Messenger and Message: Overflowing Love and Sin

And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight…- Philippians 1: 9

Love overflowing more and more with knowledge and full insight. Such is Paul’s prayer for us following his words evoking the compassion of Christ Jesus. To be one whose overflowing love could be so described—this is my longing. This is my prayer. But I will need to get beyond a serious barrier—the barrier of sin.

Any faith I have ever claimed has been riddled with doubt but I have never questioned the reality of sin. Mostly sin in other people, of course. But, no, that is not the whole truth. For I have always known guilt, and what is guilt if not the recognition of sin within oneself? A good friend attributes his personal burden to Roman Catholic upbringing—I remind him that my mainline Protestant background had the same effect on me (he continues to try to one-up me on that score but I resist!).

For many of us and for good reasons, sin has a bad name (and I do acknowledge the double meaning of that statement). Without attempting to address the important theological issues, let me simply agree with many of you that the problem with much of our understanding of sin has been focus on the wrong stuff—petty stuff. And the result of this kind of preoccupation has effects beyond unhealthy psychological living. It also keeps us from recognizing the genuine human need to confront our inevitable self-focus and look beyond ourselves to seek the greater good.

While I know personally the weight of trivial guilt, I also confess to many, many self-excuses which often convince me that I am a just-fine, nice and good person who does her best most of the time. I don ’t think I am alone. We understandably want to be comfortable with ourselves and confessing our inadequacy, our sin, is painful. I think it is supposed to be that way. There is a cost to “fessing up.”

You will now not be surprised that one part of the traditional church service that always gives me both challenge and strength is the confession and assurance of pardon, joining with my sisters and brothers in community as we acknowledge our personal and corporate sin and support each other with love that overflows. I do believe, too, that out of this love comes the knowledge and full insight promised by Paul to the Philippians. And God knows we need the insight!

And this is why I need the church. I desperately seek knowledge and insight and, especially, overflowing love to get beyond the limitations of self and to live the compassion of Christ Jesus. Advent is messenger and message. Come Christ Jesus.