It took a year to read the Bible, then almost 9 months to read the Apocrypha. Now, I'm going to try to offer reflections on the Narrative Lectionary. But, I won't be posting daily--at least, for a while.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Penitence, Forgiveness, a Reflection on Psalm 32

God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They disobeyed God--the fruit on that tree looked too good not to have a taste. Having eaten of the fruit, they became aware of their vulnerabilities and tried to cover themselves up as well as they good. They made loincloths out of fig leaves. If we kept reading in Genesis, we would learn that God replaced those scratchy leaves with fur coats.

Psalm 32 also speaks of how difficult our lives as sinners can be and how the Lord comes to help us in our distress.

As long as we wallow in our sinfulness, our lives will be difficult. Recognizing where we have gone wrong prepares us for the help that the Lord can offer to us. Then, living our lives according to the way that we have been instructed by the Lord will enable us to experience joy.

And we don't have to keep quiet about that joy.

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