A Message from the Bishop - March 2022A

Dear Friends,

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 18:13-14)

As we seek to heed the Prayer Book’s call to the observance of a holy Lent, we allow the Holy Spirit to show us ourselves so that, like the tax collector in Jesus’ parable, we might rightly repent and know the forgiveness and restoration of the Lord. 

David prayed in Psalm 51:3, “For I know my faults and my sin is ever before me.” We must refuse to cover up our sin, or make excuses, or justify ourselves, or minimize what we did.

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 4:4: “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.” In other words, the fact that I’m not bothered by what I’ve done doesn’t mean I don’t have sin that I need to deal with.

Lent is a time to slow down and let the Lord take us deeper, allowing him to reveal to us more and more our ungodly thoughts and motives, our words, our actions, our habits, even our very selves.

This is what Isaiah expressed when he saw the holiness of God: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5).

It’s what the Apostle Peter came to know about himself. After Jesus brought about a miraculous catch of fish and Peter began to understand who Jesus really was, Peter said: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” (Luke 5:8).

This self-awareness is deeper than sorrow over specific sins; it’s grieving over our sinful nature. It’s admitting we’re the kind of person who could do what we did.

But pride so often blinds us to our true spiritual condition, our real need.

I’ve noticed that when I’m short-tempered and insensitive and say hurtful things to those I love, I am quick to say, “Oh, you see I’m just really tired and I’ve been under a lot of pressure.” In other words, the John that was so obnoxious isn’t the real me. But let me be loving and gracious and self-sacrificing and what do I think: “Oh, no, that’s not like me, I just got a good night’s sleep”? Of course not; I like to think that the loving guy is the real me.

But I must come to see that not only did I commit a sin, but I am a sinner.

Jesus came to redeem our sinful nature: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

God in his infinite goodness and mercy chose to treat Jesus as if he were a sinner and, when we put our trust in Jesus, he chooses to treat us as if we were righteous. This is the great two-fold substitution, by which we are made right with God. And so “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

This Lent, let’s allow the Lord to take us deeper as we spend time before him, and when he shows us the hard truth about ourselves, let’s confess it, turn away from it, and receive the forgiveness and freedom that is ours in Jesus Christ. 

Faithfully yours in Christ,

The Rt. Rev. John A. M. Guernsey