• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
 
Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 51
1
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had comehome.
2
They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside thedoor, and he preached the word to them.
3
Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man,carried by four of them.
4
Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they madean opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man waslying on.
5
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins areforgiven."
6
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves,
7
"Why does thisfellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, andhe said to them, "Why are you thinking these things?
9
Which is easier: to say to this paralyzedman, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'?
10
But I want you toknow that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the man,
11
"I tellyou, get up, take your mat and go home."
12
He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anythinglike this!" – Mark 2:1-12
Forgive us…126 Q. What does the fifth request mean?
 A. "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" means, Because of Christ's blood, do not hold against us, poor sinners that we are, any of the sins we do or the evil that constantly clings to us. Forgive us just as we are fully determined, as evidence of your grace in us, to forgiveour neighbors.
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
The Templeton Foundation in the US, which hascampaigned for an increase in what it calls "forgivenessresearch," funded a major study on people's attitudes towardforgiveness. Co-sponsored by the University of Michigan andthe National Institute for Mental Health, the study found that75% of Americans are "very confident" that they have beenforgiven by God for their past offenses.The lead researcher in this study, expressed great surpriseat such high confidence, especially since many of thesesame people did not regularly attend church. Still, three-
1
 
quarters of the people surveyed had few doubts about God'swillingness to forgive.The picture was less bright, however, when it came tointerpersonal relations. Only about half of the peoplesurveyed claimed that they were certain that they hadforgiven others. Most people admitted that while God may bea galaxy-class forgiver, ordinary folks struggle.It's difficult to forgive other people with whom you are angry.It's even difficult to forgive yourself sometimes. But whereforgiveness does take place, the study found a link betweenforgiveness and better health. The more prone a person is togrant forgiveness, the less likely he or she will suffer fromany stress-related illnesses.According to their studies, forgiveness is important, it'snecessary, it's even healthy. What's more, we need itbecause sooner or later, we know that we will encounter hurts inflicted by others whether we’re inside the church or out of it.
And it’s not just the research that tells us about the importance of forgiveness. It’s the Bible that puts forgiveness right in front of us – it is central to our identity and central to our relationship withGod.Which is why there is no surprise when we find it in our prayer.Forgive us our sins, debts, or trespasses as we forgive those whosin, debt or trespass against us.And this evening, as we look to the Catechism and to theScriptures there should be no surprises in what we find – just theSpirit’s gentle reminder through the Word of God about what it
2
 
means to live in grace and to pray for it when we say Lord forgiveus…When we pray these words we are first taking an occasion to…
I. Remember who we really are.
On the comedy sketch show, Saturday Night Live, back in the 90sthere was a recurring skit called Daily Affirmations with StuartSmalley. It was a very funny commentary of the self-help phenomena that was becoming a large part of society.Stuart was a very insecure person with a lot of “issues” and in eachshow he would have a guest who was invariably better than him. Iremember one time that Al Gore was a guest in the skit talkingabout his own election woes – very funny stuff. And each showStuart would get flustered and eventually he would get incrediblyupset at his own inadequacy.Then at the end of each show Stuart would turn to a mirror andcalm himself by saying: “I’m good enough. I’m smart enough. Andgosh darn it. People like me.”I bring this up because it really is a commentary on the society thatwe live in. We want to look for the best in people. We want to look for the best in ourselves.We tell our children about their potential and about their strengthsand we sometimes shield them from some of the harsher realitiesof life – so that they will have good self-esteem and a positive self image.We convince ourselves that people are primarily good and we’reshocked when something shatters that – like what happened atVirginia Tech this week. Incredible tragedy. Something that makes
3
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...