Our helplessness is not a problem for God
by Kimberley Pfeiffer
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Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight (Matthew 3:3b).
Do you ever find it difficult to confess the ‘I am a poor helpless sinner’ line at church? Does it hurt your ego or your old self (as we Lutherans say), maybe just a little? Does it ever make you think about how lost we are when apart from God?
Today’s reading reminds us that it is not a bad thing to find ourselves lost and aware that we are sinners. Every one of us holds on to sins that we think are ‘most important’ to our lives. We even do this without being aware of it. Every time we set any gift of God above him, our love of those things becomes a sin. Fortunately for us, being a ‘helpless sinner’ is a prerequisite for receiving God’s mercy. And don’t we need God’s abundant mercy and grace?
We, like the people of Israel, are so lost that we even need God’s help to know how bad our situation really is. And so, as John the Baptist came to prepare the way of the Lord to make the path straight for Christ to meet us, the Holy Spirit helps us too. With the help of the Holy Spirit and through God’s proclaimed word, we can know that we are sinners in need of divine intervention. This should be easier for us as Lutherans, realising that we are simultaneously saints. By baptism, we are already grafted into God’s family, and nothing can separate us from God’s love. Yet, we still sin, and that reality can sometimes overwhelm us. So, for us as redeemed sinners, as we return to repent of our sins Sunday by Sunday, we can be encouraged because our spirit is constantly renewed. As our hearts and eyes are turned from our own will and desires, we release the control that the old self has over us, and room is made for God to enter and continue his will and work in our lives.
This Advent season, take a moment to meditate on the gift of being restored to God through repentance. Ask him to send the Holy Spirit to prepare the path to Christ in your life and help to release the sins that have kept you company. May God also help you share the blessing of this release with others as you return to serve in your family, church and community vocations.
Merciful Father, thank you for sending John the Baptist to show your people that we cannot come to Jesus without your help. Lord, have mercy on me, a poor helpless sinner, and send me your Holy Spirit to help me realise my own sins and place them at the foot of the cross. Lord, restore the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. By Christ’s blood, Amen.
Kimberley Pfeiffer is married to Pastor Joshua, and they have four children. Kimberley served in various capacities in the LCA Churchwide Office before moving to the USA at the beginning of 2022 for Joshua to complete his PhD studies. In God’s provision, Kimberley has been given the opportunity to study a Master of Arts (Theology) degree at Concordia Theological Seminary, St Louis, which she says she is enjoying very much.
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