Category: Prayers

When is the last time you sinned? Today? Yesterday? In the last 5 minutes? While the question is simple, the answer might not be so easy. We don’t want to sin, do the wrong thing, make a bad choice, hurt someone in some way, but we do. And the consequences of our actions may not only adversely effect others but ourselves as well. Yet it can be hard to put a finger on sin, unless we have stolen something or cheated on a test or committed adultery or some other obviously culpable offense.

Yes, we know that we sin, yet, who among us would think of hurting God? Sinning against God? Violating God? While we may have very different images of God, still that is almost unthinkable. We don’t want to work against God, however we may conceive of God.

In Psalm 51, there is a phrase, “Against you, you alone, have I sinned. . .” The Psalmist is addressing God. The implication is that all sin is against God. While at first that may sound drastic, with deeper thought, maybe we can see the insight.

Our tradition tells us that all human beings are created in the image of God. We bear God within us. So, a wrong to another person, is a wrong to the divine image within that person. A sin against God. A wrong to ourselves, as bearers of the divine imprint, is, again, a sin against God. This hearkens back to Jesus’ teaching, that whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done unto me. While the specific context refers to good deeds, such as visiting the sick and feeding the hungry, we can infer the reverse. That whatever harm we do to another, directly or indirectly, we do to Jesus. So it is not as farfetched as it first sounds that all sin is against God.

Our tradition also teaches that God is responsible for Creation. The earth, the universe, the cosmos, all that is, is the self-expression of God. So to abuse or misuse or harm any part of Creation can be seen as a sin against God. In addition, to harm the earth is to diminish the ability of the earth to provide for all of our neighbors. It is to deprive others of clean water, safe air, arable land to grow food, etc. So violating the earth can be seen as a way that we ultimately harm ourselves and our neighbors. Sinning against God, again.

This brings us back to the central teaching of Judaism and Christianity. Love of God and love of neighbor. And the golden rule, a teaching in every major world religion: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Anything less is a sin against God.

So this idea that all sin is against God, is not as drastic and farfetched as it first sounds. Instead of rejecting this idea as hyperbole or ancient poeticism, I hope it will speak to us in fresh ways about our connections to all of life, to one another, and to the sacred.

Prayer
We do not want to sin. We do not want to cause harm. We do not want to defy God. May we choose to use the freedom of our faith to see the implications of all of our behaviors, our choices, our lives. This unflinching honesty will lead us to seek the reconciliation we need from God and one another, so that we can truly be free. Amen.

No one is perfect. We all know that to be human is to be imperfect. It is simply part of our DNA. When you do a multiplication problem on a calculator, you are going to get the right answer. When you check the spelling of a word on a word processing program on a computer, you are going to get the correct spelling. When you toss a jar of coins into the coin counter at the grocery store, the count will be right. Machines are going to be accurate. There will be no computational error.

While we humans can design and create these machines that are virtually error-free, when properly functioning, we ourselves cannot be error-free. We make mistakes: In mathematical computation, or typographical errors, or dialing a wrong number, or misreading instructions. We make mistakes which is one of the unique characteristics that makes us human beings.

Our mistakes, our errors, our wrongs, are not only of a technical nature. We also commit errors of judgment. We choose behavior inconsistent with our stated values. We lash out in anger, We neglect an act of compassion. We let ourselves be governed by false ideals. We take the easy way out instead of doing what we know is right. We bury hopes and dreams. We allow ourselves to be ruled by selfishness. We tell a “white” lie. We cheat in some way when we know we won’t be caught. We live at the expense of others. We choose expediency over nonviolence. We justify injustice.

Church is a place, a context, safe space, if you will, to acknowledge our failings, our shortcomings, our sins. It is a place to admit, with the psalmist, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” [Psalm 51:3, New Revised Standard Version]

I do not believe that the church should judge people in a condemnatory way. I do not think the church should rail at people to make them feel dirty, bad, and evil. Jesus never did that. I do not support the use of the concept of sin with the threat of eternal damnation in hell as a way of controlling people and eliciting “good” behavior.

We need the church to keep us grounded in what is good, right, true, loving, peaceful, and just. The church invites us to know our highest good. The church encourages us to be aware of a far larger reality than immediate petty aims and interests. The church calls forth our best selves.

The church also celebrates our precious, mysterious humanity, This involves the awareness that, at times, we fall short, we err, we sin. The church helps us to see our sins and our transgressions for ourselves. The gospel gives us the gift of forgiveness, for ourselves and others. It reminds us have an understanding spirit toward other humans who also inevitably err and are not their best selves at all moments. In the New Testament, the concepts of forgiveness, healing, and salvation are intimated related. So, when we acknowledge, “I am aware of my faults, and have my sin constantly in mind,” [Psalm 51:3, The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation], we are on the way to forgiveness, healing, restoration, and wholeness.

The Lenten season is a time to reflect on our faults and sins. It is a time to free ourselves from the accumulated burden of sin, error, and bad judgement. Lent is a time to embrace the healing power of forgiveness and mercy, for ourselves, others, and the world.

Prayer
We give thanks for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and for the church which keeps the gospel alive. We are grateful for the healing power of forgiveness which is a core teaching of our faith. We are grateful that the church encourages us to learn from our past sins and errors and to find new life through forgiveness. Lent is a time to embrace the freeing love and mercy of God. Amen.

In Psalm 51, traditionally read on Ash Wednesday, there is the verse, “Create in me a clean heart.” What makes a heart dirty? Or maybe we can think of it as tarnished? Or maybe marred? What damages or taints our hearts?

Well, with the physical heart, one answer is stress. Many heart problems and heart conditions, including high blood pressure, are associated with stress. As an antidote to this, sometimes we think about balancing high stress with de-stress, and then become compulsive about meditation, or yoga, or exercise, or other things that reduce stress. But as we schedule our de-stressors and try to fit them in and rush to make sure we are de-stressing, it is almost as if the relief becomes another stressor!

Another source of stress is multitasking. Experts say that focussing on one thing at a time is less stressful and more productive in the long run. Doing several things at once can mean doing nothing well, and even creating more problems. For example, if you are trying to text while driving because you are in a hurry, and then hit the curb and blow a tire and have to change it, far from saving time, you have wasted time, and money.

This gives us insight into having a “clean” heart. Some scholars say that the meaning of clean is really akin to the meaning of pure. Pure implies completely what it is supposed to be. No additives or impurities. When we think of having a pure heart, we can think about a heart that is devoted to one thing. A heart that is not distracted or diffused or fragmented. The Psalm invites us to devote our hearts purely and completely and undistractedly to the God of steadfast love and mercy. This is an invitation to center our hearts on the love of God and that alone. That is to be our focus. God is to be at our center filling us with love.

This kind of focus reduces and eliminates distractions. When we concentrate on love as the center, the sense of being fragmented fades. Our sense of purpose increases. We may, in fact, end up being busier and having more going on when our hearts are given to God alone. Look at Jesus, the peripatetic healer/preacher always on the go. But when our hearts are focused, we will not feel torn, and divided, and broken. We will feel purposeful and centered.

How do we do this, this creating of a pure heart, a clean heart, a whole heart. focused on God? We can cultivate this by consciously increasing our awareness, our consciousness of God. This can happen through regular prayer, through reading of scripture, through participation in worship, and other disciplines that help us stay tuned in. It takes regular attention. Try to think of one thing that you can work into your daily routine to help stay centered on God. As your heart becomes more pure or clean or whole, what you do may not change very much, but how you feel about it may change a lot.

Prayer:
This Lenten season, we seek the freedom which comes when we center our lives in God. This decreases the pull of other forces and influences in our lives. In this way, we hope to feel less fragmented and more whole. We do not want to be slaves to our calendars, our bills, our volunteer work, our families, our jobs, our schoolwork, our bills, our clubs, or even our churches. May we focus on the center, God’s love, and then everything else will fall into its proper place and we will truly be free. We see this in Jesus. May we cultivate it in ourselves. Amen.

Ash Wednesday is a time to remember our essence. When something is burned, it turns to ash. Only the most basic essence remains. Lent it a time to return our lives to our essence as human beings created to embody divine love. That is our essence. So Lent is a time to clear away all that detracts and distracts from that essence. It is a time to purify and clarify.

Ashes are used to fertilize the ground for planting. They are used for cleaning. They are used to foster growth and clarity. Ashes are also the “stuff” of the earth. They remind us that we are part of the very “stuff” of creation, just like the dirt, and the air, and the rocks, and the trees. When a tree burns, you get ash. When a building burns, you get ash. When a person burns, you get ash. All of it is the stuff of creation. The miracle is that we are here, having this experience we call life, as opposed to not being here, not existing, not having been created.

This is a season to return to our essence. And in that process, we will find ourselves freed of the many things that distract us from our full experience as human beings created to embody divine love. This season, we will use the Psalms as a window to explore how our faith frees us from all that would diminish our experience of full and abundant life. Look for a posting each day and feel free to add your responses and reflections!

Please keep Vita and Knud in your prayers. Knud was taken to the hospital on Sunday and is going home today.
And please pray for Jim Howell and his family as they mourn the death of Jim’s father.
Prayers are also needed for Mary’s friend, Jerry, who had a stroke.