First Presbyterian Church
Uncounted Trespasses
Sermon for March 28, 2004
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Children's Time: Not Counting Monsters, by H.L. Ross, pictures by Doug Cushman. (A children's counting book, where the reader counts the pigeons among monster birds, mailboxes among monsters disguised as mailboxes, monster masks among monsters, mops among hairy monsters.) I said to the children, “So, when you don't count monsters, you have to count other things, don't you? What other things did we count?”

Our unison reading is found on page 506. Psalm 32 defines happiness as forgiveness. Listen for the word of God as we read it together in Psalm 32.

Of David. A Maskil.

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.' Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

Then I acknowled ged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah

I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you. Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.' Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

This ends our reading from the psalms. Last week, we looked at the first two stories in Luke 15, the ones that spoke of God as like a shepherd searching for a lost sheep, and like a woman sweeping her floor diligently until she finds the coin she lost. Our reading today is the last one about lost things. It has been titled “The Prodigal Son” but a better title is “The Forgiving Father.” It begins with verse 11, not verse 1, as the bulletin says. Listen to the choir sing and interpret Luke 15:11-24. (Reading in anthem:)

11 Then Jesus said, "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.'15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.

17 But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."'

20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21 Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'

22 But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe-- the best one-- and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!')

And the rest of the parable goes like this:

And they began to celebrate.

25 "Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27 He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.

29 But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!'

31 Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"

This ends our reading from the gospel. Our epistle reading is on page 181. In it, Paul explains to the church in Corinth that everyone has value because Christ has died for them. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, because Christ died for them. (1) Listen for the word of God as it is found in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21.

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This ends our reading from God's word.

This last week, I took my children down to California to see their grandparents and their aunts. My sister Carolyn just got a new horse, Bo, who used to be a trotter, and now Carolyn's training him to be a riding horse. It means special exercises to make Bo's neck more flexible, and lessons to help Bo stand and walk with her back legs under her, and it means practicing walking slower. It's just as much work for Carolyn as it is for Bo.

On Tuesday, we visited Bo, petted her, and fed her lots of carrots. On Wed nesday, we were invited to come ride her. Carolyn took us to some nearby picnic grounds, and rode Bo all around the meadow there. She had to show Bo there was nothing scary even in this brand new place. After that, Bo was ready to let the children ride her.

I used up a whole roll of film. When I was done with the pictures, I joined my grandmother, mother, sister, daughter, and son and petted the horse. Bo liked all the attention until my camera started to automatically rewind. It was a brand new sound that she had never heard human beings make. Her neck tensed, and she started to breathe faster, and Carolyn pulled Bo to her with the lead and reassured her. We fed Bo a lot of carrots, and she was okay.

This event is on my mind because of the line in the psalm “Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you” -- even though it wasn't Bo's temper that needed curbing; it was her fears that needed calming. The bridle and lead helped Bo stay close to Carolyn, the source of reassurance, familiarity, and carrots. Bo relied on Carolyn to take care of her.

The other texts today also reminded me of the horse, with Paul's words about new things and Jesus' parable about a father's care.

In the context that Jesus told these parables, I think the story of the forgiving father was a message to the Pharisees, who were unwilling to welcome the unclean. In Luke's gospel, written for the early church, I think the message was to welcome the gentiles, and know that God welcomes everybody. And we have to figure out the message for us.

Psalm 32 equates happiness with forgiveness. Forgiveness requires repentance. Each week, we have a prayer of confession. It helps us practice the discipline of repentance. And with honest confession to God comes forgiveness from God. The assurance of pardon, or forgiveness, lets us practice the discipline of receiving grace. And it is a discipline. Knowing that we are forgiven matters. Grace matters.

Grace is different from enabling unhealthy behaviors. Grace comes out of unconditional love. This is not a parable about enabling addicts or encouraging abuse, although I know it has been used that way. The youngest son hit rock bottom-- he was earning his living by taking care of pigs for a gentile and then he ate the pig's food. Uncleanness compounded with uncleanness. And so he comes home, recognizing the way he has sinned against his father and God, confesses it, and is ready to take responsibility for his actions; he just wants to be treated as a hired hand.

I have a list of barriers in thinking in a pamphlet I got from a prisoner in recovery. Here's a partial list: recklessness, instant gratification, fear of ‘losing face', and possessive attitude. Those are all attributes of the younger son before he hit rock bottom. He came back transformed ; he acknowled ged God, he was critical of his own behavior, he was ready to plan for the future, and be accountable, respectful, and humble. Those are listed on the pamphlet as “steps to responsible thinking.” His father is delighted and celebrates.

But the older brother is not and does not. We are accustomed to speaking of the younger brother's sins, but the older brother can take some blame also. The father divided his property between both his sons; the elder brother did not protest when this happened.' He confronted his father publicly about it, rather than waiting to talk to him privately. He does not show much respect to his father, and blames “this son of yours.”

The father identifies the relationship correctly by saying “this brother of yours was dead and has come to life.” And there the story ends. We are left wondering if the older son went in and joined the family feast, or stayed outside out of a demand for vengeance, or at least justice. But this is a parable about grace, not justice.

This isn't just about being nicer to your brother, although goodness knows, that's hard enough sometimes. It's about a father's intense, reliable love. A father who does not count trespasses and demand retribution for each one.

Do you know that there are 17 chapters in the old testament giving directions on how to sacrifice to God properly? Where, when, for what, with what and by who? There are 25 old testament books containing stories about sacrifices. But these kinds of sacrifices do not count. They don't matter any more. People used to make sacrifices to appease God. But in Christ, God has sacrificed for us, so the world will be reconciled.'

The language Paul uses is financial; we have to count our expenses to reconcile our bank statements. But God is not counting our trespasses, and still we are reconciled.' What counts with God is our confession, our willingness to trust God and our relationship with God, built on love and care for God and the people God created.'

And once reconciliation has happened, what are we to do? Now that the new thing has come, what do we do? Psalm 32 tells us the response to forgiveness is “Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.”

One pastor said Jesus' parable is about giving up the idea we can love God and despise each other. (2) Paul wrote “God… has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” The old has passed, the new has come; the new can be scary because it's unfamiliar, but the father will be there, ready to welcome repentant sinners as well as angry self-righteous sinners to the celebration. God will lead us along unfamiliar paths, helping us pay attention to the joy around us.

(1) New Interpreter's Bible, XI, p. 98.

(2) Taylor, Barbara Brown, “Table manners,” Christian Century, March 11, 1998, p. 257.