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 Christ, stay with me. There is evil within me, and I am so often attentive to it. I am easily overcome by my own desire to get away from you and be free to have everything I want and to do everything I want. Lord, give me the real freedom of your life in me. By your victory over temptation, make me victorious. By the power of your love make me strong. Amen. (from The Lutheran Book of Prayer, CPH, 1970)
Word
Hosea 2:14
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.”
Meditation: Love in the Wilderness by Megan Roegner
As I write this, I am looking out a huge window in the “tree loft” Airbnb my husband and I are staying in outside of Perryville, MO. It’s quiet here—no kids, no TV, and, unless you’re standing in just the right spot in the bathroom, no internet. We came here last year in March as well and returned because it’s a perfect place for two people who, despite living together, just don’t seem to get enough time to talk (our children are highly allergic to any conversation between us that doesn’t also include them).
As we were hiking this morning in Hawn State Park, we saw a young man who must have been preparing to propose to his girlfriend. He was hanging up pictures of them together from a tree and had bouquets of flowers at his feet. He looked pale and nervous. When we passed him again on our way back, I gave him a big smile and wished him good luck.
Jeremy and I have been married for more than 15 years—the day he proposed was probably the most exciting day of my life, and the joy of being his wife is still fresh and vibrant. I know that it’s popular to say that marriage takes work, but, to be honest, it’s our marriage that makes all the other stuff easier. I don’t take it for granted. I know that our marriage feels “easy” because we trust each other, not just to be faithful but also to be kind, respectful, and hard-working. It is hard to imagine the difficulty of recovering from a violation of that trust.
Adultery is a sin that I cannot imagine committing. Adultery is betrayal in the relationship where we most expect trust. I think that is why it is such a gut-clenching metaphor for sin in general. I am, as the old hymn says, “prone to wander…prone to leave the God I love.” I am tempted to find my worth and identity in people and places outside of God’s loving plans for me. To understand this as a kind of adultery makes my sin even worse and God’s constant love even more incredible. I imagine every branch of every tree in the forest fluttering with proof and reminders of this love, calling us back every time we wander.
Lord, forgive us when we betray you through our sin. Thank you for bringing us back to you and forgiving us. Help us do better. Amen.
Sending
In the face of evil, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.