I remember a conversation with the Lord Bishop during my Ordination to Deaconate Orders at the Ordination Retreat a while ago. I had questioned the Lord Bishop the rationale for a Retreat before the Ordination. His response was “Retreat is a must if I am to lay my hands on you so that you don’t trivialize Holy Orders.”
The church often teaches that Jesus is the son of God who died to save us from our sins, but never really does a good job explaining what those sins are. What are those sins one may ask? Maybe the naughty things we do; or the thoughts we think. Maybe staring at beautiful ladies or handsome men? What about having a swig of booze or two; or not paying our tithes and offering (Robbing God)? What about not going to church; telling whites lies or embellishing our stories? If these are what we make our sins to be, then like the Lord Bishop said, we are trivializing the death of Christ.
Are our sins not the rejection of God as the daily ruler of our lives? Refusal to deeply care and commit to all of God’s children irrespective of their race, sexual orientation, religious affiliation or lack thereof ? Are our sins not protecting our self interests at the expense of others? How about seeking security in wealth and investments and stocks; and ignoring the poor and the needy among us? Are our sins not failing to speak out against injustice and exploitation of the poor? How about our tendency to develop hatred toward a brother or sister in the Lord because they offended you many years ago and you just cannot seem to forgive them? Are our sins not abusing illegal immigrants and paying them little or nothing to work “under the table” year in year out? What about the church building a sanctuary that can sit 50,000 parishioners, and collecting millions from tithes and offering while there are parishioners that are starving. Think about these and tell me what you think.
Your Comments would be appreciated. All comments are welcome!
Jacobs.+
copentecost 