WHAT
TO DO WITH GUILT
JOHN
20.19-23
JULY
27, 2008
WESLEY
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Douglas
Norris
Continuing
the series on forgiveness, this morning let’s consider WHAT TO DO
WITH GUILT. Guilt strangles, clutches your throat, chokes off
life-giving air, limits your energy, stifles your words, paralyzes.
A
young man in his early twenties died of diabetes related diseases.
During the last several years of his life, his mother cared for him.
She took off work and became his nurse. No one could have done more
for him than she did, yet she is paralyzed, strangled with guilt. She
is obsessed with “If onlys…If only I had done this or that…If
only I had forced him to watch his diet when he was a teenager…If
only..” She is tortured, strangled by guilt. Her guilt is so
paralyzing, she can’t work. She is losing her friends because she
has no energy, time, or consideration with which to nurture important
interpersonal relationships. She is depressed, incapacitated,
driven, paralyzed, strangled. She has always been an active church
member. She has faith in God. She probably even believes God
forgives her. She probably admits that her son forgives her. Her
son probably would not understand her blaming herself. But, she
can’t forgive herself!
Do
you carry a load of guilt? Are you strangled by guilt? Guilt is
universal. No one (except psychopaths!) is free of guilt. Some
guilt, of course, is motivating. For some of us, it is guilt that
gets us to brush our teeth. It is guilt that causes a person to feel
sorry and make restitution. But, we’re talking this morning about
the guilt that strangles, the heavy guilt that incapacitates, that
causes depression and paralysis.
Our
culture does not handle guilt well. We don’t seem to know what to
do with guilt, or how to be rid of it. Especially do we have
difficulty forgiving ourselves. Conscientious people, good people,
respectable people, Christian people often fail to live up to their
own expectations. They are often much more tolerant of others than
they are tolerant of themselves. They can forgive mistakes of
others, but have difficulty forgiving their own mistakes.
The
heart of the gospel—the good news—is that God loves us and saves
us, saves us even from guilt. God redeems, justifies, forgives,
reconciles. We are reunited with God, united with each other, and
united even with ourselves. The good news is that God forgives sins
and eradicates guilt. A little boy approached a guard at the
Washington Monument, handed the guard a quarter, and said, “I’d
like to buy it.” The guard said, “That’s not enough.” The
boy replied, “I thought you would say that.” So he pulled out
nine cents more. The guard looked at the boy and said, “You need
to understand three things. First, 34 cents is not enough. Second,
the Washington Monument is not for sale. And third, if you are an
American citizen, the Washington Monument already belongs to you.”
The
gospel says three things about forgiveness. First, we cannot earn
forgiveness. Second, forgiveness is not for sale. And third, in
Christ we already have forgiveness. And so it is with guilt. You
cannot get rid of guilt by yourself. You cannot buy yourself a
conscience free of guilt. But, Jesus has done whatever needs to be
done in order for your guilt to be eradicated. That is the good
news. Why, therefore, are so many Christians strangled by guilt?
How does a guilt-ridden Christian accept and receive forgiveness?
What do we do with guilt?
First,
believe; trust in a God of grace. Believe that God is a God of
forgiveness and mercy. Believe that God gives second, and many,
chances. Believe that Jesus gave his life for your forgiveness.
Jesus' death was not necessary to appease an angry, vengeful God who
demands a sacrifice. No, God is love. It is not God who needs
changing. It is we. The chasm between God and humankind is so vast,
so wide, it takes the death of God's Son to show us the extent of our
sin and guilt. Jesus gave his life to bridge the gap. Jesus gave his
life so that we can receive God's loving forgiveness. Believe that
God forgives and releases us from the stranglehold of guilt.
Second,
confess your sins. The promise is recorded in 1 John 1.9, “If we
confess our sins, God is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Confess. Speak it.
Name your guilt. Admit it. Unload the guilt.
Third,
receive absolution—the assurance, the pronouncement—that you are
forgiven, you are absolved from your guilt. Most Protestants have
been skeptical of absolution. We have not wanted to give clergy the
authority to forgive sins. We feel that is presumptuous. But,
absolution is part of the confession service in our hymnal. We used
it this morning. We pronounce absolution to one another. It is not
just the authority of the pastor, but the authority of all of us.
The leader says, “In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.”
The congregation responds, “In the name of Jesus Christ, you are
forgiven.” It is a corporate act. In the Gospel Lesson read this
morning, Jesus gave his disciples authority to forgive sins. Most of
us need to hear we are forgiven. Somehow it is not enough to believe
that God forgives. It is not enough to confess sins and guilt. We
need to hear words spoke, spoken with authority, spoken in the name
of Jesus Christ. We need to hear and receive absolution.
But,
there are those who yet will not believe they are forgiven. They
need something more tangible, something more graphic to convince them
that God has forgiven them. In the Old Testament, a lamb was
slaughtered and its blood was sprinkled on the altar and on the
congregation. They were forgiven, absolved, “washed in the blood
of the lamb.” The imagery was powerful. Worshipers could see the
lamb slaughtered and feel the sprinkled blood.
In
the Roman Catholic Mass, the imagery is powerful. Jesus again lays
down his life. Then, the believer receives Christ’s life—his
body and blood—into his/her life. Perhaps we Protestants, in
reaction to Roman Catholicism, have so spiritualized the act of
confession and pardon, we have lost the imagery. We need confession.
We need absolution. We need a powerful image like the sacrificed
lamb.
We
need to reclaim the biblical image of blood. Hebrews 9.12, “Christ
entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of
goats and calves, but his own blood, thus securing an eternal
redemption.” At the last supper with his disciples, Jesus took the
cup of wine, gave it to his disciples and said, “Drink of it, all
of you; for this is my blood of the new covenant which is poured out
for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus poured out his blood,
which in the Bible symbolizes life. Jesus poured out his life so
that you may be forgiven and released from guilt.
We
Protestants have successfully so reacted against Roman Catholicism
that we have thrown out confession, Christ’s sacrifice, and
absolution. And liberal Protestants have been so offended by
blood—our sensibilities offended at the idea of blood cleansing
us—we’re left with nothing in our churches but a lot of guilt!
And when there is not enough guilt, the church adds more. Churches
like to motivate with guilt. But, our spiritual ancestors asked and
sang, “Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?” The blood of
Jesus cleanses, washes, frees us from strangling guilt. We sang
there is a fountain filled with blood where sinners are washed, where
sinners lose their guilty stains. We sang, “What can wash away my
sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” Is this image crude, gross,
primitive, offensive to our modern ears? So is guilt. Guilt is
ugly, strangling, demoralizing, incapacitating, paralyzing. Guilt is
so strong, so powerful; it takes the life of Jesus to be rid of it.
It takes the blood of Jesus to cleanse you of guilt. Image your
guilt being washed away, down the drain, carried into the sewer where
it belongs, never to return.
What
do we do with guilt? Believe God forgives. Confess your sins and
guilt. Receive absolution, receive forgiveness. In the name of
Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. Image Jesus embracing you, reaching
out and gathering you into his arms. Tell him what’s wrong.
Confess your guilt. Then image yourself standing in a shower of
blood, being washed, being cleansed, and say out loud, “In the name
of Jesus Christ, I am forgiven.”
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