The Need for Reconciliation

The Need for Reconciliation

Romans 5: 6-11

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to each and every one of you in the name of our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am Steve Garrabrant, and I am blessed to serve as Vicar here at Gloria Dei and the Head of School at Lutheran South Academy.

We are going to take a look at the need for reconciliation on this Ash Wednesday, and to do that, we are going to use a nursery rhyme—Humpty Dumpty.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall Humpty Dumpty had a great fall All the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again

On one sense, that is a pretty ridiculous nursery rhyme, but it actually shows our condition. You see, we are a lot like Humpty Dumpty. We are broken and ooze like a cracked egg…but we do not ooze yolk—no, we ooze sin. We are a broken people.

And in our brokenness…in our oozing of sin…we can’t fix it—we cannot undo our brokenness. Pretty dumb to think that a horse could do it…smashing its hooves into the broken egg even more. No, the king’s horses and the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty back together again. And we cannot be put back together again…

(image of lonely kid) You see, this is why we have the need for reconciliation because the reality of our brokenness in sin is a separation from God. Yes, our sin has separated us from God and we cannot fix it…we cannot restore the broken relationship and negate the separation because God is right, and just, and holy, and cannot overlook sin and must punish it.

But God has a tremendous and great love for His creation of man. His love for humanity is unending. And, throughout God’s Word we see the unfolding of His love for humanity and how He has extended many opportunities for the people to find their way back to Him. You see, the Bible is one giant story about reconciliation…

God creates everything good, and right, and perfect…

Then there is the fall of man…sin enters the world…we have an inherited sinful condition and a broken relationship and separation from God our Creator…

But God continues His love for humanity…He directed Moses to lead the Israelites into the Promise Land…He called and sent prophets to offer warnings and teachings…

But, it is only through Jesus that we see God’s true and ultimate message of reconciliation…

Look with me at Romans 5:6-11…

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Because God is right, and just, and holy, and cannot overlook sin and must punish it, in His love for us, He sent His son Jesus to take our place…to take the wrath of God…to take the punishment of sin…to take our burden of sin upon Himself and face the judgment that is rightfully ours…

It is only in this way that God can be just and merciful…

God is merciful toward us…He declares Christ the sinless to be sin…and He declares us the sinful to be righteous.

It is because Christ substituted Himself for us…

It is because of Christ’s atonement that serves the way in which God can be just and merciful…

It is at the cross of Christ our King that we have reconciliation with God.

You see, reconciliation is taking the wrong—the brokenness—and covering it with the cleansing power of God and restoring it to the new state of transformative unity with the Lord.

Most definitely the king’s horses and the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again…same for us…but our King has put us back together again...

Our King—Christ the King—has taken our punishment…taken our burdens of sin…conquered sin, death, and the devil…and has transformed us as a new Creation in Himself…in Christ…so that we would have more than forgiveness—but that we would be reconciled to God!

How true are the words of John 14:6 as it speaks to the transformative reconciliation in leading us back to God when Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

And this is our transformation:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 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 5:17-21)

Thank you, Jesus, for reconciling us to God our Father. To God alone be the Glory. Amen.