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 Jesus, you suffered evil at the hands of the religious establishment. Priests accused you of blasphemy. In their trial against you, they called the Good Shepherd evil. Forgive your people when we call evil good and good evil. We are sheep easily led astray. Renew us to be your people, clean and holy. Amen.
Word
Genesis 3:13
“Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’”
Meditation: Pushing Boundaries by Megan Roegner
I wanted to write something interesting about how Eve is often portrayed as a feminist icon in contemporary art and literature, a daring woman who challenges the patriarchy in her quest for knowledge and independence. I wanted to write about how interpreting Eve as a girl-power prototype reveals our culture’s misunderstanding of good and evil and our discomfort with authority.
But I can’t tackle anything that deep right now because I’m currently too busy keeping my children from destroying each other. In our backyard, our own little garden, Benny has just thrown Lizzy’s favorite marker over the fence. Lizzy has retaliated by pushing him on the stairs.
“Go outside,” Jeremy and I had said just moments before. “Be kind.”
That was the one rule. Just be kind and enjoy the freedom of a rare afternoon with no pre-scheduled activities. It’s warm for early March and the breeze is gently blowing. Perfection.
Paradise lasted for about five minutes.
Lizzy’s marker was tragically lost to our neighbor’s backyard. Benny, according to his retelling, teetered upon the edge of non-existence as he was pushed on the steps. There was weeping and wailing and rolling of eyes.
Now, the children are banished from the backyard and are in their own separate corners of the house.
It doesn’t seem hard to stay within the generous line that was drawn: Be kind. Don’t eat the fruit of this one tree. Trust that I want what is best for you. Trust that I love you. Trust that the line is meant to show you my love. Trust that I know if you cross it, it will only be the beginning of hurt and pain.
We replay the fall over and over again.
Some of us have vocations that place us in the role of an authority figure. We draw lines to protect those under our care and struggle to understand why they make it so hard for us to keep them safe. Yet, at the same time, in our other roles, we celebrate boundary-pushers and limit-breakers. We read about Eve taking a bite of forbidden fruit, and maybe a little part of us is tempted to cheer because we’ve been taught that rebellion is essential, especially if it paves the way for self-actualization.
And in our fallen world, where fallen people take up the mantle of leadership, sometimes rebellion is justified. Confusing oppressive or corrupt human power with the perfect, righteous authority of God complicates our understanding of this sin.
When Benny and Lizzy came storming in from the backyard, I was frustrated and angry (also embarrassed to have to ask Mr. Kevin to throw one more thing back over the fence). My primary concern was not their well-being but rather how their rebellion was affecting me. I was sinning, too. But God, even in his punishments, worked for the good of Adam and Eve. He made them clothes because their rebellion taught them shame. He guarded the tree of life, so they didn’t live forever in their sinful state. He sent his son to bruise the head of the serpent.
Father, thank you for your perfect authority. We are sorry for the times we do not obey you. Help us to trust in the goodness of your plans for us, even when we do not understand. Amen.
Sending
In the face of evil, may the God of faithfulness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Jesus Christ. Amen.