C3/CCC Sermon Transcript for March 30, 2008
"Reclaiming Sin Before the Apple Hits the Ground"
By Ian Lawton

Did you hear that the Vatican is considering updating the list of deadly sins? The original mortal offences were pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth. Each deadly sin had its own unique and cruel punishment. For envy, you would be placed in freezing water. For sloth, you would be thrown in a snake pit. The most creative punishment is gluttony where you would be forced to eat rats and toads.

Don’t you love that the punishment for gluttony is being forced to eat more? Very cunning! It reminds me of the Simpson’s episode where Homer is sent to Hell for gluttony and forced to eat dozens of donuts off a conveyor belt. Homer surpassed the expectations even of the devil. He gobbled every donut in hell. The demons had never seen anything like it.

Well, now there is talk about adding 7 more deadly sins alongside the original 7. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman will have to redo their movie “Seven” and call it “Fourteen….and counting!”.

Here are the potential new sins-

(1)genetic modification; (2) human experimentations, (3) polluting the environment; (4) social injustice; (5) causing poverty; (6) financial gluttony; and (7) taking drugs.

How interesting! Im pleased to see the Catholic church acknowledging that life evolves and so does sin. Sin, in a globalized world, is more than individual selfishness. Sin includes the selfish actions of groups and nations as well. However, the discussion about adding sins does leave me confused. It offers no context for the change, nor criteria for making such a selection. I’m encouraged that ecology is included, but why no mention of racism or religious exclusivism? Why no mention of patriarchy? The institutional church should first focus on its own corporate sins, before telling other people what is sinful.

Maybe you feel so beaten by the church that you can’t imagine finding any meaning in the notion of sin. Many of you had it drummed into you that you are rotten sinners from birth, without hope and totally dependent on the death and resurrection of Jesus for redemption. In reaction to this style of guilt based religion, the liberal church stopped talking about sin altogether and went to the other extreme of emphasizing how good and pure people are.

Seeing the World Through Tears

The problem with silence is the loss of self responsibility. There is a place for lament in church. I wouldn’t want lament to be the only emotion you feel in church, but it is an appropriate response. It’s appropriate to sometimes feel sadness when you think about the state of your life, your relationships and the world. It’s not all your fault, and yet it partly IS your fault. It’s appropriate to take responsibility for at least some of your own suffering, and for the ecological crisis. As Margaret Atwood once said, “the word is seen clearly only through tears.”

After many years of silence, I want to reclaim sin, but do it in a fresh way. I want to define sin from a cosmic, earth based perspective. Let me start by clarifying what sin is NOT:

1. Sin is not whatever your personal annoyances include- For example, if I could  create my own deadly sin list it might include eating fast food and listening to country music. There has to be a more objective basis than personal preference for defining sin.

2. There is no divine punishment and reward system. Heaven and hell are creations of the church. The church uses the concept of heaven and hell, reward and punishment for social control. However you define sin, it will without doubt have its own consequences, but there is no God keeping a naughty and nice list.

3. Motivation not to sin (however you define it) will come from within and from an awareness of the effect of sin on others and the world, and not from fear of hell or punishment.

4. No sin is unforgivable. The context for a discussion of sin is grace. Whatever mistakes, or limitations or dysfunction you live with, life offers you a second chance, and third chance, and fourth chance, not just seven times, but 70 times 7, forgiving yourself and finding the space to start over.

Enough introduction. Lets dive in and see what emerges.

Sin in A Cosmic Perspective

To sin is to lose the sense of your relationship to life and the universe. To sin is to lose the balance of humility and responsibility.

The Jewish tradition teaches that everyone should have two pockets in their coats with two slips of paper.  One slip says: "I am but dust and ashes."  The other says: "For you, the world was created”. Keep both in your coat, and take out whichever one you need to be reminded of.

“I am but dust and ashes”. There is a joke about a minister saying a passionate prayer in church:
"Dear Lord, without you we are but dust..."

He would have continued, but at that moment one young girl asked her Mom in a whisper loud enough for everyone to hear-  "Mommy, what is butt dust?"  Church was pretty much over at that point.

The phrase “I am but dust and ashes” (or in Hebrew “Ani eifer v'afar”) is a call to humility. When you place your life in a cosmic context, it is brief, insignificant and small. When you are feeling too self important, this is the paper you need to pull out of your pocket.

The other phrase is, "For you, the world was created” (or in Hebrew “Bishvili nivra ha'olam”) This might also be translated as “All the universe exists in you” or “You are related to all of creation.” Your life is significant and profound. You are the one the world has been waiting for. You can and must make a difference. When you are wallowing in self pity or false humility, this is the piece of paper you need to pull out. This is the reminder to take responsibility for your power. Who are you not to be gorgeous, fabulous and talented? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. You are here to let your light shine and to liberate others to the same. Your every thought, word and deed are related to, and impact the whole world.
Both phrases need to be held in balance. Sin is losing the balance, or falling to either error of attitude.

The Ten Commandments from the Earth’s Perspective

Discussion about sin usually begins with the Ten Commandments. Most of us have a vague idea of what they are, unless of course you were forced to memorize them in a previous church life and have them etched on your brain.
The key to understanding the Ten Commandments is the little verse that comes straight before them. It provides the context. It says “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of slavery in the land of Egypt…You shall have no other gods before me”

The context for the Ten Commandments is a relationship of grace and liberation, and it goes both ways. It sounds a lot like conditional love. “I did this for you, so you should live the way I want you to.” But I prefer to think of it as offering the quality of the relationship. I have modeled grace for you, it’s the best way for a relationship to work, now you offer it to each other. One of the commandments is to honor the Sabbath, which is partly about showing grace to the earth. Allow the earth to rest and rejuvenate and it will give you back beyond your wildest expectations.

Now, let’s step the redefinition up a notch.

Many of you have updated your portrait of God. You no longer have a narrow idea of God who is up in the sky, keeping a check list of your behavior. You see God as the source of life and love and creativity. You see God as mother earth, and the evolutionary process, and the mystery of grace and more. Now put this new portrait of God into the context of the Ten Commandments.

“I am Mother Earth. I have given you life. I sustain and nourish your life. I provide resources so that you might live abundantly. You have no other mother earth than me. Know your place in the cosmic scheme of things and live in gratitude and respect.”

Suddenly the Ten Commandments come alive with ecological relevance. They are about the cosmic relationship of grace and liberation.

Relationships of Grace

There is a very powerful scene in the novel Kite Runner.

Kite Runner tells a heartbreaking story of the friendship between Amir, the son of a wealthy Afghan businessman, and Hassan, the son of his father's servant. Amir is Sunni, Hassan is Shi'a. One is born to a privileged class, the other to a loathed minority, one to a father of enormous presence, the other to a crippled man. One is an excellent reader, the other is lliterate. It’s a story of friendship, conflict, betrayal and redemption.

Early in the story, the father teaches Amir a lesson about sin. He says, ‘There is only one sin, and that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft... When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.”

It relates so closely to our treatment of the earth. You disrespect the earth, you steal the earth’s right to dignity. You steal the right of future generations to have a relationship with the earth.

Ironically in Kite Runner, not long after the conversation about sin as theft, it is theft that leads to betrayal and fractured relationship. However, Kite Runner is anything but a hopeless novel. The story begins with the main character, now as an adult living in America, being told by an old friend of his father- “There is a way to be good.” And Amir knew what to do. He went back to Afghanistan and made amends.

There is always a way to be good, and to make amends. That is the way in relationships based on grace. There is a way to be good to the earth. Restore the covenant. Will you restore the covenant?

In Kite Runner, Amir and Hassan run kites together and there is a beautiful scene where Hassan says he will run for Amir, “for you, a thousand times over.” I could cry even thinking about it.

Do you ever feel empathy for the earth, like a suffering brother or a friend? Do you see reports of polar ice caps melting and feel the pain of betrayal? Do you hear about the extinction of species and feel it as if the genocide of your own family?

Feel the pain of betrayal, and weep for the sadness of your own mindless actions. But know this. There is a way to be good again. Will you restore the covenant? For the earth, a thousand times over. You know what to do to make amends. It requires a change of heart and mindful life choices.

Will churches take the responsibility seriously? If every church in US cut energy consumption by 25%, it would save $500 million a year, and prevent 5 million tones of carbon from being released into environment. The resurrection of the planet is bound up with the spiritual rejuvenation of people and churches.

The Catholic Church has it partially right. Ecology is one of the greatest concerns of the church today. The cracks around the stained glass windows in churches worldwide are letting cold air in, recklessly wasting energy, and the same cracks are letting the spirit out.

Ultimately, this is a matter of spirit and will. You spirit knows that the restoration of the planet is intimately bound to your own spiritual restoration. Do you have the will? A thousand times over.