Fr. Chuck on Forgiveness

2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15; Luke 7:36-50

Today we celebrate three special occasions involving children and families: The baptism of Victoria Rose Gilbert; recognition of our Sunday school teachers; and Father’s Day.  So today is an especially terrible day to have to read the lesson from Second Samuel in which God kills a baby as divine punishment.  So we’d better take a look at this highly disturbing lesson.

The background of today’s Old Testament lesson is two sins – at a minimum two sins – committed by King David.  Today’s lesson is the second half of the story of David and Bathsheba, who here is called the wife of Uriah.  You will recall that one spring day David was walking on the roof of his palace and spied Bathsheba bathing.  He was so taken with her that he sent for her and slept with her.  But Bathsheba was married to Uriah the Hittite.  Uriah was a solider in David’s army, so David contacted his general, Joab, and asked him to send Uriah to him.  David then sent Uriah back with a special message for Joab instructing Joab to put Uriah in the front lines during heavy fighting so that he would be killed in battle.  Think about that for a minute: Uriah carries the message ordering his own death.  And that is exactly what happens; he is killed in the front lines while besieging a city.  So the background of today’s Old Testament lesson are the sins of adultery and murder.  We pick up the second half of the story today in which the prophet Nathan tricks David into condemning himself.

David has sinned big time and he must be a punished for his sins.  According to the Old Testament law of retribution, David should have died for causing the death of another man.   But David truly repents of his sin and says, “’I have sinned against the Lord.’”  So instead of killing David the Lord accepts David’s repentance and as punishment kills the child instead.  There is no way to make this nice.  But we can perhaps understand that this story from Second Samuel comes from a very different time and place.  The people who wrote this story came from a pre-scientific pre-Enlightenment culture.  They had no understanding of cause and effect and they had no understanding of secondary causes.  If a person became ill or died it was assumed to be divine punishment.  If there is anything we can still get out of this story perhaps it is this: There is a cost for our sins.  When we sin people get hurt, ourselves, others, our children.

The Gospel lesson is remarkable because no one is punished for their sins.  Simon the Pharisee, the host of the banquet, clearly feels that the woman who was a sinner ought to be punished.  He thinks to himself, “’If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him – that she is sinner.’”  Clearly Simon thinks that this woman needs to be punished; to be ostracized; to be made to pay for her sins.  But what does Jesus think?  Like the prophet Nathan with David, Jesus tells a parable that causes Simon to condemn himself.  Then Jesus forgives the woman’s sins.  Jesus demands no punishment and no price.

All our lives we’ve heard, “You get what you pay for.”  What kind of forgiveness is this that is absolutely free?  The truth is, there is a price for our sins but we don’t pay it.  Jesus paid the price for our sins on the Cross.  Therefore, he is able to freely give forgiveness to anyone who truly repents.  When we sin it may be so painful and difficult to change our sinful ways that it feels like punishment.  When we sin we may have to make amends and restitution.  When we sin we may need to be separated from others for their protection and ours.  But we don’t need to run around making each other pay for our sins, because Jesus has already paid the price.

Today we will baptize Victoria in a baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  At six weeks old she hasn’t had a lot of opportunity to sin but she will.  And that’s no slam against Victoria because we all sin.  By her baptism she is part of a community that forgives sins; gives people second, third, fourth, seventy-seventh chances to start over, and without punishment.  There are a lot of articles of the faith that I’ve never seen.  I’ve never seen the resurrection of the dead.  I’ve never seen the Communion of Saints.  But I have seen and I’ve experienced the forgiveness of sins.  It seems to me that a mark of an authentic Christian community is its ability to forgive sins, trusting that Jesus has already paid price.  An authentic Christian community does not exact punishment for the sins but says to those who with hearty repentance and true faith turn to Jesus, “Your sins are forgiven.  Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace, and pray for me, a sinner.” Amen.