Lent

March 23, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 32

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.

Then I acknowledged 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. –Psalm 39:1-5

This Psalm is specifically attributed to David. He opens with a celebration of being forgiven but follows it with a segment that reeks of guilt describing the time between committing a sin and the attainment of forgiveness. From all reports, David had a deep and abiding life-long relationship with God. He was all too human, also. Fred Craddock wrote a Bible study years ago that was based on the premise that we sin in the areas of our greatest gifts.  (My words, I do not remember his exact description.) David was a crafty strategist. He slew Goliath with shrewdness not might. He played games around poor King Saul while avoiding killing the King. He sent Uriah, to the frontline assuring his death to cover up David’s dalliance that went too far with Bathsheba. And David built one of the most successful nations in history.

How do we decrease using our skills and talents in negative ways and hone them to perfection in service to God?  Our natural, go-to reactions are almost completed before we even consider a response. I wonder how quickly David realized what he had done after ordering his general to send Uriah to the frontline. Spiritual memory is like the muscle memory of a good athlete. The field of play is not the time to contemplate the next steps. Athletes spend hours every day building that muscle memory so that when they act the action is spontaneous in the right way to achieve their goal whether it is hitting or blocking a shot, for example. All people of faith must work diligently to attain spiritual memory so that our reactions are based on service to God. That, indeed, requires individual work with good teachers/pastors, but it also means honing our skills to work effortlessly with a team. Think how firefighters respond to a blaze where everyone seems to know the next important response and does it reflexively. How much time and training must be completed to do the impossible so effortlessly.  People of faith must build their teams, too.

Prayer: Lord, keep us focused on your desired outcomes and mold and make us into individuals and teams ready to respond in spiritual memory. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.