Biblical Sin

 

i'm pretty sure the person who created the image above and i don't agree.

the most literal definition of the word sin in the bible is missing the mark. we don't like that much because that means all of our sin is basically the same. all of us miss the mark because all of us are human.

we prefer sin to be breaking the law.

there are those among us, myself included, who grew up believing this way. although i will say that it is through bible study in my early years that i knew the translation.

like the young ruler, some of us take comfort in the fact that we have kept the law from an early age.

the answer to us is the same as it was to this proudly pious young man. jesus acknowledges that we have done so, that we have done our best to follow all of the rules and been successful.

and then jesus tells him to sell all of his possessions and give it to the poor.

this is the mark, and the young man misses it by a long shot. he has more wealth than most and he wants to keep it. he has the respect of his peers and wants to keep that.

the poor are not respected. it is not only the material wealth that he doesn't want to part with. it is his feeling of superiority. it is the comparison we all make. it tells him he is better.

we all miss the mark.

probably in the most common way we do this is by redefining the mark to make it more attainable.

sin is not a behavior. it is an attitude. 

it is comparing ourselves to others and realizing that we are all of us the same in god's sight. we are equally loved. we are equally important.

when an archer misses the mark, the answer is more practice.

Do we worship a sacred book?

Humans have always shown a desire to connect with the Creator in whatever way that looks. Earliest studies of humans find rituals for burial that testify to the human desire to know what exists beyond the confines of our life on Earth.

The problem as I see it is that we think of God as a single entity. If we believe that God is omniscient, that is impossible. God by that definition is unlimited entities.

We are a tribal animal. We want community for protection and identity. Our tribes have expanded to political and cultural boundaries but still follows the concept of tribe.

If we see God as an omnipresent, then we must include the universe as well as our planet.

It is difficult for the human mind to conceive the enormity of the Spirit of God, a spirit that is life itself. We try to narrow God down to a level we can understand.

And that requires a sacred book.

We want a God that gives meaning to our lives. That explains what it means to be alive, to have a spirit within us that is beyond mind and body.

So we worship a book that we look to in order to define our God. It is our Bible, our Quran, our Vedas, our stories of the gods or God we seek. We claim to follow a divine being, but what we often really worship is the human language that explains what we cannot understand.

My spiritual language is Christainty. It is how I learn the nature of God. It is not the only language there is. How can any one set of understanding cover an endless divine spirit? No human can understand the vastness of what I call God. In my tradition, God is the Alpha and Omega. Yahweh — I exist.

With a sacred book, the nature of God is defined in a way we can learn to commune with God. I believe that is the purpose of a sacred book. My understanding of God comes from the teachings of Jesus and the stories of others through time who have come to a relationship with the divine. It is the way I have found to reach the presence of God. It is what my tradition calls the Holy Spirit that speaks in ways beyond human language.

Early Christians called themselves followers of The Way. It is a listening. It is a following that acknowledges the wonder of the King of the Universe, a term often used in Jewish liturgical prayer. It is living in the presence of God. Worship does not explain what I feel in the presence of the Spirit of God. It is more akin to praise. It is a stillness and a wonder.

It is not a book.

Spoiled Rotten

 

No. We don't have to live in a palace like this to be spoiled... and spoiled isn't really the right word. We, in the United States particularly, take so much for granted. We do not recognize the bounty of our lives. We don't understand the concept of enough.

We can just be working class citizens thinking we are just getting by. We think this because we look at the 1%, or the four bedroom houses in exclusive areas to those who are employed, to those who own their homes.

And it is a struggle. The expenses of living here, especially as regards housing, are numerous. We want to give our children some of what they see that other children have.

However most of us have running water. We can take showers with hot water. We don't have to boil our water or walk for miles to get it. So many in the world do not have this luxury. 

Many are thankful just to be able to get clean water. Most of us take this for granted.

We don't have to leave the United States to find people who have learned that life can change in a moment and all our needs are suddenly out of reach.

it's a hard awakening.

I had such an awakening after Hurricane Micheal entered our house with bay water.

But we were fortunate to have help immediately. Electricity was slow but the water in our house was restored quickly. We think of water for drinking, but water is really important for cleaning. We were able to clean floors and walls and our outside porch where we lived for a couple of months. 

We were able to purchase cleaning supplies (those of us who still had income and the means). For others, the generosity of people from near and far brought them to us. (i must mention UMCOR who prepares these things for disasters before they even happen).

The military came in with bottled water and MREs.

Organizations such as Good Samaritan and individuals came with chainsaws and tarps to clear roads and cover roofs.

We were in need but others supplied us in our need. Others cared that we were suffering. 

As I write, firefighters are working night and day to contain the wildfire that is destroying the beautiful mountains and coast of Los Angeles.

I hiked those mountains less than a year ago and can contest to their beauty.

Going up in smoke.

We take government help in times of crisis for granted. 

We lost our heat on Christmas Eve when a power pole was hit by a motorist and blew out an essential part of our heating system. Several days later a cold spell hit sunny Florida. Our house is now a consistent 52, sometimes higher, but mostly low 50s.

 It feels cold. We're not used to it, but what we are is uncomfortable. We even have a space heater that can bring a room to almost 60. If our rooms were smaller, it would be higher.

But my mind goes to those in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee where people are overjoyed to have a winterized camper in this cold front. I think of those poor people in Gaza who have moved from place to place to escape bombs and have little to nothing to keep themselves (and their children!) warm. Hunger decreases the body's ability to generate heat. That takes a lot of energy, energy that comes from food.

We need to be more grateful that our needs are met.

We need to thank those who have been there for us in our need.

We need to recognize the difference between need and want.

 

We need to see in others the needs we have and give to them with the abundance of what we have been given.