To quote the Apostle Paul in his letter to the congregation at Corinth: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” AMEN.
Thanks to John the Baptist/Pointer/Finger’s words in the Gospel of John, we have a very striking theological statement about who Jesus is…only place in the whole Bible where it says this…but it’s a statement that we sing every Sunday during Communion. “Behold, look! Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
I want to look at this statement today. And the first think I want to point out is that the word sin is singular. Jesus forgives sin. What’s the difference between Jesus forgiving sin and Jesus forgiving sins? Well, Jesus does both.
At the beginning of the service each week, we hear the words: your sins are forgiven. During our apostle’s creed we say, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins”…although the original Latin version, interestingly, has it in the singular, says the forgiveness of sin: remissionem peccatorum.
I’m nitpicking here because what John says to us today about Jesus forgiving sin, adds even more depth and power, more layers, to what we believe and confess about Jesus each week. Pay attention to whether we sing “Lamb of God you take away the sin [or sins] of the world,” each week. We sing both; but the actual quote from Scripture is singular.
Jesus forgiving our sins means Jesus forgiving all the things that we’ve done this week that are selfish, immoral, hateful…
It’s amazing grace to think and believe that God forgives every one of your individual sinful actions, isn’t it? Sins are individual actions.
But the statement that Jesus forgives our sin, or takes away the sin of the world—this is a statement about our condition, not just an individual action here and there. Lutherans are not shy about confessing our sinful condition, and the sinful condition of this whole world. And it’s not so trendy anymore to talk about sin as a condition, as a state that we’re in, even in many theological circles.
I’m not even sure we’re totally at a consensus here. Think about what you believe here: Lutheran theology, based on an understanding of and grounding in Scripture, says that a baby, sweet little beautiful baby is sinful, simply by virtue of the fact that that baby is earthly. Humanism says no, absolutely not, our babies are not sinful creatures. I struggle with this idea myself; and continue to live with that struggle, even as I confess with the Lutherans that “we are in bondage to sin”, that a sinful condition exists from our very beginnings. It would be very interesting to hear your thoughts on this sometime.
Are we humans sinful from the beginning? Luther would counter the humanists, both secular and religious, and say yes, we are dirty rotten sinners from the start. I had a professor who was reflecting on this debate and giving validity to the argument that “we’re not sinful in our mother’s wombs, c’mon.” But then he said, “But if you don’t think sin [as a condition] is real, just open the window and breathe the air.” [pause] We all commit sins individually, but sin is so real, it is such an all-pervasive condition in our world that it’s [slowly] even in the air we breathe.
And so to confess that “Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” becomes a powerful statement of faith.
In the midst of our world, that is so saturated with anger and selfishness and violence…Jesus forgives sin, he takes away sin…and sins. We don’t have to look far to find examples of sin as a condition because all we have to do is look in the mirror, if we’re honest. If we’re honest we too are overcome by anger, selfishness, violence….it’s everywhere. Anger and selfishness and violence—we don’t have to look far to find examples of this in our world either. [pause] So many sins (that is, demonic individual acts) and so much sin (as a pervasive condition). And sin as a condition actually and unfortunately unites us. And this is where Lutherans/Christians may differ from others.
Anyone can point a finger at the shooter and Arizona and condemn his individual sins. But Lutherans would say that because of humanity’s sin, as a condition, we are joined to the shooter in Arizona, to the guy that throws trash on the highway, to embezzlers of giant corporations, to the little boy who doesn’t want to share his toys. We are joined to them all not because we necessarily committed those same heinous, individual acts, but because we all share that human sinful condition.
Oh God, is there a force that can overcome us being joined only by our common ground of sinfulness? We cry out like the Apostle Paul, “Is there anyone who can deliver us from this body of death?” “We are in bondage sin and cannot free ourselves. We confess that we have fallen short of the life you desire for us. We choose our priorities over you commandments. We divide the body of Christ. The earth groans under our demands.” Is there anything, anyone who can help us because, we are stuck in the state of sin.
The road to healing must begin with a confession, with an admission of our wrongdoing, which is why our worship begins with confession.
And then an answer: Sisters and brothers in Christ, the answer as Christians, as the ones who boldly point and look to and follow Jesus, the answer is YES! Yes there is a force that is even greater than the force that joins us in sinfulness. With John the Baptist, and all the martyrs and prophets down through the ages, with MLK, with our families and our children, we point together to Jesus. “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the whole world!” Christ is our Light and our strength, our salvation in times of trouble, our love in times of hate. Our peace in times of violence. Our hope in times of despair. Our comfort in times of need. Our forgiveness in this times of sin. Our life even and especially in times of death. Thanks be to God for the Lamb, the One Jesus Christ, who ccomes into this world to take away our sin, to lift us up, to hold us forever in his grace and favor, from this day and for ever more. AMEN. AMEN.
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