had provided, look at the people's response. The entire nation did not declare his praise. Look at what they did instead. They became weary with God. Not because he was trying to weary them but rather because of the route they went. They have brought sacrifices...but not ones that really honor God. Rather than approaching him with praise, they have wearied him with rebellion...boy does that hit close to home...But now God is prepared for the sake of his own weariness perhaps to forgive and blot out those sins. If the people will forget their past ways, then God will forget their past sins,
Date: 17 Feb 2000
Time: 14:52:48
Yes! re: forgiveness. How would you tie in repentance with all the above? Snow
Date: 17 Feb 2000
Time: 17:45:07
Sorry about not signing my name before...The idea of repentance is not spelled out here. It seems though that it might be time for the Israelites and their spiritual children to give more thought to what God actually desires in us...in other words to do the work of repentence means turning away from our past ritual...something God has never asked of us...stop giving Him what he never asked for while we at the same time are enslaving (the word used for burdened here) God with our misdeeds. It is just so tragic that this story is not just about a group of people in the past but is repeated billions of times each day. God has met our thirst and we have walked away without ever acknowledging him at all. We are not that far removed from the rebels in the wilderness who saw wonders but whose bones were bleached white...they found the freedom but not the promise. The most amazing thing here is that God's forgivness is something he does for his own sake and not due to any action that we take. Coastal JAK
Date: 17 Feb 2000
Time: 23:21:10
JG from WI
To Phil in Toronto
I believe Spurgeon had an illustration that dealt with the paralysis caused by sin. A tyrant once forced a blacksmith to make a lenght of chain. The blacksmith returned and the tyrant ordered him to double the length. The smith returned again and again, the tyrant ordered it doubled. This occurred twice more. Finally, the blacksmith returned with an enormous length of chain, and the tyrant ordered the blacksmith bound by the chain. Spurgeon said this is the power of sin. We make our own chain, double it frequently, and finally, are bound fast by it. How easy is it for a married person to end an affair? How easy is it for a teenager to stop looking at pornography? How easy is it for a drinker to put down the booze or a smoker to quit? Sin is a most paralyzing force.
Hope that's helpful.
Date: 18 Feb 2000
Time: 16:47:47
While this pericope refers to a specific situation, it has a timelessness that comes from being repeated every day of our lives. "I'm about to do a new thing, do you not perceive it?" applies to every minute of our lives. Every minute is a new thing, every day, every Sunday. For us reformed folk, it has a profound tie with our every Sunday prayer of confession and assurance of pardon. My assurance of pardon often echoes these words with "the past is finished and unchangeable. In Christ, we are a new creation, freed from the past, washed clean by the love, and clothed in the freshness of new beginnings." Snow
Date: 18 Feb 2000
Time: 22:49:37
Much of the discussion so far has pertained to our personal relationships with God and God's forgiveness. Yet it originally speaks to the the people of God as a whole. I am intrigued by what this text has to do with 'the church' and specifically the church family I have been called to pastor.
So many times the church is much like the Isrealites wandering in that we look back to the good old days (with a membership of ___ or Pastor so and so)rather than looking forward to what God is calling us to be about. Although part of the 'looking back' process can be productive, many times in the church 'looking back' means holding on to golden era that never was that golden. And in the realm of our personal lives, 'looking back' many many times means holding onto old grudges, life long regrets, and bad choices (even sinful choices). Yet it is interesting that God wants to set us free from 'looking back' in this way...and not because of anything we have done to deserve it.
I hope to find a way to preach this text in a way that challenges our church to look forward to where God is leading us in ministry as a church family and as individuals. any suggestions or illustrations of 'looking forward/looking back'?
Thanks,
RLW
Date: 18 Feb 2000
Time: 22:54:25
18 FEB 00
Too late for anyone else, but I took Monday off this week and that has thrown me a bit! How about "The gospel according to Isaiah"? (Or in the Hebrew Scriptures/"Old Testament", for that matter) Here it is, big and bold. No denying the value of good old confession and forgiveness, but this is great stuff (as the anonymous writer w/ the Clara Barton illustration pointed out) about the power that forgiving has on the one who committed an offense. And the power--real power of GOD--that is glorified when we "do something because it's right", as in God's example of forgiving Israel, quite for God's sake and hardly that the people "deserved" it or followed proper sacrificial system protocol. I may press the point to include our action toward others (say in discipline of our children), in that we do so without hostility or violence, more out of our need for integrity and godliness than our emotional, reaction "in the heat of the moment." Good preaching to you, faithful men and women of God! Peter in CA
Date: 20 Feb 2000
Time: 00:43:20
Why did God have to show them a new thing? Couldn't he just go on his past record or does he always have to increase his grace and merch to get our attention? Rev.Boyd
Date: 20 Feb 2000
Time: 00:44:50
oops - i made a mistake. I meant grace and mercy. Rev. Boyd