The Third Week of Lent

Reading: Psalm 84; Jeremiah 6:9-15; I Corinthians 6:12-20; Mark 5:1-20

This is for Sarah.

This is for Sarah, because as far as I know, she may be one of about 2 ½ people who read this blog. She’s a dear friend and, along with her husband and daughter, an important part of my life. Why? Because she’s part of my community group, or, as I prefer, she’s part of my family. She’s someone who, whether she likes me or not, has chosen to put up with me and care for me as I try to figure out any of the many facets of living the gospel. So this is for Sarah. She recently gave me a hard time for not blogging enough (or, indeed, like I said I would… consistently). Since she has a sensitive conscience, she immediately apologized although I’m not sure it was necessary.

So, why is this for Sarah? Because, she’s a reminder to me that my choices, every decision I make, always affect others around me. For instance, failure to blog might be an insignificant thing in itself, but failing to meet my end of a deal with members of a community is no small matter. I need reminders like this all the time, but especially now in the Lenten season of the church. My sin is not my own issue. It’s the issue of everyone around me. My sin affects the lives of those closest to me, and even though I might hide it from them “in order to protect them” (or whatever lame excuse I may fool myself into believing), I’m essentially hurting them and myself by refusing to confess and repent. Sin never hurts just me.

This is exactly what we see in our readings for this Sunday in Lent. The prophet Jeremiah called to the people of Jerusalem warning them that he was “full of the wrath of the Lord” for their sin, and that he was “weary of withholding it.” Their sins, their spiritual idolatry and fornication had turned the Lord’s goodness toward them to wrath, and they would not repent in order to escape the coming judgment. When the judgment finally comes, there is no distinction of who receives it. Children in the street, young men, husband and wife all receive the judgment because they are inhabitants in the land where the wickedness was dwelling. It does not matter if “they did not sin themselves.” The sin of the nation brought judgment on all its individuals. From the least to the greatest, no one was spared.

In a similar vein, the Apostle Paul warns against sexual immorality so that we do not sin against more than ourselves. Sure, this sin is personal in that it only involves the sin of the bodies of individuals. For Christians, however, there is a deeper element. Their bodies do not belong to them. Their “individual” bodies are members of a larger body: the body of Christ. Their sin, their sexual immorality, is more than just a sin against themselves. It is a sin against their brothers and sisters and the head of their body, the Lord Jesus Christ. Even in an intensely personal act, such as sex, there is still not a private distinction. That is, sex isn’t just your business. It’s the business of the entire congregation, because your sins in this matter affect us all. With this I’m reminded of a quote from Stanley Hauerwas, a theologian at Duke:

I had a colleague at the University of Notre Dame who taught Judaica. He was Jewish and always said that any religion that does not tell you what to do with your genitals and pots and pans cannot be interesting. That is exactly true. In the church we tell you what you can and cannot do with your genitals. They are not your own. They are not private. That means that you cannot commit adultery. If you do, you are no longer a member of “us.” Of course pots and pans are equally important…”

The community, then, is important, because they help keep us from our sins and judgment stemming from those actions. The community is important, because they remind us to believe and live the gospel. The community is important, because without them we are lost and alone and doomed to fail to better ourselves in personal holiness. The community is important, because the community is everything.
This expresses itself beautifully (so to speak) in Lent. Often times, we fast of things for personal gain/sacrifice/reflection, etc., but we do so without thinking of what type of effect or consequence it will have on the body as a whole. Sure, you’re (and I’m) fasting, but what does it say about the local church? What does it say about Jesus’ body? It’s never too late to alter our motives in the Lenten season. It’s never too late to refocus our goals and make sure our priorities are right and that our fasting is for the right reasons, especially in a penitential season such as Lent.

That’s the great thing. As long as we are… “here”, wherever that is, it’s not too late. As long as today is called today, we may repent. We can forsake our sin and turn to Jesus, the One who makes our faith perfect. Don’t be discouraged. Be encouraged that it is never too late to repent as individuals and as a community.

So this is for Sarah, because in her concern for a silly little blog to read, she just might’ve assisted in removing me from my sin. Just by being part of a “gospel family” she took part in helping me see that I need to repent, because it’s always about more than just me.

Thanks Sarah.