Fake News: Accountability vs. Guilt
Psalm 32
Psalm 103: 1 – 14
June 30, 2024
A group of us gather every Wednesday night to watch Season 4 of The Chosen. I have found The Chosen to be a delightful depiction of the Gospel story. Oh, could I pick it apart for some dramatic license; could I bemoan some characters that play important roles in the series that are not biblical? Sure, I could.
But I choose to view The Chosen as an entry point to the Gospel story. For me, and for others, The Chosen spurs me to ask questions, to see nuances more visible perhaps on the screen than they are in the text. The Chosen serves as a springboard into Scripture, and for that I am thankful.
In Season 4 the opposition to Jesus is rising. Much of that opposition is what we would suspect. Religious leaders, politicians, all those who see Jesus as a threat to both the faith and secular status quo. But it is not just these outside characters.
Judas is at odds with the trajectory of the ministry of Jesus. Judas fully expects a conquering messiah – one who will overthrow the Roman oppressors and recreate the nation of Israel. Judas is increasingly at odds with Jesus. He is becoming alienated from the rest of the disciples. The Chosen sets the stage exceedingly well for the work of Judas as he betrays Jesus and brings about his arrest.
We all know how this will end. Judas, overwhelmingly committed to his conquering agenda for Jesus will try and force his hand. He will betray Jesus – not, I believe, because he wanted Jesus removed, but because this arrest would finally spur Jesus to mount the throne of Israel as the conquering Messiah.
As a result of the work of Judas, Jesus is arrested, tried, beaten, flogged and ultimately crucified. Overcome by his guilt, Judas kills himself. Hear that again, Matthew 27 tells us that Judas was filled with remorse, with guilt, and seeing no answer for that guilt he killed himself.
Friends, Judas betrayed Jesus, but he wasn’t the only one. Peter betrayed Jesus. Most of the disciples betrayed Jesus in that they were not willing to be counted as one of his followers at the Crucifixion. They were afraid. Afraid that they were next. Afraid that the Romans, in their thoroughness, would kill anyone associated with this rabble-rousing Jesus of Nazareth.
But out of all of those who betrayed Jesus, only one killed himself – Judas.
Guilt is a powerful emotion. I am not talking about guilt as an objective evaluation of evidence in identifying a perpetrator. No, I am talking about guilt as a sense of remorse, sometimes an overwhelming, even crippling sense of having done some kind of wrong to another.
We do all that we can to escape the weight of guilt. We deny responsibility. We simply lie and say the action wasn’t ours. That is one way to deflect guilt – just say you didn’t do it. Deny your role, deny your responsibility.
A second way we try to deflect or minimize guilt is to rationalize away our responsibility. “It wasn’t my fault,” some might say. “The person or circumstances forced me into the action.” Nazi war criminals tried to rationalize away their responsibility for participation in war crimes by declaring that they were just following orders.
Judas might have thought that he was actually helping Jesus by serving as the catalyst that would begin the overthrow. Jesus was moving too slowly, thought Judas. Jesus was submitting to the oppressive authority of the Romans, thought Judas. Jesus just needed a little nudge to get started, thought Judas. Judas probably had all kinds of rationalizations for his act of betrayal.
But the weight of ultimate guilt broke through the veneer of his rationalizations.
Judas is such a spectacular portrayal of guilt and its consequences, but we don’t really need to go that far to uncover guilt, do we? The reality is that we all have done things that we are not proud of; we have all done things over which we have felt remorse, sadness, maybe even overwhelming guilt.
I feel bad when I am snippy in the office. I feel bad when I am too heavy handed with people that I love. I feel guilt when I cannot or will not be the person that people need me to be. I feel guilt when I let people down. I rationalize away my behavior when I am driving 80 on a highway that sets the limit at 70. I rationalize away my guilt when I am tempted to cheat on my taxes. I feel guilty when I choose to be an undercover believer in a situation calling for overt people of faith. How about you? Guilt comes in a number of forms, in varying intensities, and for a number of reasons.
Guilt, left alone to fester and ferment, can become a debilitating factor in our lives.
The author of our Psalms knew this level of guilt. David was guilty of adultery and murder. David, married to Michal, the daughter of Saul had an affair with Bathsheba, got her pregnant, and tried to cover up the entire sordid mess by sending the husband of Bathsheba - Uriel – to the front to be killed.
Look at how David describes himself, first in Psalm 51. “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” And then, having to live with the consequences of his behavior, in our first lesson – Psalm 32 – David writes: “While I kept my silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.”
David knew what he had done. David could barely move under the weight of his guilt. But, rather than killing himself as Judas did; and friends, that is ultimately the failure of Judas. The ultimate sin of Judas was not the betrayal of Jesus – Peter did that. No, the failure of Judas was in not trusting the in the mercy of God to remove his guilt. Instead, David threw himself on the mercy of God.
I believe that there is a biblical process for dealing with guilt. No, the Christian faith is not about guilt trips, it is not behavior manipulated by the threat of punishments for the unfaithful. That is all fake news.
No, the answer to guilt lies in love, mercy, and kindness of God.
First, when faced with those times when we have disappointed God and ourselves, we need to remember who we are. We are the beloved of God. God loves us, not because of our ability to achieve perfection or righteous living, but simply because love is the nature of God. God loves us, even in our imperfections.
Peter loved, and was loved by Jesus, and so he was able to throw himself on the mercy of Jesus. Friends, when we come up short; when the seed of guilt first takes root in our souls, we need to know – to KNOW – that even in our darkest sin we are the beloved of God.
When we know who we are – the beloved of God – we are then able to acknowledge what we have done, to take accountability for our actions, to OWN THEM. That accountability – as painful as it might be – is the first step in repentance.
Knowing who we are, taking accountability for our actions – no denial, no rationalizations – then we can trust in the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross. No betrayal, no act of sinfulness no matter how horrific is not fully and completely met and overcome by the work of Jesus on the Cross.
Peter was able to accept the forgiveness of Jesus. The disciples were able to admit their fearfulness, to own their own betrayals and yet still go out into the world and serve Jesus as his forgiven disciples.
Betrayal, adultery, and murder did not place a permanent stamp of guilt on David. Owning his actions, confessing what he did, trusting in the mercy and love of God allowed David to ultimately proclaim, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.”
Friends, guilt is not sovereign in the lives of the believer. We are God’s beloved. We can own even our shortcomings knowing that the redemptive work of Jesus covers all of our wrongdoing. Guilt may stir us to repentance and for that guilt can be a productive emotion when it serves as a catalyst for repentance. But no further.
We are loved. We can own our own stuff. In Jesus is our forgiveness realized. We live in that freedom! Amen.
Psalm 103: 1 – 14
June 30, 2024
A group of us gather every Wednesday night to watch Season 4 of The Chosen. I have found The Chosen to be a delightful depiction of the Gospel story. Oh, could I pick it apart for some dramatic license; could I bemoan some characters that play important roles in the series that are not biblical? Sure, I could.
But I choose to view The Chosen as an entry point to the Gospel story. For me, and for others, The Chosen spurs me to ask questions, to see nuances more visible perhaps on the screen than they are in the text. The Chosen serves as a springboard into Scripture, and for that I am thankful.
In Season 4 the opposition to Jesus is rising. Much of that opposition is what we would suspect. Religious leaders, politicians, all those who see Jesus as a threat to both the faith and secular status quo. But it is not just these outside characters.
Judas is at odds with the trajectory of the ministry of Jesus. Judas fully expects a conquering messiah – one who will overthrow the Roman oppressors and recreate the nation of Israel. Judas is increasingly at odds with Jesus. He is becoming alienated from the rest of the disciples. The Chosen sets the stage exceedingly well for the work of Judas as he betrays Jesus and brings about his arrest.
We all know how this will end. Judas, overwhelmingly committed to his conquering agenda for Jesus will try and force his hand. He will betray Jesus – not, I believe, because he wanted Jesus removed, but because this arrest would finally spur Jesus to mount the throne of Israel as the conquering Messiah.
As a result of the work of Judas, Jesus is arrested, tried, beaten, flogged and ultimately crucified. Overcome by his guilt, Judas kills himself. Hear that again, Matthew 27 tells us that Judas was filled with remorse, with guilt, and seeing no answer for that guilt he killed himself.
Friends, Judas betrayed Jesus, but he wasn’t the only one. Peter betrayed Jesus. Most of the disciples betrayed Jesus in that they were not willing to be counted as one of his followers at the Crucifixion. They were afraid. Afraid that they were next. Afraid that the Romans, in their thoroughness, would kill anyone associated with this rabble-rousing Jesus of Nazareth.
But out of all of those who betrayed Jesus, only one killed himself – Judas.
Guilt is a powerful emotion. I am not talking about guilt as an objective evaluation of evidence in identifying a perpetrator. No, I am talking about guilt as a sense of remorse, sometimes an overwhelming, even crippling sense of having done some kind of wrong to another.
We do all that we can to escape the weight of guilt. We deny responsibility. We simply lie and say the action wasn’t ours. That is one way to deflect guilt – just say you didn’t do it. Deny your role, deny your responsibility.
A second way we try to deflect or minimize guilt is to rationalize away our responsibility. “It wasn’t my fault,” some might say. “The person or circumstances forced me into the action.” Nazi war criminals tried to rationalize away their responsibility for participation in war crimes by declaring that they were just following orders.
Judas might have thought that he was actually helping Jesus by serving as the catalyst that would begin the overthrow. Jesus was moving too slowly, thought Judas. Jesus was submitting to the oppressive authority of the Romans, thought Judas. Jesus just needed a little nudge to get started, thought Judas. Judas probably had all kinds of rationalizations for his act of betrayal.
But the weight of ultimate guilt broke through the veneer of his rationalizations.
Judas is such a spectacular portrayal of guilt and its consequences, but we don’t really need to go that far to uncover guilt, do we? The reality is that we all have done things that we are not proud of; we have all done things over which we have felt remorse, sadness, maybe even overwhelming guilt.
I feel bad when I am snippy in the office. I feel bad when I am too heavy handed with people that I love. I feel guilt when I cannot or will not be the person that people need me to be. I feel guilt when I let people down. I rationalize away my behavior when I am driving 80 on a highway that sets the limit at 70. I rationalize away my guilt when I am tempted to cheat on my taxes. I feel guilty when I choose to be an undercover believer in a situation calling for overt people of faith. How about you? Guilt comes in a number of forms, in varying intensities, and for a number of reasons.
Guilt, left alone to fester and ferment, can become a debilitating factor in our lives.
The author of our Psalms knew this level of guilt. David was guilty of adultery and murder. David, married to Michal, the daughter of Saul had an affair with Bathsheba, got her pregnant, and tried to cover up the entire sordid mess by sending the husband of Bathsheba - Uriel – to the front to be killed.
Look at how David describes himself, first in Psalm 51. “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” And then, having to live with the consequences of his behavior, in our first lesson – Psalm 32 – David writes: “While I kept my silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.”
David knew what he had done. David could barely move under the weight of his guilt. But, rather than killing himself as Judas did; and friends, that is ultimately the failure of Judas. The ultimate sin of Judas was not the betrayal of Jesus – Peter did that. No, the failure of Judas was in not trusting the in the mercy of God to remove his guilt. Instead, David threw himself on the mercy of God.
I believe that there is a biblical process for dealing with guilt. No, the Christian faith is not about guilt trips, it is not behavior manipulated by the threat of punishments for the unfaithful. That is all fake news.
No, the answer to guilt lies in love, mercy, and kindness of God.
First, when faced with those times when we have disappointed God and ourselves, we need to remember who we are. We are the beloved of God. God loves us, not because of our ability to achieve perfection or righteous living, but simply because love is the nature of God. God loves us, even in our imperfections.
Peter loved, and was loved by Jesus, and so he was able to throw himself on the mercy of Jesus. Friends, when we come up short; when the seed of guilt first takes root in our souls, we need to know – to KNOW – that even in our darkest sin we are the beloved of God.
When we know who we are – the beloved of God – we are then able to acknowledge what we have done, to take accountability for our actions, to OWN THEM. That accountability – as painful as it might be – is the first step in repentance.
Knowing who we are, taking accountability for our actions – no denial, no rationalizations – then we can trust in the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross. No betrayal, no act of sinfulness no matter how horrific is not fully and completely met and overcome by the work of Jesus on the Cross.
Peter was able to accept the forgiveness of Jesus. The disciples were able to admit their fearfulness, to own their own betrayals and yet still go out into the world and serve Jesus as his forgiven disciples.
Betrayal, adultery, and murder did not place a permanent stamp of guilt on David. Owning his actions, confessing what he did, trusting in the mercy and love of God allowed David to ultimately proclaim, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.”
Friends, guilt is not sovereign in the lives of the believer. We are God’s beloved. We can own even our shortcomings knowing that the redemptive work of Jesus covers all of our wrongdoing. Guilt may stir us to repentance and for that guilt can be a productive emotion when it serves as a catalyst for repentance. But no further.
We are loved. We can own our own stuff. In Jesus is our forgiveness realized. We live in that freedom! Amen.
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