Lent 1
Preaching
Hear My Voice
Preaching The Lectionary Psalms for Cycles A, B, C
(See Lent 4, Cycle C, for an alternative approach.)
This psalm belongs to the group of psalms designated by the Christian church for confession and absolution. In the Hebrew calendar, a sequence of services provided for confession of guilt, and there was both a guilt offering (for personal sin against God) and a sin offering (for sin against the community). Thus, Psalm 32 reminds us that God forgives not only personal but also corporate sins. Obviously, this psalm is highly appropriate for the first Sunday in Lent.
Some preaching possibilities:
1. Some leaders of the Reformation wanted to have confession and absolution in a special sacrament, in addition to baptism and the Eucharist. They settled on the latter two only, but Martin Luther said, "Whenever private confession leaves the church, the church will die." So, although it was never made a sacrament, confession is just as important as those other means of grace. A sermon could focus on the painful manifestations of unconfessed sin -- especially using verses 3 and 4, compared to the lightened heart of those who unburden themselves to God and receive forgiveness (vv. 1-2).
2. Note that this psalm begins with two beatitudes. Logically, they should come at the end of the psalm, after the acknowledgment of sin and God's granting of absolution (v. 5). But coming as they do at the beginning, together with additional expressions of joy in the final verse (v. 11), they serve to bracket the recognition of guilt and subsequent repentance with blessedness and joy. That can be a description of the Christian life -- one lived in the joy and blessing of God, but in which, from time to time, the person becomes aware of a sin that has slipped in, and the means to deal with it that are readily available: confession and repentance. That done, the joy returns. This dealing with the sins of Christians is surely what the author of 1 John has in mind as he writes, "I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins ..." (1 John 2:1-2).
3. Paul quotes verses 1 and 2 of this psalm in Romans 4:7-8, introducing the verses by saying, "So also David speaks of the blessedness of those to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works." Indeed, the psalm reminds us that it is repentance, confession, and forgiveness that put us in the right relationship with God. A sermon could discuss the common, if unspoken, reliance on works as a hoped-for way to please God, and why it alone is not enough.
-- S. P.
This psalm belongs to the group of psalms designated by the Christian church for confession and absolution. In the Hebrew calendar, a sequence of services provided for confession of guilt, and there was both a guilt offering (for personal sin against God) and a sin offering (for sin against the community). Thus, Psalm 32 reminds us that God forgives not only personal but also corporate sins. Obviously, this psalm is highly appropriate for the first Sunday in Lent.
Some preaching possibilities:
1. Some leaders of the Reformation wanted to have confession and absolution in a special sacrament, in addition to baptism and the Eucharist. They settled on the latter two only, but Martin Luther said, "Whenever private confession leaves the church, the church will die." So, although it was never made a sacrament, confession is just as important as those other means of grace. A sermon could focus on the painful manifestations of unconfessed sin -- especially using verses 3 and 4, compared to the lightened heart of those who unburden themselves to God and receive forgiveness (vv. 1-2).
2. Note that this psalm begins with two beatitudes. Logically, they should come at the end of the psalm, after the acknowledgment of sin and God's granting of absolution (v. 5). But coming as they do at the beginning, together with additional expressions of joy in the final verse (v. 11), they serve to bracket the recognition of guilt and subsequent repentance with blessedness and joy. That can be a description of the Christian life -- one lived in the joy and blessing of God, but in which, from time to time, the person becomes aware of a sin that has slipped in, and the means to deal with it that are readily available: confession and repentance. That done, the joy returns. This dealing with the sins of Christians is surely what the author of 1 John has in mind as he writes, "I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins ..." (1 John 2:1-2).
3. Paul quotes verses 1 and 2 of this psalm in Romans 4:7-8, introducing the verses by saying, "So also David speaks of the blessedness of those to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works." Indeed, the psalm reminds us that it is repentance, confession, and forgiveness that put us in the right relationship with God. A sermon could discuss the common, if unspoken, reliance on works as a hoped-for way to please God, and why it alone is not enough.
-- S. P.
