“It’s not my fault.” “I am not to blame.” “I didn’t do it.” We have a difficult time saying, “It is my fault”; “I am to blame”; “I did it”; “There is no one to blame but myself”. We have trouble taking responsibility for own actions. We are quick to look for excuses or blame someone else.
A few years ago I wrote a prayer for a magazine article to point out the dangerous direction in which we seemed to be headed where we no longer take responsibility for our actions: Almighty God, I may or may not need your mercy, for I am neither admitting nor denying that I have transgressed. For I would come to you with a penitent and contrite heart if I were guilty of sin, which I am not saying I am, and I am not saying that I am not. For all my sins which I may or may not have committed, forgive me, even as I deny any specific need for forgiveness. Amen
This is not a prayer we should lift up to God! We read in the first letter of John the familiar words, “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) Lent is the ideal time for introspection, for looking deep within ourselves, looking honestly, so we can acknowledge where we have made mistakes and gone wrong, where we are to blame, and where we have failed to take responsibility.
This can be a very hard thing to do, but we cannot hope to be washed clean unless we first acknowledge our missteps and mistakes. As the letter goes on to say, “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Where have you broken relationships? Where have you been selfish and self centered? Where have you been greedy? Where have you been angry? Where have you been judgmental? Where have you been to blame? Where have you been at fault? Where have you failed to take responsibility?
This is not an exercise in guilt; it is an exercise in rebirth and renewal -- that’s God’s promise to us in the grace given us in Jesus Christ. That’s the promise of Lent. Don’t make the 40 days of Lent a time for giving up ice cream or French fries; make it a time for taking on new habits and disciplines so you can fully embrace God’s grace and love.
You’ve heard me say that Lent is the time to get out the broom and do some “spiritual housecleaning”. Getting out the broom assumes that we are in need of a sweeping, dusting, and scrubbing. Start there this Lenten season. Start with the words of the Psalmist: “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me”. Start there, and then you will know the joy and deep peace of being forgiven and washed clean by the grace of God given to us in Jesus Christ.
Grace & peace,
Pastor Skip
