Permanent Record
A Homily for Easter 1
The Rev. Marq Toombs+ Curate
I was born in 1970. I am a latchkey, drink from the garden hose, get home before the street light comes on, pre-internet, Gen-X kid.
As a child of the 70s and 80s I lived in fear that things I had done and things I had left undone would end up on my Permanent Record. This fear was felt especially in High School. I didn’t know what a Permanent Record was, but it sounded serious.
The notion of Permanent Record was just a school thing. It was even referenced and reinforced in our music and movies.
My High School experience was not unlike that of the kids in The Breakfast Club. Teachers and Counselors warned everyone from jocks to nerds to misfits and everyone in between that this or that attitude or action could end up on our Permanent Record.
A post-punk band I liked even poked fun of this in a snarky lyric: I hope you know this will go down on your Permanent Record.
Was this Permanent Record thing for real? Was it an empty threat? A mythical warning? A scare tactic used to make kids behave well, do the right thing, keep them in line? Who knows?! Whatever it was, it seemed to work on many of us (most of the time).
But you might wonder: where is your Permanent Record now? After some (not so serious) research and reflection here’s what I discovered:
Some say that your Permanent Record is filed away with the Lost Ark, Col. Sanders’ Secret Recipe, or the X-Files.
Others say that your Permanent Record has nothing to do with High School. That was just basic training for real life. Your real Permanent Record is your credit score, driving report, medical history, and social media posts.
Whatever the case, these notions of Permanent Record are based on life experiences coupled with fear that generate anxiety. Why? Because no one is more unforgiving than a fallen image bearer.
No one is more unforgiving than a fallen image bearer.
Now — if you grew up in the Christian faith you might have been catechized to believe that there is another kind of Permanent Record – an eternal filing cabinet filled with detailed reports of everything you have thought, said, felt, or done whether good or bad. Somewhere out there is a black box with your name on it.
For many of us, that Permanent Record is housed in our own conscience and memory.
Do you keep records of wrongs against yourself? Do you tell yourself what a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad person you are? Do you play back past failures, mistakes, and sins over and over just to beat yourself up over them? If so, it is likely that you are keeping a different set of Permanent Records against yourself than God does.
We often remember what God forgets, and we often regret what he forgives.
Again, we often remember what God forgets, and we often regret what he forgives.
With that in mind, I want to draw your attention to an alternative Permanent Record. A true Permanent Record that is not based on anyone’s evaluation of your performance or competence – not even your own! But a Permanent Record that is based on the person and work of Jesus Christ exclusively. This Permanent Record is merciful. It comes by faith and gives you peace.
What is this Permanent Record? As it is written in the epistle: “This is the record – God has given us eternal life and this life is in his Son Jesus Christ. All who have the Son have eternal life.”
This is not wishful thinking; this is the wonderful truth of the gospel. It is a fact even if you don’t always feel it. It is the truth, not a trick.
If you are a baptized Christian, this is on your Permanent Record. God has given us eternal life and this life is in his Son Jesus Christ. That fact is established by three witnesses: the Spirit, the water, and the blood.
The first witness is the Spirit, who conceived Jesus in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who descended on him like a dove and anointed him at his ordination, who gave him power to heal the sick and cast out demons.
The second witness is the water of his baptism, the water he turned into wine, the water that flowed from his side at the cross.
The third witness is the blood of his circumcision on the 8th day and the blood of the New Covenant poured out in the Cup of the Eucharist, and the blood shed in his passion and crucifixion.
These three witnesses testify to the truth that Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh for the life of the world.
They also testify to the truth of Jesus in your life.
The first witness is the Spirit who set you apart and called you to follow Jesus, who caused you to be born again in the waters of regeneration, the Spirit who gave you a new heart, who indwells and illumines you, who intercedes in prayer for you, who seals you for the day of redemption.
The second witness is the water of your baptism into Christ and the Church; the water that cleanses you from your sins, incorporates you into the Body of Christ, and unites you to Jesus in his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.
The third witness is the blood of the Eucharist that cleanses you from your sins, connects you to the life of Jesus, and communicates the good news of his death until he comes again.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed.
The Spirit, the water, and the blood bear witness to the truth of the divine record: God has given us eternal life and this life is in his Son Jesus Christ.
Now, as good as this sounds at this moment, I know that later today or tomorrow it might not. A guilty conscience, a misinformed understanding, a fearful heart, and a doubting spirit can nudge you to forget the gospel and turn you inward against yourself and box you out or cut you off from Christ and the Church.
Keeping records against yourself, putting yourself on trial, and condemning yourself can lead to dark and dreary places. (We often condemn what God has saved!) All this navel gazing can make you feel anxious and ashamed, afraid and alone.
But God’s Permanent Record of your life tells a different story than the one you tell yourself. It contains everything Jesus Christ has done for you in love, and nothing you have done or left undone against him. Why? Because in love God sent his Son into the world to save sinners. To save you because he loves you. And he loves because he wants to.
Jesus is both the Atoning sacrifice for our sins offered by the Father for our sake, and he is our Advocate with the Father. He is our paraclete. A Counselor, not to hold the Father back and keep him from destroying us in wrath and anger. But a Comforter, to show the Father how much he loves the world — including you.
Contrary to popular opinion, the Father delights in saving sinners not destroying them. So, as often as we confess our sins, the Father cleanses us with the precious blood of his Son perpetually and permanently.
Life is in the blood and the blood of Christ gives us life, and mercy, and peace.
I know how tempting it is to lock yourself away inside the upper room of your own head space. To lock yourself away in a secret hideout out of fear, guilt, shame, remorse, doubt (just like the apostles in the upper room). But my prayer is that sooner or later Jesus will find you and appear to you behind the locked doors of your secret hiding place. And that you hear him speak the gospel to you: Peace be with you, my friend. Peace be with you. Let us eat and drink the fellowship meal together. Peace be with you.
So, little children, as a father in God, let me remind you of your true identity — you are baptized Christians, sanctified by water, signed by the cross, sealed by the Spirit, and secured by the blood of Jesus Christ. That means there is no eternal filing cabinet or black box containing all the detailed records of your sins.
If there ever was one, this is the record that takes it place: “God has given us eternal life and this life is in his Son Jesus Christ. All who have the Son have eternal life.”
And I hope you know that this will go down on your true Permanent Record.
In the Name of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
