Serious Sin
I remember some years ago preaching a sermon in which the word "sin" appeared -- in fact that was the subject of the sermon. In the days leading up to the sermon, I talked with several people about it, and a number of them cautioned my not to get "too fundamentalist" in the sermon. One person in particular said, "People come to church to be uplifted, sin will put a damper on the mood of the service." Indeed.
This coming Sunday's reading from Romans is all about the offensive notion of sin, including one of the favorite verses of street preachers, "The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23a)
Last summer, on vacation with my son in New York City, we exited the subway station near Central Park and found ourselves greeted by one of those street preachers. As it happened, this particular evangelist was vehemently reminding each and every subway rider of the wages of sin. In typical New York fashion, people were scurrying by the sidewalk prophet, concentrating on moving down the way as quickly as possible.
But, after I had heard the recitation of the first half of Romans 6:23 no less than 6 times (with varying volumes and emphases), I turned, went back to the preacher and said, "Have you read the rest of that verse? It says, 'but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!'" And then I went on my way. The street prophet was stunned into silence.
As I've reflected on that episode over the past year, I've thought about two things:
1. Until the Church embraces a robust understanding of Sin, the gift of "eternal life" will be eviscerated of its life-changing power.
2. A robust understanding of God's eternal life at work within us as a free and complete gift is Good News that will reorient our entire way of being in the world.
I'm guessing that people don't need convincing of the "wages of Sin"...they see the payoff from Sin every time they turn on the television or read the newspaper. Convincing people that eternal life is free and utter gift -- now that's a challenge.
Maybe we will never get serious about the power of eternal life until we fully understand the power of Sin to keep us estranged from God, each other and even ourselves.
I remember some years ago preaching a sermon in which the word "sin" appeared -- in fact that was the subject of the sermon. In the days leading up to the sermon, I talked with several people about it, and a number of them cautioned my not to get "too fundamentalist" in the sermon. One person in particular said, "People come to church to be uplifted, sin will put a damper on the mood of the service." Indeed.
This coming Sunday's reading from Romans is all about the offensive notion of sin, including one of the favorite verses of street preachers, "The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23a)
Last summer, on vacation with my son in New York City, we exited the subway station near Central Park and found ourselves greeted by one of those street preachers. As it happened, this particular evangelist was vehemently reminding each and every subway rider of the wages of sin. In typical New York fashion, people were scurrying by the sidewalk prophet, concentrating on moving down the way as quickly as possible.
But, after I had heard the recitation of the first half of Romans 6:23 no less than 6 times (with varying volumes and emphases), I turned, went back to the preacher and said, "Have you read the rest of that verse? It says, 'but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!'" And then I went on my way. The street prophet was stunned into silence.
As I've reflected on that episode over the past year, I've thought about two things:
1. Until the Church embraces a robust understanding of Sin, the gift of "eternal life" will be eviscerated of its life-changing power.
2. A robust understanding of God's eternal life at work within us as a free and complete gift is Good News that will reorient our entire way of being in the world.
I'm guessing that people don't need convincing of the "wages of Sin"...they see the payoff from Sin every time they turn on the television or read the newspaper. Convincing people that eternal life is free and utter gift -- now that's a challenge.
Maybe we will never get serious about the power of eternal life until we fully understand the power of Sin to keep us estranged from God, each other and even ourselves.
posted by FrGaryB | 7:07 AM
3 Comments:
This seems to be a reoccurring theme (as it should be)over the past couple of posts. How convenient(?) for this to come up this week in the readings. What a opportune time to for our priests to give this message while staying the course of the readings. What a great time for us, as followers of Christ to once again examine our own sinful nature, repent and give thanks to God for the grace he shows us.
Like almost everything in life there seems to be two great extremes on this issue. One is the man standing on the corner preaching on the "wages or sin is death", or that the world is coming to an end. The other is that God is our good friend, reaches out to us with only love and grace, no requirement for justice or holiness.
One of the characteristics of the young, "un-churched" youth of our country is in fact the lack of understanding of sin, or right or wrong. What need is there for forgiveness if there is not some societal sense of right or wrong?
Maybe there is more of a need today, more than ever, for people to see something in our lives that makes them hunger. Not hunger for us but for what we have that is different than what they have.
Here is a question, what does that look like?
Dave...
The question you pose is one that I think deserves some significant conversation in local congregations.
How does being connected with a community of faithful followers of Jesus translate into one's own actions/interactions on a day to day basis?
How does the faith community support an individual in her/his growth in the faith?
How do we embody an intentional spirituality in our lives -- a spirituality that is genuine and gives witness to our identity as Christians?
These are the sorts of questions I believe we should be asking ourselves as the church...perhaps they would lead to conversations that would lead to conversions -- both great and small.
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