Something you do not know about me is that I once managed a
band. Before you get too excited, I need to tell you that I only managed to
book one gig for them. In case you were wondering, I was able to secure a venue
at St. Thomas Cabin at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, Alabama. The group was
particularly well known for covering the song “Jesus is Just Alright with Me”
by the Doobie Brothers.
Anyway, the
name of the band was inspired by an Arts and Crafts project constructed by an
elementary school camper. The program for the day related to Noah’s Ark. For
whatever reason, the boy only had a black marker to work with. So, he drew the
rainbow that God set in the sky with black marker, and he titled his work,
“Painbow.” We couldn’t let this stroke of genius go to waste. We named the band
“Rainbow."
 |
| Painbow circa 2006 |
Now, why am
I telling you this? It’s a stretch, but I was reminded of the band “Painbow”
because I was surprised to learn in this week’s biblical commentary that in
ancient times a rainbow actually represented Divine wrath. Before Noah’s Ark, a
rainbow didn’t inspire hope and beauty. Instead, a rainbow reflected God’s
anger. You might call it a painbow.
As
Christians, we are formed in a faith that finds salvation in Divine wrath and
Divine mercy. Some Christians focus more on the wrath while others focus more
on the mercy. I bet you can guess what we as Episcopalians focus more on.
We as Episcopalians don’t talk a
lot about Divine wrath and judgement, except when we start talking about
changing the wording of the Book of Common Prayer or when the priest shifts
from Rite II language to Rite I language. But I am convinced that if we do not
comprehend the weight of God’s wrath, we will never learn the gravity of God’s
mercy.
Between the
Great Litany and the Rite I Eucharistic Prayer, we get a heavy dose of both
God’s wrath and God’s mercy. For every sobering word of judgment, our liturgy
comforts us with an even more profound word on grace. For example, look at the
placement of the Comfortable Words. After we bewail our manifold sins, we are
nourished by scriptures that say stuff like, Christ came into the world to save
sinners; For God so loved the world…
The reason
I like to use Rite I liturgy during Lent has nothing to do with my love of
Elizabethan English – well, maybe just a little bit. And while I don’t
necessarily see Rite I as more penitential in nature than Rite II, I believe
Rite I articulates the destructive forces of human sin in a way that wakes us
up to the truth that we are a people who need mercy, who need a Savior.
I believe Rite I language creates a
longing in our hearts to hear the good news of the salvation revealed in God’s
Son. Rite I helps us acknowledge sin in a way that inspires repentance and
amendment of life instead of ways that promote paralyzing shame.
This is
good news because we live in a culture that is paralyzed by shame and fear, and
we hardly know it. And for this reason, we live in a culture that has a hard
time knowing what to do with sin – to say the least.
Generally
speaking, we respond in one of two ways – neither of which allow much room for
mercy. Our country is currently experiencing the first way. Instead of taking
ownership of the sin as a group, we accuse the other side of being more
complicit. Even worse, we have left zero room for nuance. You are either for us
or against us – the middle ground has eroded away.
I wonder, when will we learn that polarization
hasn’t solved a problem yet? When will we learn that polarization breads self-righteousness
and bitterness? When will we learn that polarization makes constructive
dialogue impossible, makes resolution impossible?
How many times must we see Jesus die
because of our blindness before we seek true repentance and amendment of life? How
many times must we see Jesus die because of our pettiness before we recognize
in the other our common humanity? How many times must we see Jesus die because
of our pride before we seek justice and walk humbly before our God? As the poem
from Tobit suggests, “Grant that we might find mercy and grow together.”
Secondly,
our culture tends to diminish the destructive nature of sin especially in those
who are on our side. We still live in an “I’m okay, you’re okay” culture. We
would rather preserve our relationship with the other than risk someone getting
upset with us for pointing out their transgression. In many ways, we are a
culture of enablers.
I’ve quoted
to you before that nothing is more cruel than the leniency that abandons
another to their sin while nothing is more loving than the reprimand that calls
the sinner back to the community of faith.
This nugget from Bonhoeffer is what Lent is all about. Lent is about
confronting sin in such a way where it calls the faithful back to God through
the grace given in Christ Jesus.
Our Ash Wednesday liturgy reminded
us that Lent used to be a time where notorious sinners were called back to the
community of faith through the process of penitence and forgiveness. Now,
imagine what that might look like today. Imagine the Rector going through the parish
directory checking off the names of notorious sinners in the congregation.
In the end, it doesn’t matter if you
are a notorious sinner or your average every-day sinner, our sinful nature is a
part of what makes us human. I don’t know why we sin like we do, but I do know that
our sinfulness doesn’t make us any less lovable in the eyes of God.
In fact, God is more interested in
loving your sinful parts than your righteous parts because God wants to make
you whole. God wants to redeem and transform your whole person. So, during this
Lenten season, go ahead and get used to the fact that God loves the part of you
that you don’t even let yourself get in touch with. God loves the part of the
other that you are repulsed by.
To help you get used to loving the
sinful part of human nature you might consider taking a page out of Nadia-Boltz
Weber’s playbook. She will sometimes greet a friend by saying, “Hello, sinner.”
For her, it is a term of endearment. For her, it communicates that she loves
everything about her friend – even their sinful nature. Notice I didn’t say
tolerate the sinful parts but love the sinful parts.
Fellow sinners in Christ, may this
holy season of Lent help you get in touch with sin in healthy ways, in ways
that are honest, in ways that are kind, in ways that are hopeful. May this holy
season of Lent help you see sin as an opportunity to seek true repentance and
amendment of life. May this holy season of Lent help you feel and know deep in
your being that God is loving you, especially the parts you find unlovable,
back to life again through the mercy of Jesus Christ – the One who was tempted
in every way we are except without sin. Amen.
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