Absolution | Wayfarer

Finally, all the leaders of that town that is nearest the body will wash their hands over the heifer that had its neck broken at the stream and say, “We didn’t kill this man and we didn’t see who did it. Purify your people Israel whom you redeemed, O God. Clear your people Israel from any guilt in this murder.” Deuteronomy 21:6-8 (MSG)

I watched with interest this past Sunday night as my beloved Cubs played the New York Mets. It was the 10th annviersary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and during the pregame memorial service the camera panned across the crowd. There were many hardy New Yorkers, both men and women, who were reduced to tears. Ten years later, the events of that day are still felt deeply in the community.

I grew up in the city and have lived in small towns with populations from 300 to 10,000. It’s interesting to look back at events that affected the collective community. Some of them a very public events like the floods of 1993 that left an entire city without running water for ten days. Even more private tragedies and shameful events, that people don’t care to acknowledge or discuss publicly, can have a tremendous effect on the community as a whole.

In today’s chapter, I found it interesting that God prescribed a very public ceremony in the event of an unexplained, mysterious death. It reminded me that communities, like individuals, sometimes need to experience a period of introspection, acknowledgement, and confession coupled with ritual to seek forgiveness or absolution. When a community fails to process tragedy in a healthy way, the suppression of fear, anxiety, and guilt will surely attach itself to the community in unhealthy ways.

Today, I’m reminded to be aware of and pray for the local community in which I live, and the people around me with whom I carry out daily life.

"Comfort, oh comfort my people," says your God. "Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem, but also make it very clear That she has served her sentence, that her sin is taken care of—forgiven! She's been punished enough and more than enough, and now it's over and done with." Isaiah 40:1-2 (MSG)

As a kid, I was in trouble plenty of times. I was grounded, spanked, put in time out, sent to bed, had my allowance garnished, and had my mouth washed out with soap. Yet, with all of that, my parents did not hold my sins against me. There were no grudges held. My parents continued to believe the best in me and, once the punishment for my infraction was complete, I was never reminded of my sins. In fact, to this day I will occasionally ask my parents if they remember when I did this or that naughty thing. Usually they just laugh and shake their heads. They have no recollection.

That's what is awesome about being in reltionship with Christ. Even though God is all-knowing and could remember every heinous detail of our sins, He chooses to forget them. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, the blood of His punishment covered all of us. The punishment was complete. It's over and done. When we place our faith in Christ, we are covered by that ultimate sacrificial act of love. Softly and tenderly, God calls us home to receive His blessing instead of His curses, just ike the Prodigal Son.

I catch myself, on occasion, remembering my own sins and choosing to project God's punishment and disappointment on myself. I think I need to imagine God's quizzical look (much like my Earthly parents when I ask them if they remember this or that naughty act). I need to see God scratching his head and saying, "I don't remember that at all."

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and [ henning ]