Christian devotions: Mea Culpa - Luke 18:13

Luke 18:13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’”

As many of you know, my mother was a Roman Catholic and when she was both young and fit, she went to Sunday Mass. She grew up in the days when all Masses were said in Latin, which she learned to recite at an early age. In later years, in the midst of her tragic moments of insanity, she would sometimes wail and beat her breast, saying, “Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.”

At the time I had no idea what she was doing. It was only when I went to Divinity School that I learned the meaning of the phrase. It was once used by Roman Catholics at Latin Mass just before they took communion. It literally means, “I’m to blame, I’m to blame, I’m totally to blame.” It comes from today’s passage (Luke 18:9-14) when Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

The tax collector recognizes his unworthiness before God and beats his breast. He knows that he has done something wrong, so he feels that he cannot approach God or even look up to Heaven. He also knows that his only hope is in receiving God’s mercy: he cannot do anything to obtain this; he cannot justify his sinful choices; he can only stand and wait for God’s forgiveness.

As Jesus points out in the parable, the tax collector’s sincere, contrite, and humble prayer is heard by God and answered compassionately. This is an example of God’s grace through Christ, which we all need every day of our lives.

The beautiful blessing of Christianity abides in this: when we make mistakes, they are not irredeemable; and when we sincerely confess them to Jesus, He forgives completely.

Questions for personal reflection

Do I still have something in my life that remains un-confessed? Do I want to be forgiven?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You know us completely, even those sins and mistakes that we are ashamed of or too proud to confess. Help us to pray about them and encourage to humbly ask You for mercy. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Fall drawings. It’s called “Autumn Magic” and features the Glade Creek Grist Mill which is located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8449/8041616084_bbd1f3b6ec_b.jpg

Daily Devotions: Me, Me, Me - Psalm 71

Psalm 71:2      Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me.

I love the Book of Psalms, but sometimes King David’s self-centered pleas are annoying. He says “Me, me, me” quite a lot and it makes me wonder what kind of a person he really was.

Don’t get me wrong, I think that David is one of the greatest heroes in the Bible, but quite often he made foolish and selfish choices that created major problems for himself, his people, and his family. Time and time again, David blamed his enemies and believed that they should be punished by God. He seemed to be in denial about his own portion of the blame and brazenly expected God to fix everything.

I am not perfect either, and I make selfish choices and foolish mistakes too. I hope, however, that I accept my culpability and seek God’s forgiveness first and my salvation second. The process is called repentance – an old-fashioned word, for sure – but one that I have constantly needed throughout my Christian journey.

Perhaps you are in the midst of a crisis, issue, or problem that you need God to fix. Maybe you’re overwhelmed with anxiety or regret and you feel emotionally paralyzed. As you come to God in prayer, ask Him initially to reveal your portion of blame and humbly seek His forgiveness. Perhaps after that experience, the next step to resolution won’t be as hard.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, forgive our self-centered and annoyingly narcissistic ways. Grant us the ability to see our weaknesses and faults, so that we may begin the process of contrition and repentance, and then seek resolution and completeness. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is John’s latest drawing of Mount Fujiyama in Japan. It’s on his ‘places to see” Bucket List. You can view a larger version of the print by clicking on the following link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4820234972_2d0f5a10b0_b.jpg

Daily Devotions: Full of Hypocrites

Mark 2:17       On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Church people are not perfect and I have often heard the remark: “I don’t go to church because it’s full of hypocrites.” I agree wholeheartedly because all of the churches that I have ever joined or served have been full of sinful people like me. The church was created and established by Christ for sinners, not saints. There is no such thing as a perfect church or a perfect Christian, so part of the burden that we have to bear is that world will always point out our mistakes and gleefully call us hypocrites.

Even Jesus said it Himself, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” There’s none of us too good that we don’t need Jesus; there’s also none of us so bad that He won’t welcome us into His fold. He is the Perfect One who calls imperfect people to His Kingdom. Christ is the Sinless One who invites sinners to God’s grace. Jesus is the One True Savior of all the world and history who seeks hypocrites to become disciples. That’s what makes grace so amazing; that’s what makes His love so wonderful.

On Sunday mornings, when people gather together to worship God, they look for forgiveness and healing, guidance and direction. They honestly know that they do not deserve God’s grace, but they also realize that Christ has the authority to absolve them from their sins. They come through the doors as proud and hypocritical sinners; they leave the church as humble and sanctified people.

So perhaps next time you or I hear someone say: “I don’t go to church, it’s full of hypocrites,” we should answer: “I know. I’m one of them. I need God’s grace and forgiveness each week. Don’t you?”

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, thank You for allowing hypocrites into Your Church. Thank You for calling sinners like us to God’s Kingdom. Forgive us when we fail and restore us to God’s favor. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.