-
Contact Info
- Office Hours
- M-Th 9-12, 1-3
- Closed Friday
- Telephone
- (503)640-1775
- Address
- 168 NE 8th
- Hillsboro, OR 97124
- Directions
-
Email
- General Info
- Office
- Spire
- Webmaster
- Gwen Drake
- Pastor
- Sandra Hunter
- Director of Family
- Ministries
- Lefty Schultz
- Visitation Pastor
- Laura Lillegard
- Office Manager
- John Hiestand
- Music Minister
- Youth E-mail
- Youth Ministry
- Oregon-Idaho UMC
- Main UMC Website
- Boy Scout Tr #240
Sermon - June 10th, 2007
The Second Sin
Rev. Gwen Drake
Scripture: Genesis 3:1-13
The second sin. I know you been wondering about it, haven't you? Hmmm.. what's the second sin? Before I give you the answer, let's review the circumstances of the first sin, since that's where it all began.
Adam and Eve, we call them, even though they aren't called that until later, they were living in the perfect, harmonious setting, a place so ideal that they called it Eden--which means paradise. In Eden they had everything and anything they could possibly need. They even had the one thing that was off limits. The fruit of that one tree with the long name--the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
One day a visitor, the serpent, struck up a conversation with Eve. We can only imagine why this creature didn't talk to Adam. The serpent ignored Adam and spoke only to Eve. Eve did the talking. The serpent raised in Eve's mind a question about the goodness of God: Why would God refuse her and Adam the privilege of everything in Eden, especially the one thing that is obviously the most desirable thing there? Why else would it be off limits? And then, the serpent made an accusation: God refused Adam and Eve this particular fruit because God knew that they would become equal to the Divine if they ate it.
The serpent convinced Eve, she ate. And being so generous of a creature by her nature, she shared. She shared what was forbidden with Adam, and, of course, he ate. That was the first sin.
The story isn't very satisfying, really. What it does is trigger our curiosity. What, exactly was that first sin? It doesn't say, exactly. The Bible does not say the words: the first sin of humankind was...
Instead, the Bible, in its profound wisdom, portrays the first sin in entirely symbolic language. In other words, the storyteller gives us a picture. The first sin looked like this--eating the forbidden fruit. The rule was stated, the crafty serpent made its entrance, Eve was persuaded, maybe even tricked to break the rule. Eve then shared with Adam.
Now the first sin is significant because it was the first. But the second sin may, in fact, be more important--because we will never recover from the first sin as long as we are guilty of the second. The scriptures and human experience both testify that God has provided a remedy for the first sin, no matter what it is. But the second sin can render God's remedy ineffective. One might even say that the second sin is the unpardonable sin. And yet, we don't hear anything about a second sin, do we? In fact, tradition doesn't call it the first sin; tradition calls it original sin. And if you haven't figured out what the second sin is by now, maybe you are sitting on the edge of your pew. So, let's look at the story of the first sin again.
After Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit, they became ashamed of their lack of clothing. They became uneasy about the presence of God. So when God did the usual evening stroll in the garden, Adam and Eve tried to hide. Maybe they knew it was impossible to hide form God, but sin makes us humans do things that don't make much sense. Sin is never very smart; not even when it is dressed up in sophistication. They hid, and heard God say, "Why are you hiding?"
Finally, Adam said something, "I heard you coming and didn't want you to see me naked. So, I hid."
But God knew. "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten fruit from the tree I warned you about?"
Adam answered, "Yes, BUT...it was the woman you gave me who brought me the fruit, and I ate it."
Then Eve spoke up, "The serpent tricked me."
That was the second sin. It is even worse than the first, because it prevents our recovering from the first. The second sin is the sin of excuses, or the sin of blame. It is the sin of being unwilling to admit that we are responsible, we are wrong, we made a mistake. It is the sin of refusing to see ourselves for what we really are. Whatever our original sin may be, whether it is lying, cheating, ill temper, gluttony, gossip, murder, greed, envy, there is always hope for us. But, when we become guilty of the second sin, the sin of excusing ourselves, of being unwilling to face ourselves, of blaming what is outside of us, we close the door against God and hope and forgiveness.
A second century rabbi said, "Like an architect, the Holy One modeled the world, and it would not stand until [the Holy One] created repentance." The world does, indeed, stand or fall with our readiness to repent. This is true of nations, institutions, you and me. The prophets called it the judgment of God, but it is written in the very nature of the universe. Either we face ourselves and repent, or our world eventually falls.
The rule applies to institutions. Fiorello La Guardia, whose name has been taken by both an airport and a musical, was the flamboyant but effective mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1945. He was an institution. But he made mistakes. He acknowledged his mistakes. He noted that he didn't make many and said, "But when I do, it's a beaut!" His voters laughed with him, because he knew enough to admit when he was wrong.
Mistakes don't destroy us. Sin doesn't destroy us. What destroys us is our inability to face ourselves and confess that we have been wrong. If a baseball player can't catch the ball, there is little hope for him if he insists on excusing his errors: the sun got in my eyes, the grass was wet, I thought the center fielder was going to catch it. So it is in real life. Those who make the most of the school we call life are not necessarily those with the highest IQ. The secret is to be teachable; and to be repentant. As long as we excuse our failure to learn, we frustrate the learning process.
Then, we have the issue of our souls, our very essence. Some of history's most extraordinary human beings have been marked by major sins and mistakes, yet they have come to greatness because of their capacity for acknowledging their failures. They are great, in some instances, not in spite of their sins, but because of them. Character grows out of the soil of our lives like a tender plant. If we repent of our sins, repentance breaks up the soil of life so that the plant will get a new and stronger start. But if we excuse our failures, the soil of our life hardens until the plant of character simply cannot survive.
Unfortunately, we have become experts at hiding from the knowledge of what we are! Adam and Eve set the pattern for us, and we have been refining and perfecting it ever since. When God asked Adam if he had eaten from the forbidden tree, he had the opportunity to step forward and confess what he had done. Instead, he answered, "Yes, BUT...it was the woman, THAT woman."
And then the woman, who also had a perfect opportunity to show up the man, but I regret to say, did not. Male or female, we have this in common--we are more than ready to excuse ourselves. So, the next time someone points out to you that the woman committed the first sin first, you now can tell them, true, but the man led the way on the second. In both cases, the other was all too willing to follow. When Eve saw the blame heading her way, she quickly said, "The serpent tricked me." Some of you probably remember when comedian Flip Wilson's character Geraldine would excuse all her failures with, "The devil made me do it."
I'm not finished with Adam yet! His excuse doesn't stop with shifting the blame to Eve. He complains to God, "It was the woman YOU gave me." I don't know how you hear that but it sounds like to me, that Adam was saying it was God's fault for giving him such a lovely creature who led him astray--the one whom Adam declared was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. If only God had not given the woman to the man, none of this would have happened! And we have been talking to God that way ever since. "I can't help myself." "It's in my genes." "It's my lack of talent. If only God had given me some talent."
Some even blame the stars. Such a response is hardly new. Shakespeare had Cassius say: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves...." (Julius Caesar)
Today, our advanced knowledge has given us many more new ways to excuse ourselves. It has given us experts and specialists with more sophisticated excuses. We can easily find something to blame, some excuse for what we are lacking in ourselves, for what we are afraid of in ourselves. And as long as we do that we never truly find and accept ourselves. But the ultimate tragedy of the second sin is that it prevents us from finding God. Excuses can keep us from accepting an invitation to a heavenly banquet; excuses block the way to the Kingdom of God. God is shut out of the life that covers over its failures with a hard surface of excuses. Because, then God never has the opportunity to forgive, to reconcile, to wipe the slate clean.
When Adam and Eve sinned, a great mercy came into their lives. God called to them, "Where are you?" When we are trying to run from ourselves and from God and from life, that call doesn't sound merciful at first. In his epic poem, "The Hound of Heaven," Francis Thompson describes God as one whom we flee "down the vistas of the years." But kindly and persistently, God pursues us, hounds us, follows after us.
What do we do? Do we hide in the basements of life? Do we say, "My neighbor is responsible." "The system is bad." Or do we say, "I made a mistake, I am responsible. Please forgive me."
Whatever sin or weakness or inadequacy affects or afflicts us, there is only one thing that can prevent our getting well. Only one thing keeps us from being whole. Only one! It is the second sin. Excuses! Excuses are our unwillingness to confess that we need help.
God will help us. Others will support us. But only if we take responsibility for our part. Only if we open the door to relationship. Only if we tell the bold-faced truth.
Whatever we do with our lives, whatever course we follow, let us be sure that we don't die making excuses!
Amen.