On Sin and Such

In my home church, we always prayed the Lord's prayer using "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."  One of our pastors didn't like that translation and decided we should use a different translation.  Of course, change comes slowly for us Methodists - and our secretary was very confused when she got a note in her mailbox explaining that we would "debt" in the month of January, "trespass" in February, and begin "sinning" in march and continue sinning for the rest of the year.

We will continue sinning for the rest of the year.

Our reading today centers around a woman who was well known for her sin.  She was a "woman of the city," our euphemism is "a woman of the night."  And what's funny is that she was known for her sin, but depending on whom you asked - this was something to be celebrated or condemned.  In the tavern, they threw this woman parades for her lifestyle - but in the synagogue she was decried and exiled.

I don't know how much of an introduction you've been given - but my name is Michael Airgood and I'm a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist church. Like this woman, I'm also known by all by my profession - and like this woman, not everyone feels the same way about what I do.

I'm just coming from Annual Conference, and there I am celebrated as a missionary and United Methodist women just want to pinch my cheeks they are so excited to have a young missionary with them.

But in Ukraine, when older women find out that I'm a missionary it could come to fisticuffs.  Their first question is if I'm a Mormon.  I could basically wear a sign in Ukraine that says, "Not a Mormon" and I would still have to explain this many times a week to many different people.  I work with an interconfessional student ministry - Greek Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant young people get to together to worship and serve God to show to the rest of the world that the things that divide us are smaller than the God who unites us.  It's an exciting ministry, and I'm proud to share what our young people are doing in their country.  But obviously, it's a little bit scandalous, and not everyone is so happy about it.

When I'm in the states visiting churches, I like to preach and incorporate some of what God is teaching me in Ukraine.  Our American churches have much to learn from our brothers and sisters around the world.

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When you are famous for your sins, you must repent of your sins.  Growing up in the church, I was always taught that to repent means to turn around and go the opposite direction.  A youth pastor would draw a big U-turn on the board to show us this example.

I have the privilege of working with wise Ukrainian pastors, and our senior pastor is a brilliant young man - each time he reads through the Bible, he reads it in one of the six languages he speaks fluently.  He was reading through the Gospels in Polish, when he brought a unique insight to our community about the nature of sin and repentance.

In Polish, the word in the Bible used for "repent" - well, it means to turn around, but it is the word used for that specific moment when you are going somewhere and you have that deep, urgent sense that you have left the coffee pot turned on.  That you left the iron plugged in.  That you forgot to lock the door.

It is the word used for that inescapable anxiety that until you go back and check to make sure you have done right, you can not move forward.

This is the nature of repentance.  When our pastor leads the communion liturgy, at the "moment of silence for confession of sin" he will often allow silence to reign for 5 or 6 minutes.  It is a wildly uncomfortable moment, sitting together in total silence for far too long as you search your soul to see all that God would have you change.

In our American churches, my Ukrainian co-workers tell me, we don't talk about sin and repentance enough.   And I agree with them.  It's a pity.  As United Methodists, we have a rich and wonderful theology on the topic.  We are a church which believes wholeheartedly in grace and redemption, and we should talk about that.  And we are a church which stands up against sin and calls our members to personal and social holiness and we should talk about that, too.

Our United Methodist church is currently working on remodeling a space to call our own, a student center and church in an apartment that we own.  This will move us toward self sufficiency as we will not be paying monthly rent, and it will help our ministries grow knowing that they will not move from place to place each year.

In Ukraine, bribery and corruption are the order of the day.  Literally nothing can be accomplished without bribery.  As the United Methodist church, we refuse to pay bribes.  It is maddening to work in a system that demands bribery, but it is part of our witness when we smile bashfully and explain that in our religion we just don't believe in doing things that way.  We sit in offices for hours or even days and pray until "the man in charge" decides to change his mind and allow us to do things the legal way without a bribe.  We have a bit of a reputation in the government offices for being a bit crazy - but we have set our foot down and have chosen to follow God's way rather than the comfortable way.

It makes everyone a little bit uncomfortable.  



This woman comes into the party held in the home of a very religious man.  She was not welcome there, but she entered anyway.  And standing behind Jesus who is sitting at the table, she anoints his feet with oil - and seeing that she has brought no towel, she lets down her hair - in a culture where only a very loose woman would ever show her hair to a man, she begins toweling off Jesus' feet with her hair.  

This is beyond awkward.  This is scandalous.  This is Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday Mister President" - and all through this rather awkward event, all eyes are on Jesus.  This woman is well known for her sins, and the theory is - if Jesus is really a prophet, he will know her for her sins as well and call her out for them.

And when Jesus failed to yell at her with righteous indignation, or banish her to be thrown out of the room (or city ... or off with her head, maybe) The pharisees understood that Jesus wasn't who he said he was.  Jesus couldn't even discern who this vile woman was who was wrapping her hair around his feet.

 The pharisees were wrong.  Jesus knew who this woman was.  He knew her sins, he knew her past, he knew every man she had been with ... But Jesus also knew her future.  Jesus knew the hope she had, and Jesus knew the heartfelt honesty in her repentance.

This is the Gospel we believe.  It is scandalous and it is radical.  It is that one day we will be driving along like nothing is wrong, and deep in our core we will sense that something is wrong. We will have a "Did I leave the coffee pot on?"  moment.  Have I lived my whole life just to have a retirement account?  Can I really shop at a store that uses essentially slave labor abroad and destroys local economies here? Do I love my sin more than my God? We believe that God will convict us of our sin, that God will call us into uncomfortable new places.  Like this woman and the other women mentioned at the end of today's reading.  God will call us out of our sin, and into a lifetime of following God.  It will be scary and scandalous, but it will be the most wonderful gift you can receive.

Did you leave the coffee pot on this morning?

Go forth from this place, with the full knowledge that God loves you just the way you are, but loves you too much to let you stay that way.

Amen.