Blessed is the One Whose Sin is Forgiven

February 2, 2012

Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

By Colleen O'Sullivan

Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people, and said to the Lord: I have sinned grievously in what I have done. But now, Lord, forgive the guilt of your servant, for I have been very foolish. When David rose in the morning, the Lord had spoken to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying: “Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: choose one of them, and I will inflict it on you.’”…When David saw the angel who was striking the people, he said to the Lord: “It is I who have sinned; it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong. But these are sheep; what have they done?” (2 Samuel 24:10-12, 17)

When the sabbath came (Jesus) began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished… “Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him… (Jesus) was amazed at their lack of faith. (Mark 6:2, 3b, and 6)

Piety

Blessed is the one whose fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven. Then I declared my sin to you; my guilt I did not hide. I said, “I confess my transgression to the LORD,” and you took away the guilt of my sin. (Psalm 32:1, 5)

Study

I must admit that I don’t fully understand all that’s going on in our first Scripture reading today. In the first verse of the chapter (not included in the reading), we are told that God is angry with the people of Israel, but we’re not told why. Then we have David taking a census of the people and ending up with the number of men available for military service. We aren’t given a reason for his suddenly being filled with remorse at what he has done, but in a parallel story in I Chronicles 21, we are told: “A satan rose up against Israel, and he enticed David into taking a census of Israel.” David then confesses his sin. The Lord gives David his choice of one of three consequences: 3 years of famine in the land, 3 months of pursuit by enemies, or 3 days of pestilence. David chooses the last option and in the course of one day during the wheat harvest, 77,000 people fall sick and die. The Lord relents and ends the illness and dying after only 24 hours. The passage for today ends with David lamenting the consequences of his wrongdoing.

While I may not understand all the ins and outs of David’s particular situation, I do comprehend all too well the dynamics of sin described in the story. Sin isn’t a popular word or concept in our society. We talk about making mistakes or making bad choices, but the unvarnished truth is that we human beings sometimes sin. We turn away from the God who loves us and go our own way. Like David, we often know deep inside what the right choice is in a given situation, but just as he did, we listen to the enticing whispers of the evil spirit, luring us to take the expedient route or choose what will profit us most in the short run.

It doesn’t take long in the story and it never takes long in my life, either, to be painfully convicted of what I have done, sometimes almost as soon as I’ve made my choice or let hurtful words fly out of my mouth. How could I do or say such a thing? David is filled with remorse, especially when he sees the devastating consequences of his sin upon the people of Israel. He asks God why so many people have died as a result of his actions. They are innocent and he is the guilty one.

I remember as a child not understanding that there is no such thing as “private” sin. I would protest in CCD class that lots of things we do only hurt ourselves. But, that was before I understood what it means to be a part of the Body of Christ. Our sins never affect only ourselves. When any part of the Body of Christ is wounded or hurt or turns away from the Lord, the entire Body is affected. Hopefully, most of our sins don’t have the calamitous effect David’s did, but they do hurt those around us, nonetheless.

The good news is (even though the people in Nazareth didn’t realize it when Jesus preached in his hometown synagogue) we have a Savior, who came to free us from our sins. Yes, our misdeeds often have negative consequences, but that is not the last word. Just as Jesus said to many in the gospels, so he says to you and me, your sins are forgiven. Go and sin no more. That is the greatest news we could receive. God loves us more than we will ever know, forgiving us and celebrating every time we return from our forays into sin.

Action

As you pray today, keep before you the image of the Father in the parable of the Prodigal Son. No matter how far afield we may stray, He is always waiting, with open arms, ready to welcome us home. Lay down your sins before him and rest in his forgiving embrace.