Joyful Confession

Lent 4 – March 30, 2025

Joshua 5:9-12
Psalm 32
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

We all know today’s parable. It has been called the Parable of the Prodigal Son. But that may not have been Jesus’ main point of this parable. It was not Luke’s main point. Again, we do not really know the exact situation in which Jesus told his parables. Until the gospel writers wrote them down, all of Jesus’ sayings were handed down by oral tradition. (Although there is evidence that some of the stories of Jesus were written before the gospels were written.) As they were told over and over those who told them began to group them together. Similar parables were told together such as our parable for today and the previous two (which we did not read) all which talk about finding something that was lost. Although, it may be Luke who put these three parables together in this way since he is the only gospel writer that has this parable and the parable of the lost coin. By putting these parables together Luke is emphasizing the one who has lost something, goes all out to get it back, and rejoices when it is returned. In our parable today it is both sons who have been lost. And, at the end of the story only one has returned. The oldest son is still lost even though the father goes out to meet him.

We read this parable because of the prodigal son who realizes his mistake and returns to ask forgiveness. As the psalmist encourages us to do also. The person who wrote this poem wants us to know his experience with sin and confession. He tells us that when he did not confess his sin his body wasted away, he groaned all day long, and his strength dried up. But, when he finally confessed his sin, God forgave the guilt of his sin and now he wants you to know about God’s forgiveness. We do look at God’s forgiveness in a different light that the psalmist. The psalmist is saying that confession comes first then forgiveness. Paul encourages us to look at it in the opposite way. God’s forgiveness comes first and our response to that forgiveness is to confess our transgressions. 

This is not to say that our sins won’t weigh on us and become a burden to us. They certainly can do that. The psalmist is reminding us that confessing our sins – recognizing that we have not lived up to God’s expectation – helps remove the guilt that keeps us from doing God’s work in the world. This is one of the emphasis of Lent. God has given his Son to die for your sins. By his life, death, and resurrection Jesus has made you a new creation. You are no longer bound by your sin nor trapped in your guilt. You have been set free to be children of God. What then does that mean for your life?

Paul tells us that we are ambassadors for Christ and are called to become the righteousness of God. As ambassadors we are called to be the representatives of God’s salvation in the world. As the righteousness of God we are called to be those whose faith brings God’s forgiveness to the world and for the world. This is a difficult concept even for us, God’s new creation, that we are to have faith so that the whole world will be saved. We do this by challenging the world when it mistreats other people. We show this by loving those that the world rejects. We become the righteousness of God when we stand up and protect others from abuse and hate. Clearly not an easy task. Paul knew that. After calling us to be ambassadors and the righteousness of God he tells us of the hardships and persecution that he and his companions had endured because of their work. By answering God’s call – by picking up your cross and following Jesus – you will be taking on a life that is not easy but one that you can do because Jesus died for you so that you will be the righteousness of God. The task is at hand and the work load is great but you do not do it alone. We do it together with Jesus. So filled with the Holy Spirit and fed at this holy table confess your sin joyfully and join with all the saints in the work of redeeming the world.