Healing From Forgiveness - Pt 1

The resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. However, it is very easy to quickly step over the dark ugliness of the cross as we recall this great victory. Without Jesus’ atoning death there could be no celebration. There is a healing we find in forgiveness. Today’s scripture begins taking us on a journey to discover that healing. Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by. And the angel of the LORD solemnly assured Joshua, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.” (Zechariah 3 ESV). When Jesus encountered people in desperate need, he often linked healing with forgiveness – the woman taken in adultery, the man lowered on a pallet by friends, the woman with a jar of ointment, the man born blind. None of them came with a confession of sin. All came because of their raw need for help. All had been marginalized, if not outcast and stigmatized, because of their "impurity." Jesus responded to their isolation first, engaging them as humans who were neither better nor worse than others. Ann Lamott’s intriguing novel, Crooked Little Heart, is a contemporary story of repentance. In it, 13-year-old Rosie has been cheating on close line calls to win crucial tennis matches. Rosie’s shame grows, as she is unable to stop herself. She even hurts herself in a physical attempt to get her mother’s attention, but she is trapped by her compulsion to win. There is an ominous man, an outcast named Luther (!) who comes to every tournament, watching her, but she knows he will not tell. To simplify the story unmercifully, Luther finally invites Rosie beyond her self-absorbed guilt with his own confession: "I did what you did." "What do you mean?" "I cheated." As her secret becomes visible to both of them, Rosie calls herself a cheater. "No," Luther says, "you cheated." Then he tells her that other people cheat, too. By doing that, he invites her into the company of flawed humans. He also gives her a way to claim her identity as one that can make different choices, who can tell the truth. He makes room for her repentance to begin. Rosie begins to change. The sportsmanship committee reprimands her, but they allow her to continue playing. In the final game, she over-compensates; not calling points out because she wants to avoid the appearance of cheating. Then she finds the courage to call a long shot correctly and Luther stands up to leave. "Aren’t you going to stay and watch Rosie win?" her mother asks. "I already have," he says and disappears from the rest of the story. Whatever your sin today, “the Branch” has already come and made it possible for you to be free from guilt. Just agree with God today about your need for His forgiveness. He promises to forgive you of every failure. With Him there is no rejection! It is all of His grace!