Sin is a loaded word. For those outside the faith, it’s a funny and dated religious term. For Christians, we repeat it so often that it loses its bite. Scripture reveals that sin is worse than we know. Jesus is so serious about it that he says, “If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out.” What is it about sin that’s so fatal it would require Jesus to go to the cross?
This Lent we do a soul examination, studying all the ways God describes the complex of sin. Lawlessness, adultery, rebellion . . . The cancerous nature of sin means that we need to go deeper than surface confession. The problem is worse than we know, which makes our Savior greater than we can imagine.
Invocation
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, who delivers us from all evil.
Invitation Prayer
Lord, you know the power of the evil foe. You endured his temptation in the wilderness for 40 days. Answer our prayer to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Keep us from the devil and his schemes. Guard us from the fiery arrows of satan. Grant us life by the power of our victorious King, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Word
Joel 2:15-16 “Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people.”
Meditation: Barbeque by Koleen Barnes
When someone mentions Lent the first thing I think of is barbeque. I live in a predominantly Catholic neighborhood, which means that Fridays during Lent are big fish fry days. Not being Catholic, or a fish fan, my husband and I stumbled upon a related trend–all of the BBQ restaurants around us are surprisingly empty. One in particular that would usually require an hour wait on a Friday night seats you right away, quite the perk for us!
I have been thinking about what to write for this meditation for weeks. I have tried to think deeply about sin. What point about sin could I make that hasn’t been made? But I keep thinking about burnt ends and trashed wings. My mind has even wandered to a pulled pork sandwich a time or two.
That’s the thing with sin, isn’t it? It is hard to sit and consider for too long. We just kind of accept that it is there in the background and doesn’t take too much thought or consideration from us. Trying to think about sin for too long is like thinking about how the internet works. I get to a certain point and my brain starts to hurt and I quickly find something else to occupy that energy.
When I’m not daydreaming about fried bologna, I have had a few solid sin-related thoughts. Well, maybe they are Jesus-related thoughts. We’ll see.
Sin is not just a man and a woman and a snake. It is so easy to let it be just that. Straight from Adam and Eve right to Jesus on the cross with nothing in between and nothing lingering here with me. But it is so much more than that, isn’t it? We confess our sins both intentional and unintentional, big and small. Let’s be honest, some of those are a bit easier to swallow, aren’t they? Murder, adultery, and really any of the ten commandment sins are typically burned into our brains, but what about the little ones? The ones that seem harmless, or maybe even feel good? What about waiting until the last minute to write your meditation for the week? Or not picking up your paper towel when it misses the trash can? Gabbing to your coworker about why another colleague got fired? Eating way too many Lemonheads?
Sin is so ingrained in us, most of the time we don’t even know we are doing it, or we don’t care. But God cares. So much that he sent Jesus.
Now that I have stopped thinking about white mac and cheese with Ritz cracker crust for three minutes, I think we need to settle in this season and really sit with our sins. Tear our minds away from our Lenten dinner options, and intentionally think about what this season, and the sacrifice Jesus made saves us from. In a way, what it allows us to do without the cosmic and eternal consequences we should have.
Dear God, help us to reflect on our own behavior this Lenten season. Help us to realize the magnitude of your son’s sacrifice on the cross and what it means for us. Help us to see you and to see ourselves clearly. Amen.
Sending
In the face of evil, may the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.