Eastertide
April 10, 2015

Scripture Reading: 1 John 1-2:2

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:2

Karl Menninger, M.D., founder of the prestigious Menninger Clinic (psychiatric) and the Menninger Foundation published his book Whatever Became of Sin? in the 1980’s but it still has relevance for us today. He suggests that unless we face our sins we will always be imprisoned by them. These are my words not his but that is the general idea. Sin is not about punishment; sin is about course correction. The power of forgiveness is infinite. Between and among people, between individuals and God, confession leads to forgiveness and forgiveness leads to wholeness.

Menninger also talks a lot about the things we carry forward from our childhoods and how they influence our adult lives. There have never been any perfect parents but even if there were, they cannot always shield their children from the impact of the world around them. I am described as a baby boomer with all its issues of kids born after the dropping of the first atomic bomb. Todays’ generation will forever be related back to the 9/11 bombing. Racism is taught more by attitudes and actions children have observed. Few parents set down and instruct children in bigotry. It is really, really hard to change from the way we have always done things. Turning away from some behaviors may feel deep inside like we are rejecting our parents or other role models of our childhood. We probably cannot pinpoint the moments in our lives when we took on the roles of men or women according to our society.

Society does change and what was once bad may become OK or even good and what was once considered OK no longer may be. God is our source of strength to change and to ride the tide of change, and grow in God’s understanding of ways to be and live. And when we have one of those Aha! moments that awaken us to something that seems engrained in our very being but is now just wrong, God is the source of our salvation and God will help us turn around and make the course correction we need to live an abundant life. Forgiveness begets freedom.

Prayer: Lord, help us to seek your guidance in all that we are and do and when you see a need for us to make a course correction help us to see it also. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.