11 November 2005

A selection from "Do No Harm" by Stephen G. Ray, Jr.

...sin-talk is a challenging business. While theologians often have no problem defining sin in the abstract, when actually describing sin in concrete terms they find its subject matter more elusive. Once defined, sin seems neither univocal in nature nor transparent in character. When the term is applied to lived experience, there always seems to be a nagging voice saying, "Hold on a minute! Is it really that cut-and-dried?" It is precisely this cautionary voice that reminds us that while as Christians we must engage in sin-talk...it is a precarious enterprise - it frequently misses the mark. We are prone to get it wrong. Our experiences resist it.

When we throw out that word sin and try to pin it on an action or a person or group, it is quite easy for us to become what we want to pin on others. Ray's remark about how our sin-talk "misses the mark" is another way of saying it is sin itself. Sin is described as unfaith but the Greek word for sin is also one that carries the image of "missing the mark." Our sin-talk, especially when we do what we like to do - talk about the sin of others - becomes an activity quite worthy of being the topic of our talk...Sin. How quickly the self-righteous and the observers of sin in the world slip down the slope into a position of being the poster child of sin defined "in person." And yet, some may say that all they are trying to do is show what sin is. Well in that sin-talk, we have a history of revealing how we are able to damage others with our talk and we become the first ones damaged.

Connection: It is good to listen how sin-talk is carried out by those around us (for we do it also). If you have the opportunity, listen to what we say and what power it has when we link the word sin to a people or a specific action. It is not that we should not use sin-talk, it is simply that it would do us all well to listen to what it can and does do...That may not be the good use of such talk.

We find that sin is such a big aspect of our lives that we often try to find a way to narrow it down to a people or an action that is outside of us. On the other hand, some try to limit it to our own person and simply the actions of my life. Help us to rest and be calm and trust in how you "take away the sins of the world," O God. For when we see your power redeem us, we begin to see the world with new eyes. Amen.