Letter to the Congregations: 26th March 2022

Our Dear Brethren,

The king stood on the rooftop of his house and breathed in the fresh air that flowed across the mountains and through the valley below. He felt a sense of relief and confidence in himself. After so many years of running and hiding, fighting against one enemy after another, God had finally given him peace. In fact God had given the king much more than peace. In recent years he was also given power and riches, armies of faithful men who would go and fight for him. He was even able to cover up the sin he had just committed. No one could possibly find out what he had done. And even if they did, would they have the courage to question the king himself?

There was, however, one man, a prophet of God, who had been sent to remind the king of the very sin which he had tried to cover up. In this moment of pride, David had somehow forgotten that nothing is hidden from God. Nathan began by telling a story to the king. This was a story about a poor man who "had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children" (2 Samuel 12:3). The king, who himself had spent his youth caring for little lambs in the fields of his father, was truly enchanted by the story. And then Nathan told how a rich man had taken the precious ewe lamb away from the poor man just so he could feed his friend. The blatant lack of compassion of the rich man from the story enraged David and he truly desired justice for the poor man. But then Nathan brought out the truth of the story.

"Then Nathan said to David, 'You are the man! ... Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon'" (2 Samuel 12:7a, 9).

I wonder, in the moments to follow, as the prophet explained to David that God had already forgiven his sins, if the king had begun composing a psalm in his mind. A psalm that would serve as an open letter of repentance to God. A song that would truly inspire generations to repent and turn from their own sins.

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions." This is how Psalm 51 begins. We see, in the lines that follow, David's humble prayer to God. A very heartfelt prayer which gives us a glimpse into the humility we must have as we approach our Creator if we truly desire to repent and have our own sins washed away. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me" (verses 10-11). We see David crying out to God to restore him, to draw him close, to wash away his sins and help him to teach others to also repent and be changed in their hearts.

We read in the words of king David, the true desires of our God. "For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart--these, O God, You will not despise" (verses 16-17). This is what our God desires from all of His people. The sacrifice that paid the price for our sins has already been given. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has done His part. And now we must do our part, repenting of our sins, and continuing to humble ourselves, as David did, before our God.

With this in mind as we approach the memorial of the death of our Savior, the Passover, I'd like to ask you all to join me and my household in a fast on Friday, April 1st. As we fast that day (from sunset the evening before), we can collectively pray that God draws us close to Him. We can ask Him to "loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free" and that every yoke that binds us is taken off our shoulders (see Isaiah 58:6). We can collectively pray to God that He heals the sick among us, that He guides us through His Spirit, and that He truly humbles us in our hearts so we can hear His words clearly. "Then [we] shall call, and the Lord will answer; [we] shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am'" (verse 9).

Our love is with you,

Lewis VanAusdle

Pastor, United Church of God

NYC, NJ, CT, Malawi, Zimbabwe