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From all inordinate and sinful affections; and from all the deceits of the world… Good Lord, Deliver Us.
Galations 5:1,7-10 Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you….
7-10 You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn’t come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don’t toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. (The Message)
I admire the vastness and complexity of the English language, particularly how words were used before I was born. My generation demanded a dumbed-down language and we got one, to the point we now get our information and communication from Twitter feeds, Instagram, Tic-toc and headlines streaming across our Smartphones. My BBC news app even warns me when a news story is “a long read” and like everyone else, I usually avoid it. I also find that I become easily deceived when the information fed to me comes in teaspoon bites.
If you just started reading these musings, we are pondering and tracking the confessions and prayers from The Great Litany, from the Book of Common Prayer. That is where these odd little phrases like “the world, the flesh and the devil” come from, these collections of prayers centuries in the making, written in rich and meaningful English.
I say all this to show how the phrases above; about “inordinate and sinful affections” and “deceits of the world”, have been boiled down in modern English. We now use words like “addiction” or “life choices”, to describe sinful acts. We then either defend them as being normal, label them as human rights or try to fix them with 28 day programs. My bad choices, my vices are no longer “sinful” or an affront to Heaven. Instead, my choices empower me, and you had better accept them, or I will cancel you. Oh, and by-the-way, give me a good drug so I can handle the excesses of these dark choices.
The real problem is this: although I try to hide it with short words and excuses, the truth is that too often I just love my sin. I think that explains why we all hang on to these secret sins. We hold on to it like Gollum’s Ring, quietly saying “ My Precious, My Precious” when no one is looking. My sins comfort me, drug me, satiate me and promise me that all is well. My sins tell me that I am in charge, I captain my soul and control my destiny. However, the awful truth is this: Sin rules me and wants me dead, physically and spiritually.
What really scares me is that In the long run, I often get to the point that although I recognize Sin’s dominion over me, I don’t care. I would rather be a slave. Leave me to “my precious”. My Precious sin.
God have mercy on me.
One more thing, the prayer above is not just for me. It is for you and all people of God: Good Lord, Deliver Us.
Peace. Phil Parsons
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From Rodger:
Maybe it’s the difference in our career paths, but I suspect that Phil’s training as a lawyer and mine as a preacher / pastor / theologian can be seen in how we both approach language differently. Phil speaks of the etymology of parts of the Great Litany and parses those phrases very much like I would assume an attorney would. And as such his points are valid, and should be taken to heart. There very much IS a sense of what I call “repetitive numbness” to some aspects of sin. We do it once and it hurts. We do it over and over and over and it’s like the liar who finally reaches the point where he lies even with the truth would work better. (Something we all are acquainted with now, whether we realize it or not!) Very valid and good points Phil makes.
But my training kicks in and I see the very real possibility of a quagmire rearing up it’s ugly head whenever we begin to label, categorize, or even describe SIN in particular ways. We invariably begin to “rate” them. Are yours worse – or better – than mine? And that’s a very real – and difficult – thing to process. So, at the risk of making today’s post far too long and involved: I’m sharing below the text of a sermon I preached on this very subject a while back. It’s title should be self-explanatory:
“What’s Your Favorite Sin?
Psalm 80: 1-2; 8-19 / Hebrews 12: 1-6
Rev. Rodger P. Sellers
Psalm 80: 1 – 2; 8 – 19 (Prayer for Israel’s Restoration)
To the leader: on Lilies, a Covenant. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth 2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us! 8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; 11 it sent out its branches to the sea and its shoots to the River. 12 Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 13 The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. 14 Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven and see; have regard for this vine, 15 the stock that your right hand planted. 16 It has been burned with fire; it has been cut down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance. 17 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. 18 Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name. 19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Hebrews 12: 1 – 6 ( Example of Jesus):
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,[a] and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners,[c] so that you may not grow weary in your souls or lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children – “My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when you are punished by him, 6 for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves and chastises every child whom he accepts.” Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Prayer before the Preaching of the Word: Lord, we want to know your truth, and to live it out, not that others may praise us, but that they may see enough evidence of Christ in us that they become seekers on their own. Amen
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Calvin Coolidge, the story goes, went to Church and, on returning, was asked, “What did the minister preach about today?” “Silent Cal” replied, “Sin.” “Well, what did he say about sin?” Cal was asked. Mr. Coolidge’s response was, “He said he was against it.” Now, certainly being against sin is allowable, but today I would like to go just a bit beyond the simplistic idea of being against sin and being done with the subject. Consider the Gospel and – in light of what Scripture says – your favorite sin and what to do about it.
Granted that’s a strange way of speaking about the topic of sin but if you really think about it, we often run the risk of either allowing the subject to remain so broad that we can deal with it abstractly, in the distance, or we narrow it down to a certain behavior or group of behaviors, and seeing through our spiritual blinders, fail to see the wider reality. And have you ever noticed that someone who speaks of Sin in this way, almost invariably speaks of a sin that he or she doesn’t fall prey to? What’s their “favorite sin?” One that they can safely point out to others but never have to personally worry about. And this IS a problem, in case you haven’t figured it out.
First off, we have to confess the difficulty of the subject. This passage and this topic is one of those that I often mention when talking about the “discipline” of lectionary preaching. Translated, that means, we’d really rather not wrestle with it, and probably wouldn’t if it weren’t the texts for this date according to the common lectionary! As that issue impacts this particular topic, we are confronted with the truth that for many, “sin” as a personal concern is either a mystery or an unwelcome consideration. The great English author, C.S. Lewis was once asked, “Do you mean to say, in this day and age, that you believe in a personal devil, and in personal evil?”
Lewis, a sophisticate for sure, answered, “I am not sure what the day and age have to do with it, but as I look at my own life and the life of the world around me, yes, I do believe in personal evil.” In fact, if we allow God to remove our “spiritual blinders” that give us a false sense of comfort at not seeing all of the reality of the world around us, we don’t really have to look very far to gain the same conclusion. Our worldly wisdom may be more or less than that of Lewis, the Oxford don, but the subject of sin is not too often a pressing personal concern with us. More accurately, our personal sin may get less attention than the sin we notice in others, as I mentioned just a moment ago.
For if we allow that sin is “for real”, we may nonetheless “play it safe” by avoiding the specific. The Commandments are specific enough. Moreover, the Church Fathers, Mothers, too, I suppose, make ample reference to “The Seven Deadly Sins… Gluttony, Avarice, Anger, Lust, Envy, Sloth…” I can never remember the last one. One way of dealing with sin, if we don’t allow it to remain that global, “out there”, abstract concept, is to specify what it is that you do not do. I, for one, haven’t made any graven images lately, nor coveted anyone’s manservant nor maidservant, though my brother has a vintage Honda Motorcycle that does lure me now and then. Of course, I see nowhere in the Scriptures, any admonition against, “Boy Toys.”
But one way of avoiding the matter of sin is to pick out specifics, which one does not practice, label them sin, then conclude, I do not do that, so I must not sin.” This is the theology of the negative virtue. I am saved in terms of what I do not do. Want an example of this? Find a Christian who is passionately involved in the anti-abortion segment of the church. In speaking with them, when the subject of sin comes up, observe just how many times the subject of abortion comes up conjoined to the concept of sin. It’s not that they consciously choose to limit sin only to the matter of abortion, but as you listen and observe, that’s what is conveyed. With others, the issue of homosexuality serves the same purpose, or it could be sinful influence of “liberal politics” that have decayed our once “moral, ethical and Godly nation”. The individual examples are as varied as Christians all over the world are, but the issue, the theology of the negative virtue, is the same regardless of the specific.
But suppose you really want to wrestle it through, following Scripture, to consider the matter of sin. One way is to look at parts of the Bible that touch on sin, how to recognize it, define it, confess it, and move past it. Which is what our New Testament passage this morning does, in the letter to the Hebrew Christians, Jews who are trying to follow that other Jew, Jesus.
Today’s reading begins with reference to what might be termed “the sin of solo living.” In fact, that’s probably a great definition of this sin, even though it doesn’t occur in anyone’s litany of sins. We read in our passage, “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…”
Are you and I encouraged by the reality of those who have kept the faith, and finished the course, having left us the goodly heritage of faith we have? My church celebrated a special birthday a while back, when we recognized two members – a husband and wife – for their 100th and 101st birthdays respectively, but are we really aware of the full impact of knowing church members who were around long before we were even born? If you talked with them, what stories could they share about being in any church long before you were around? THAT is our heritage. A minister whom I consider a great friend and mentor was ordained to the Ministry of the Word and Sacrament the year I was born into this world. And in fact, all of us, anywhere our churches are and whatever they are like, living here and now, in our collective discipleship, we are blessed by a great cloud of witnesses, some still with us, some who have gone before us. If you would see their monuments, look around you, not only at your church buildings, the stained glass windows, or the land your facility sits on, but also in the tradition they have left for all of us, the tradition of knowing Christ and making Christ known, a tradition of which we are heirs.
A favorite sin is looking at the Church, any church as it is, and protesting that it is not as good as God has told us it is to be. Not enough people work hard enough, not enough take their commitment seriously enough, not enough understand that we are here, not just to be fed to the point of “spiritual obesity” but to serve and work and labor on Christ’s behalf also. The other side of this same wicked coin is ignoring those who have gone before us in this, or any place, with no thanksgiving for our inheritance from them. A minister friend, well, at least an acquaintance, assured me that “his” Church, soon after he came there, was rising to a greatness never seen before he got there. I wondered, to myself, whether it ever crossed what passed for his mind that there were those there keeping the faith before he was born, indeed, that someone fashioned there what was of enough interest for him to accept the call. The writer to the Hebrews suggests that it is Godly to take heart from those who have kept the faith, that “Great cloud of witnesses.” Conversely, it is wicked… and sinful, to think that nothing great for God ever happened before we came on the scene.
It is oh, so, easy, to be taken in by the devil’s suggestion that we are the ones, we are the chosen, ours is the generation which on our own, will “restore the kingdom to Israel.” Beware the sin of “solo” living, neglecting the “great cloud of witnesses” on whose shoulders we stand to be what, in our time, we may be for Christ and his kingdom.
In addition, the writer of Hebrews suggests another frailty common to most of us, that of loving questions more than answers, liking problems too much to let them go so that we may move on with what God gives us to do. The words say: “Let us throw off everything which hinders, and the sin which so easily entangles.” Another translation of this verse reads, “Let us strip off everything which hinders us, as well as the sin which dogs our feet.”
What keeps us from Christ? What hinders the pilgrimage of the soul? Worry, for one, can do it. In fact, worry, not often listed as such, can be a most favorite sin. I can speak to this as one whose ability to worry is second to none. I have had, and passed “with flying colors,” Worry 101, Intermediate Worry, Advanced Theory and Practice of Worry. On one of the BikeAway bike trips I ran with several churches, a couple of people in my riding group noticed my ongoing version of this very sin. At our longer rest stops, I would invariably, after just a few minutes, tend to distance myself from the fun and frolicking and direct my undivided attention to the C & O Canal Towpath behind us, concentrating on the first glimpse I would get of Judy’s riding group, wondering as I checked my watch just how many minutes they were behind us, how many minutes SHOULD they be behind us, why hadn’t they caught up to us yet… should I make a radio call to make sure they are OK? How many minutes has it been since I last looked at my watch? In other words, I showed several observant friends exactly how good I could be at worrying.
And, if it’s not your favorite, worry is an excellent choice for a favorite sin. It has the extra advantage of being a quiet, respectable sin, not nearly so messy nor obvious as adultery, drunkenness, overeating, backbiting or gossip.
What is it that gets in your way, hinders you, dogs your steps, causing you to drag your feet (and your soul) to being alive in Christ? Whatever it is, the call of Christ is to “Let it Go! LET IT GO!” I often think about inserting an index card into the Sunday worship bulletins – with no explanation other than, “Please fill this out and place in the offering plate.” It’s essentially a blank card with one line across the top. Complete this sentence: “MY FAVORITE SIN IS…” I’ve often wondered what kind of responses I would have to read, maybe in the bathroom?
And that’s not because the terminology is flattering or all that much fun to think about, but for the invitation to honesty with ourselves a question like this could issue. If I didn’t think it would have caused a mutiny in my church, I probably would have done it by now, but then I guess I’ll fully retire without having ever “scratched this particular itch!”
I really do wonder – even with the potential for opening a quagmire, are there perhaps some sins that are indeed more “favorite” than others? And can we even manage to get beyond that question, since it misses the whole point? It isn’t about “this” sin or “that” sin, or yours is worse than mine, or hers is worse than his. The point is, however, does focusing on ANY specific sin here or there miss the bigger issue of what SIN is to begin with. Which is to say, what is it that gets in the way of Jesus and his joy for you? That is sin… Period. Let’s not get dragged into superfluous matters by trying to generate an indexed list in ascending or descending order. If once we manage that, then another question follows, “Do we have to hold on to that sin, be held back by it, to the degree that we risk our soul to hold on to it? A weekly prayer of confession notwithstanding, do we really need that favorite of all sins dogging our feet, holding us back from the course God has set before us? Or can we? Let it go?
And that course before us is the other word about sin here, cast in the positive. We read, “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
A favorite sin may be in two parts, that of living in the past or “stopping where you are.” Assuming that what has been or what is, is all God has in mind for you may be a favorite wickedness. Is your favorite sin that of assuming that the best of life is either over and done or that where you are right now is about as far as God expects you to go, indeed, as far as God himself is able to bring you? You’ve put the years in, retired and left the snow behind, moved to the beach, gotten off the waiting list at the club and onto the first tee of the course, and this is it? There’s nothing more left?
It’s been a while since Jerry Garcia died in 1995. But I remember a conversation with a young friend – a card carrying, certified “Dead Head.” Maybe it was just those mid-90s times we were living in (not all that different from the ones we are living in now), but in the midst of his brooding, I acted like a typical adult and asked what was wrong. His response was “All the great people are dead now, and nothing exciting ever happens anymore. I want something exciting and I want it now!” Yes, that really can be a favorite sin, saying to God, in no uncertain terms, “Whatever you have in mind for me Lord, do it now.” The Scripture’s answer to this is “Let us run, WITH PATIENCE, the race set before us.” Some time ago, a church member, who also happened to be a good friend, brought me a little plastic plague imprinted with the cliche’ we all probably know. “Grant me patience Lord, but hurry.” It was, and still is, too close for comfort. At the risk of seeming ungrateful to her, that little plastic plague had to go in the trashcan! Is your favorite sin the impatience which cannot abide even the Lord’s timetable?
And the final word for today from this lectionary text deals with God, who is God of the good times… and of the not so good times. For this final word from Hebrews chapter 12 cautions against the sin of believing that God is present in the good times, and absent in the not so good times, a struggle that has plagued our kind since the beginning, as the more than ample evidence from the Psalms show us. Here it reads “In your struggle against sin…do not think lightly of the Lord’s discipline, nor lose heart when God corrects you. The Lord disciplines those whom he loves.”
Some days the world goes the way I want it to go, other days the world is all mixed up. Do I imagine God is present only in the good times, or do I allow that God may be present in adversity? The birth of the Church is a “Come As You Are Party.” Followers and friends of Christ, enemies too, such as Saul of Tarsus, come Christward as they are. James and John bring their desire for position, that which Shakespeare calls “Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself.” Simon Peter brings his wretched temper, Martha her nagging at those who fail to do what she wants done in the kitchen, Mary of Magdala brings her willingness to sell her body in a vain search for relationship. Zacheus brings his greed. Each of these who come close to Christ bring not only the longing heart and searching mind, but all the trouble within them and around them. The vast imperfection of the race, all of this – then and now – Christ takes, saying, “You are my body, to do my work in the world.” The sin is not in who we are, as we come to Christ, the sin is found in not being willing to let Christ, according to his timetable, and his plans, make us more than that.
It really isn’t very flattering, asking “What’s Your Favorite Sin?” But in asking it, we can see the reality of God’s invitation, where all who humbly put their trust in Christ and would be delivered from the burden of sin, even of our favorite sin, are invited, and encouraged in Christ’s name to come as we are, favorite sins and all, and find refreshment and rest for our souls.
Amen.