Welcome to Ash Wednesday 2013. Jonah preaches a message, it is wildly
successful in producing repentance, a wicked people hear the word of the Lord
they do not know from a foreign prophet and repent in dust and ashes, crying
out to the Lord to relent of the judgment He has planned against them, and
Jonah is angry. Jonah, who has presumed
on God's mercy since he began running from the Lord, who was saved from death
due to his own sin by the Lord preparing a fish to swallow him and hold him for
three days, is angry that the Lord is merciful to the wrong people. Jonah had to have told this story himself,
who else would have known all the details?
Did God's people ever repent in the way the Babylonians did? It wouldn't last, but this wicked nation
believed, they feared the Lord and they prevailed on His mercy. Today is a day to seek God's mercy again in
our lives. Is the remembrance of your
sin grievous unto you, the burden of your sin intolerable. Whatever it is, take it to the cross and ask
for mercy and you will walk away have received pardon.
The parable would certainly have provoked strong reactions
among Jesus' listeners. The tax
collector was such a hated figure in that day that it would be impossible to
imagine a story that set him against the Pharisee and have him come out the
hero. The thing the tax collector had
going for him in this story, however, is that he makes no pretense of
righteousness, his sin is known to all.
The Pharisee, as we know from the Gospels, makes certain that no one
sees him sin at all, he is scrupulous with respect to the performance of life,
no matter what is inside him.
Justification, as is completely evident here, is a sovereign work of God
and isn't based in our performance of religious duties, but, rather, based in
our willingness to confess our sins and receive mercy.
"Lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak
knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be
put out of joint but rather be healed."
What a beautiful image! The
writer presumes we are struggling against sin and encourages us to never grow
weary of the struggle, continue to seek God's kingdom and His
righteousness. Renewal and strength come
from seeking Him, confession, pardon.
The more aware we of our sins, the more mercy we seek and receive. He has promised forgiveness of sins to all
those who with hearty repentance and true faith turn unto Him. Those who hide or deny their sin never know
the joy of unmerited favor, grace. Let
us this day turn to Him for pardon and also renewal, that our drooping hands
may be lifted and our weak knees strengthened for the journey.
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