Sermon for March 14th

“Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away! Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, and in whose spirit there is no guile!” The thesis of psalm 32 is this: Repentance and forgiveness gives health, salvation and wholeness.

The writer of this psalm begins by explaining his situation: “While I held my tongue, my bones withered away because of my groaning all day long.” In another translation of this verse, it says, “While I kept silence, my body wasted away.” What does it mean to “keep silence”? He has been silent about his sin before God. He either has not confessed his sins and/or he has not repented of them before God. These sins are still affecting his life. The writer describes what his deceitfulness before God—his refusal to admit and turn away from sin—what that did to him: “While I held my tongue, my bones withered away. For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; my strength was dried up as in the heat of summer.”

Many people do not believe that sin bears any consequences. You’ve no doubt met people who seem to do whatever they want, good or bad, and feel exonerated by the fact that they never seem to get in trouble. As a verse from the book of Malachi puts it, “What do we profit by keeping God’s command or by going about as mourners before the Lord of hosts? The arrogant are happy; evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test they escape!”

But the Bible tells us again and again that there is a connection between sin and disease, faith and healing, “Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed” the book of James says. The apostle Paul writes, “Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” When Jesus was approached by a sick woman he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

Still, one would be hard pressed to always find a cause and effect relationship between one particular sin and a sickness. As Jesus explains in the gospel of Matthew, “God makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” In our day and age, Christians seem to get sick as much as non-Christians . . . why?

According to scripture, is all sickness caused by sin? Yes, but what sin or whose sin isn’t always clear. “As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.” It is tempting to place blame for all sickness and pain in our lives, just like Job’s friends tried to blame Job for all that had happened to him. You see, Job did not become sick because of any particular sin he had committed; however, while he was griping against God for his undeserved suffering, trying to justify himself rather than God, he became prideful. So in the end, it was still only through repentance that Job was healed.

Many people do not believe that sin bears any consequences. Others might admit that there are consequences to sin, but only after death. Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead, but that does not mean that we still do not reap what we sow right here one Earth as well. Scripture says sin creates sickness. So if you or I are sick and suffering, why do we not look to God and repent in order to see where we may be out of line with God’s will? Why!?

Because we have heard stories. You have no doubt heard stories about how some Christians have refused to go to the doctor and died from an easily treatable sickness. Why does this happen? Because some believe there is no mystery to God’s healing. That they can decide when and where and how it’s going to happen. Imagine the arguments: If sickness is caused by sin and sin alone, going to a doctor won’t help—only prayer will. And if you truly have faith, it’s your own fault if you suffer or die. You just didn’t believe correctly.

You have no doubt heard stories of how people have been terrorized by feelings of guilt and hopelessness when, despite their fervent prayers, prayers of repentance and prayers of faith, they still don’t get better. Francis McNutt, the well known faith healer, tells this story: I remember once when we were praying at a Christian college for the students, one by one, and a lovely young woman came up When we asked what she would like us to pray for, she stammered and couldn’t tell us. Finally she said, ‘They say I have a brain tumor.’ But, ‘Who is they? It’s the doctors.’ She had been prayed for and her well-meaing ministers told her afterwards that the tumor was a ‘lying symptom.’ When she told us this, she burst into tears. A month later, her mother wrote, letting us know that she had died and thanking us for our encouragement. The group who had prayed for her didn’t even come to the hospital; they abandoned her in her hour of greatest need when she was struggling with a feeling that God had abandoned her.

God says to each of us, “My ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts.” There are mysteries to sickness and suffering. There are mysteries to faith and healing. We will never fully understand how God works. However, despite the storylines we know all too well, shouldn’t the stories and promises in scripture mean something too? Scripture tells us plainly: sin causes sickness. God commands us to repent of our sins and we will be healed. In the Bible, healing is normal and expected. Perhaps we’ve missed something very important in trying to protect ourselves from abuses and disappointment.

Psalm 32, “While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, because of my groaning all day long. For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; my strength was dried up as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and did not conceal my guilt. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’ Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin.” I have spoken to you these last few weeks about repentance and perhaps you have even considered it once or twice. But, then again, maybe you didn’t think that it was really that necessary because you have more time. You’re doing good enough. You’re healthy! You’re happy! While it may be uncomfortable for you and I to hear this, scripture makes it clear, unconfessed sin hurts you in mind and body and it hurts your relationship to God.

Psalm 32 goes on, “Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of trouble; when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them. You are my hiding-place; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.” Both of my children have a peculiar habit which you may recognize. Sometimes, when they do something wrong and they are caught, they close their eyes. As if, by closing their eyes and blinding themselves to their sin, they have blinded me and their mother from it as well. And until they open their eyes and deal with the consequences of their actions, they are being affected by their choices and our relationship to them is affected. In the same way, when we sin against God or one another and choose to hide our faces from our mistakes, to keep silent, rather than confess our sins before God we will suffer. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth.”

Again and again in the Bible, physical and mental sickness and disease is said to be casued by sin and healed through repentance, forgiveness, faith and prayer. Are we paying attention to these words? Words from God that might give us faith? Or are we simply listening to the stories that cause us to doubt. What might change in your life if you took God at his word?

The psalmist says that we must find a different hiding place. We must stand, naked and exposed in the light of God, and say, “You, Lord, are my hiding place.” You see, most of the time, when my children finally open their eyes and admit that they have done something wrong, after a few tears they jump into my arms and bury their faces in my chest or armpit. We must hide in the light of God and not in the darkness of our lives.

Listen, there are many suffering today including many of our loved ones. There are so many sicknesses and diseases out there that doctors can treat but not cure. And yet, even though we know we are sinners and even though we hear this clear sin/sickness connection in the Bible, we are so much more likely to want to blame “luck” or say that “God sent this disease so it must be good for me” rather than to look at ourselves and ask the question, “Where is there still sin in my life?” I believe that God blesses us with doctors and nurses and we would be silly to forego medical treatment for ourselves or those we love when we are sick. However, aren’t we being just as silly, if not arrogant, to believe that our sicknesses and diseases have nothing to do with our sin?

As we focus on repentance this Lent, do not forget that Jesus Christ died for the ungodly on the cross. He did not come for the healthy but for the sick! He did not come for the righteous but for the unrighteous! So if you are sick and unrighteous, Jesus Christ is for you. Repent and trust in the Lord who is gracious and merciful. If you are weak under the weight of God’s heavy hands, trust in the Lord and in his mercy to redeem you. Do not simply trust in your ability to keep the law and refrain from sin, for the law says “Do this!” and it is never done! The gospel says “Believe in Jesus Christ and the power of his cross and his blood” and everything is done already. Salvation, healing and wholeness. Repent and believe in the good news! Amen.