From my sermon, “The Devil Made Me Do It”
It seems rather old fashioned, doesn’t it, to talk about the devil. Old fashioned to suggest that we sin. Liberal religious thinking has, for a couple of centuries, tried to persuade us that “sin” was antiquated, oppressive, and a useless word.
It is, I believe, because we have an Arminian view of sin. That is, we do not believe in “original sin” which is St. Augustine’s and Calvin’s view of sin. Arminianism is a belief that humankind is as capable of goodness as they are of sin.
We do sin; we do things that separate us from God and from others. We behave in some ways that builds fences between us and those we love. We make decisions that show our arrogance. We succumb to temptations that hurt others.
When Flip Wilson the great comedian of the 1970s portrayed the character Rev. Leroy he was, as all great comedians do, making fun of our frailties and our weaknesses. He was, telling us, everybody sins, even the preacher.
Adam and Eve had to leave their paradise. The great King David of Israel was not allowed to build the Great Temple. Tiger Woods lost the respect of almost the entire planet. The teacher was arrested. The senator was censured.
Something else that seems old fashioned, or distant from us is the observance of Lent. It began with the early Jesus followers, who recognized the weeks which led up to the Crucifixion. It became institutionalized with the early Roman church. And today, Christians in all Orthodox and Catholic churches observe Lent. And so do most of the churches from the Sixteenth Century Reformation, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Methodists.
If sin separates us from God and each other, then the forty days of Lent is a good time to consider our lives, examine our hearts, and figure out what we need for better relations with our One God who created us and with each other.
Observe Lent in some way. Give up something or do something that will make a difference in your life
It’s not too late to begin a Lenten practice. It is never too late to ask forgiveness of one’s sins. And remember, no matter what, God loves us unconditionally, we are all forgiven.
See you in church!