Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” John 6:63
Thought for the Day: The Truth about Original Sin and Its Indelibility
If you have had a child it makes it easier to begin to understand something called original sin. When children are born they are helplessly dependent on you. They are innocent in that they are not responsible for their actions. When they cry, when they push something out of the way, when they spit up, there is nothing wrong in this infantile behavior. But as children grow up and mature, infantile behavior needs to change.
As parents we begin to teach our children right and wrong behaviors, encouraging them to grow, make their own decisions, and begin to become independent. We teach them to say mommy and daddy when they want our attention so we don’t always have to focus our attention on them. Yet we encounter resistance. We encounter children who do not like that they are not the center of the universe. If this bent to be the center of all things is not challenged and straightened out during the formative years of early childhood (and during other stages and over years of parenting), we get what we call spoiled children. We get children that other children don’t want to be around and children other adults do not like as well. You probably see them every day. And if this natural bent continues, these children become adults to whom we give the title selfish _________ (you fill in the blank) or narcissistic __________ (again, you fill in the blank).
What we have are people who are full of themselves. How boring other people are when all they think about is themselves! These people are some of the most difficult to live with in society. They tend to become murders, adulterers, child abusers, and bores. They encounter one failed relationship after another and find it difficult to work with other people. They insist on their own way, finding it difficult to share, difficult to serve, difficult to suffer because all of these things cost their self-centered behavior. If we are honest with ourselves, we all fit into this category to some degree. This bent toward self seems to be something with which we are born.
Saint Augustine named this condition original sin. Original sin is a basic Christian concept. A classic statement of original sin is found in Article 9 of the Thirty-Nine Anglican Articles of Religion. Listen to its striking description of the human condition:
Original Sin . . . is the fault and corruption of the Nature of every man [person], . . . whereby man [humanity] is very far gone from original righteousness [goodness], and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the Spirit; and therefore in every person born into this world, it [original sin] deserveth God’s wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature doth remain, yea in them that are regenerated [born again].
The first thing this definition tells us is that we are sinful from birth. We are born with sin, infected with it, and in conflict with it from day one. How is this helpful? It is helpful when we realize first that we’re not always as good as we know we can be, and second when we see that other people are not as good as they should be. It helps us better understand the stupid and horrific things we and others do.
The second thing we discover in this definition of original sin is that people who call themselves Christians and their mother, the Church, are still infected. The Universal Church, full of sinners, has done, does, and will do stupid and horrific things. This means the Church and individual Christians cannot go around blaming their sins on someone else when we understand the origin of evil to be within our very nature. We can’t be flip and say, The devil made me do it! We must deal with the reality that all Christians battle the passions of the flesh and must rely on the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit to overcome.
Self-examination, repentance, prayer, and worship:
Before you pray, take some time to reflect on your faith. Perhaps there are areas of doubt that are bothering you. Speak honestly to the Lord about these doubts and ask him to increase your faith by strengthening you with his truth, and then pray a prayer like the following:
O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, guiding us into all truth, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord,. Amen.
Spend further time in prayer and worship before studying the Gospel of John below.
Study: John 10:1-21, I Am the Good Shepherd
1"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." 6This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father."
19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20Many of them said, "He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?" 21Others said, "These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
Reflection Questions:
1) When Jesus says that the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep, he is talking about his own death. Why would Jesus choose to die?
2) Who are the other sheep Jesus talks about? How should we care for the other sheep?
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