You might have heard me reading the Easter story on KATE radio on Easter morning. I recorded it a few days before the big day.

The recording process amazed me. It was kind of fun to speak into the big microphone that looks older them I am. Then there was the editing. What you heard on the radio is nothing like what I recorded. You missed out on my comments as I goofed the pronunciation of a word or said it in a way that I didn’t like. And you missed out on the big breath that I sometimes take whenever I start a sentence. Renae Sather, one of our members who works at KATE, edited all that stuff right out and gave me an idea what she would put in for the musical background. I’m not quite sure what she used because I actually didn’t hear the finished product.

And I dearly hope that she didn’t put in my first request for background music: the Minnesota Twins theme song. While the celebratory nature of that song would have been appropriate to Easter, the lyrics sadly strike out for the occasion. Sorry about that.

What if we could use that recording equipment at KATE in our lives?  We marked out my mistakes.  Then we cut them out of the recording. 

Are there moments in your life that you would like to cut out?  Are there mistakes or moments or times you would rather leave behind?  Would life be better without some memories or present realities?             

I am reminded of words of assurance and promise that come from God through the prophet Jeremiah:  “…for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31.34).  God has some pretty good editing equipment.

Did you notice how we edited out the bad material on that recording? We listened to the recording. We marked out the mistakes. We named them.  Then we cut them out.

There is something to that naming.  Confession can be difficult but it can also be the beginning of healing and letting go.  And let’s face it, confession is a whole lot easier when the confessor promises to forgive and forget.

Confession is a whole lot easier when we believe the words, “I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.”

Something else happened during that recording time. Yes, the mistakes were cut out. But I then had to try again. I had to learn from my mistakes. I had to try harder and redirect my efforts.  Is that not true for us letting go of our mistakes?  Yes, we can start over. 

So what motivates us to move beyond our mistakes?  Luther called it, “the gospel in miniature:” “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3.16).

My hope for you is that you will not be afraid to do some editing…every day. And put in some inspiring background music to guide you along the way. Albert Lea is blessed with many “editing studios” called churches.  And they all have great background music too. And you just might hear the Minnesota Twins theme song if you visit Grace Lutheran.