Getting Real with Our Sins

Perhaps more than any other day, Ash Wednesday asks us to look at the question of sin. It is not a word we like to think about and for good reason. It easily evokes emotions like guilt, regret, and sadness. Further, too many people abuse the word, using it as weapon to beat up, judge, and condemn others. Some have a theology that is focused more on sin than grace.  Such abuses have driven many people away from the church. Yet, Ash Wednesday asks us to take a moment and focus on sin as a first step on the journey towards resurrection.

The word sin comes from the Greek word, hamartia and the Latin peccata. Both mean a turning away from God or God’s ways. Early Christian teachers explained how this turning away has several characteristics: we make gods out of visible things, rather than searching within for the invisible God; it is a rending of the social fabric, we focus on our own personal and private good, rather than the good of God and others; sin shows itself in the competition that humans have with each other; last, sin brings pride—we think we are self-made and we treat God as a convenience to meet our ends and desires, rather than the very source of our being. As these things happen, we become disordered and disoriented.

We all know too well that sin is present in our lives. Yet, there are two ways we give sin too much power today. First, we become obsessed with other people’s sins. We love to point out how others have missed the mark. Maybe it makes us feel better about ourselves, but the truth is Jesus warned against this, “Don’t judge another … why do you try to take the speck out of another person’s eye, while you completely ignore the log in your own eye?” 

The second way sin has too much power is through that voice within us that says you we have failed and refuses to let us be anything more. We paralyze ourselves by past mistakes. We can’t imagine God doing anything good with us. Too many people live with the thought, if only people knew who I really am. The good news is that God does know us and that doesn’t stop Him from saying, “You are my beloved child”.

The truth of Ash Wednesday is that sin is not as powerful as we think. Lent is a journey towards resurrection. No one is defined by their worst deeds. No one is outside of God’s grace. We have to take sin seriously, no doubt, but we must be careful not to give it too much power as we look at other people and ourselves. 

This leads to the final point. Lent is a journey towards new life, and it is a road that we are on together. We walk this road knowing that we have failed, that those around us have failed, but together we look for what God can do with our broken lives. I think that is why Jesus didn’t want us to be judgmental when it came to sin. We are all in this together. No one is better than another, no one has greater favor in God’s eyes, and we walk this road of resurrection and new life together.

 

And so we begin this season of Lent…

Brett

As You Pray

What are the sins and failures that you recognize in your life?

Are there any that you need to be more aware of?

What are the sins you are most aware of in other people?

Prayer:  God, too often sins define me. Sometimes I willingly choose them and sometimes it feels like they have chosen me. What’s more, I am all too quick to notice and point out sins in other people. As I begin these days of Lent, these days leading to Easter and resurrection and new life, help me to be honest with you and with myself. Help me to name those sins that continue to separate me from you and other people. Forgive me! Help me to begin again. Give me strength to face the future unafraid, unconfined, and with a new heart. I give myself to you, Jesus, here on this Ash Wednesday. Hold me gently in the palm of your hands and fashion me into something new. Send others to walk with me, pray with me, encourage me, and challenge me. May I be a new person when you raise me on Easter morning! In your name I pray, Jesus. Amen.