It is I, I, who wipe out,
for my own sake, your offenses;
your sins I remember no more.

God grants forgiveness

Let’s face it, we love miracles. When we hear of a healing, of an event that is, for all practical purposes, so unlikely, we immediately think: Miracle!

The Gospel texts are replete with miracles. Jesus performed all sorts of miracles, from the forgiveness of sins to the raising of the dead.

Ooops – hold the phone. What does that mean exactly? Is there a scale of miracles, forgiveness of sins on the easy side and the raising of the dead being on the really, really tough side?

As we continue in our preparation for the Lenten journey, let us focus on the miracle of forgiveness. Indeed, today’s readings and Gospel tell us that God is the one who grants forgiveness, and that forgiveness is his most awesome miracle.

He forgives out of His will and kindness

God called His chosen people to a journey. From the day that Abram picked up his tent posts, gathered his sheep, and headed off from Ur to who-knows-where, to the day Jesus became incarnate among us, the chosen people were on a journey. We need to take an example from this journey, a journey filled with long interludes where the chosen people chose wrongly.

When the chosen people sinned they did it big time: false gods, bad kings, weak judges, faithlessness abounding. The little victories, the little glories only came when they were humbled, at their weakest, and without anything that might save. At those times they came to their senses and turned to God. When they were at the lowest of low points they put on sackcloth and ashes, they fasted, they prayed, they sacrificed, they read from the Torah and recalled all that God had done for their ancestors and said these words: Lord, forgive us for we have sinned in Your eyes.

Over and over we hear the judges, kings, and prophets of Israel recounting their sin. In Isaiah (Isaiah 59:12): —For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities— We hear their pleas for forgiveness echoed in the words of the prodigal son (Luke 15:18) —Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.”

If we look at their journey we see some awesome miracles. However awesome, those miracles depended on the people’s recognition of the wrongs they committed, and their making a request for forgiveness. When they do that we see forgiveness flowing from God. God shows Himself as the source of a forgiveness that is complete, merciful, and kind. The horror of the sin is not just forgiven, it is forgotten, its memory wiped out. By God’s miracle Israel finds forgiveness. Every step in Israel’s journey shows us the depth and breadth of God’s forgiveness. When the chosen people repented, God forgave. He did not hold their sin against them.

God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus not in law

Throughout the journey the chosen people were preparing, moving toward the point in time when mercy would flow down from heaven. God promised that the Savior would come. He never told Israel that salvation would come through the law, or the practice of specific techniques for washing, cooking, or building temples. Those things were secondary, given as techniques to assist in the preparation for the Savior. Paul tells us that Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the law. The laws of yes, no, yes, yes, no, no, no, oh, and yes there, no there were no more. Paul tells us:

For however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him

God’s promises are yes, that is, they are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus, God among us, brings us the fulness of every promise God ever gave us. Included in those promises is the promise of forgiveness for those who acknowledge their sin and repent. As it was for repentant Israel, so will it be for us, the new Israel.

The dichotomy between God’s sole authority and our actions

There is a great dichotomy between our poor imitation of God and God’s ability to forgive.

Certainly, we practice forgiveness. We forgive our spouses, children, co-workers, the guy who cut us off on the way to church — we did forgive him didn’t we? Yet, being honest, we know that we fall short in forgiving the way God does.

God’s forgiveness is full and complete. This is what we heard in reading Isaiah 43:25 this morning: “I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.— In designing the Ark of the Covenant, kept in the Holy of Holies in the Jewish temple, we see that God placed the Ark upon the mercy seat, the place from which His grace of forgiveness flowed. The Jewish term for that place, that seat, meant the place where sins are wiped out — remembered no more. In the Letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 8:12, Hebrews 10:17) we hear: —For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” and “I will remember their sins and their misdeeds no more.”

Over and over we hear of the totality of God’s mercy. We know those words to be true. We know that God grants a forgiveness that is total, that is beyond our comprehension, that is miraculous, and that is solely dependent on His mercy. We can’t forgive the way He does. We can’t demand His forgiveness or force it. Yet we know that God forgives. Isaiah tells us that God forgives for His own sake. So here we are, on our knees, asking, asking like Israel asked. We demand nothing, yet we rely on His mercy. We can do nothing, yet we count on His promise, sealed in the blood of our Lord and Savior.

It takes effort

Israel’s journey , Jesus’ instruction, and ultimately His sacrifice on the cross are the cause of our hope.

Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd,
they opened up the roof above him.
After they had broken through,
they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Child, your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus shows us that our effort bears fruit, it leads to certainty.

Lent is nearly upon us. We need to grab onto this assurance. Imagine Jesus reclining at table. He wasn’t unaware of what was going on. Stuff was likely falling on Him from a bunch of guys ripping a hole in the ceiling. Think of Jesus, sitting in your living room, covered in drywall dust, a stranger laying on your coffee table. This wasn’t an easy climb to the roof. Ripping open that hole, persevering through it, getting the man on the mat through the roof and down to Jesus required determination.

The reward for the determination was exactly what?

I think that everyone was disappointed when they heard: “Child, your sins are forgiven.” Come on Jesus! Give us a spinning sun, dancing paralytics, visions, the entertainment we so desire from —great— miracles. Jesus showed the doubtful the grand miracle they needed, enough so that they were astonished. The paralyzed man got up, picked up his mat, and walked away. That said, the miracle happened fifteen minutes before, when Jesus forgave the man’s sins.

The greatest miracle, the greatest payoff for the effort displayed that day, was a blotting out of the paralyzed man’s sins.

Our preparation

In our preparation for the Great Lent let us recall the greatest miracle, the miracle of forgiveness. “Child, your sins are forgiven.” and again: “Child, your sins are forgiven.” Again and again, five words, one great miracle. Five words and the God-man on the cross. The mercy seat is covered in His blood and our sins wiped out.

Our efforts, like those of the men bringing their friend through the roof of the local gathering place, must be persistent. In preparing for Lent we know that our journey is much like Israel’s, filled with long interludes where we’ve lost our way. Having lost our way, we need to capture the opportunity being presented. We have the opportunity to kneel, not in despair and hopelessness, but in recognition of the promise — the promised miracle, the blotting out of every offense we ever committed, awaits our asking.

Our lifelong effort/climb

We are on a journey, a journey of a lifetime. Whether we have a difficult journey or an easy one, a hard climb or a stroll to the top, dumb moves or dumb luck, there is one miracle we must rely on. That miracle is the greatest miracle, the miracle of forgiveness. God awaits our perseverance and grants us this gift, as is His will. Let us follow the example of the patriarchs, prophets, kings, the four men bearing their friend, the saints through the ages, our ancestors. Let us put forth the effort to ask, relying on God’s proven mercy, relying on our effort to repent of wrongs and ask forgiveness.