John 20:19-23 (NRSV)
Read John 20:19-23 on biblegateway.com
Verse 19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Verse 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Verse 21Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Verse 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Verse 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
Devotion
As I walked along on the way to a worship service with confession and forgiveness some thirty years ago, I asked a friend if she were going, too. "No," she said, "I don't like to dwell on my sins." I thought to myself, neither do I, and that's why I’m going to confess and to hear the words absolving me. I get tired of dwelling on my sins and want them out from under over and around me. Jesus sent people to be the instruments of his forgiveness. How much sweeter it is to dwell on the promise of forgiveness, to pitch my tent on remission, to tarry over God's mercy, to remind myself when old regrets nag that all my sins are washed away!
Prayer
Gracious God, thank you for calling people to proclaim to us that we are forgiven for Jesus' sake. As we remember our sins, help us to remember even more the forgiveness that the risen Jesus has won for us. Amen.