Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! – 2 Corinthians 5:17
Several years ago they made a movie series based on an early nineteenth century powerful public figure. He was an influential person in Atlantic City and among republicans. In one episode, when he was ashamed in front of his only close friend, he said, everyone in life picks up the amount of sin that he or she is fit to carry. As a Christian and as a pastor, I was struck by the weight of this statement, which might seem true in many cases in an intricate manner. Yes, we make choices in life and not always good ones. Yes, we have the power to control certain things that is required of us by God. Yes, we have the means to decide how much we give, how much we love, how much we forgive, how do we want to resist sinful desires, even to demand from our own self to trust someone and God wholeheartedly. However, there is the sin of this world that sits on our shoulders as an invisible backpack filled with stones. Many times it seems that we are hopeless victims of systematic injustice all around us, such as corruption, greed and drugs that impacts our lives. The everyday presence of adverse childhood experiences, like a disease influence adults to hide their hurts and pains from traumatic childhood events of insults, humiliation, lies, separation and abuse. These are part of the dirty laundry of communities where we become shackled to the normalcy of sins. These are iniquities that nobody wants to deal with. People are ashamed and try to be tough not realizing that they are reproducing the ghostlike sin. Let us turn to God and praise his holy name for the gift of salvation and to the company of his messengers around us in our sacred church family. May we reborn through faith and find new meaning in the life that we share together.
Several years ago they made a movie series based on an early nineteenth century powerful public figure. He was an influential person in Atlantic City and among republicans. In one episode, when he was ashamed in front of his only close friend, he said, everyone in life picks up the amount of sin that he or she is fit to carry. As a Christian and as a pastor, I was struck by the weight of this statement, which might seem true in many cases in an intricate manner. Yes, we make choices in life and not always good ones. Yes, we have the power to control certain things that is required of us by God. Yes, we have the means to decide how much we give, how much we love, how much we forgive, how do we want to resist sinful desires, even to demand from our own self to trust someone and God wholeheartedly. However, there is the sin of this world that sits on our shoulders as an invisible backpack filled with stones. Many times it seems that we are hopeless victims of systematic injustice all around us, such as corruption, greed and drugs that impacts our lives. The everyday presence of adverse childhood experiences, like a disease influence adults to hide their hurts and pains from traumatic childhood events of insults, humiliation, lies, separation and abuse. These are part of the dirty laundry of communities where we become shackled to the normalcy of sins. These are iniquities that nobody wants to deal with. People are ashamed and try to be tough not realizing that they are reproducing the ghostlike sin. Let us turn to God and praise his holy name for the gift of salvation and to the company of his messengers around us in our sacred church family. May we reborn through faith and find new meaning in the life that we share together.
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