The Beauty of Sinful Humanity

How the Concept of Sin Helps and Harms Us, Part 2

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For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

Romans 3:22b-23

When I joined the Presbyterian Church in the late 1990s, it was the first time I ever experienced liturgy. Near the beginning of every service we would engage in a corporate confession of sin.

One version goes like this:

Eternal God, jour judge and redeemer,
we confess that we have tried to hide from you,
for we have done wrong.
We have lived for ourselves,
and apart from you.
We have turned from our neighbors,
and refused to bear the burdens of others.
We have ignored the pain of the world,
and passed by the hungry, the poor, and the oppressed.

In your great mercy forgive our sins
and free us from selfishness,
that we may choose your will
and obey your commandments;
through Jesus Christ our Savior.

Every time I recited the confession with the rest of the community it reminded me of my shortcomings. It reminded me of how I did indeed pass by those in need because I had better things to do than help them. It reminded me of the extent to which I was more focused on Me-Me-Me than those around me. With every reading, I became more aware of who I was and wasn't, even though I tried to tell myself otherwise. 

The key to understanding the significance of the corporate confession of sin is in realizing it's not just about what you have or have not done. It's about the universality of the reality of sin that doesn't just permeate our lives, but our very existence. As I noted last week, sin isn't just this individual thing that we do, but a deeper part of the human condition that we cannot shake. 

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Social survival

If I were to sit down with you and say, “So, tell me about those skeletons you have hidden in your closet”, I have a sneaking suspicion you would decline. But why? 

Simple: It's not safe. 

If someone has access to your secrets, they can expose you. You will face the judgment of your peers. Social consequences can disrupt your life.

The consequences of judgment are real. The reason we protect ourselves from being known by others is social survival. 

So we learn how to wear masks that present a version of ourselves that will be accepted socially. We portray ourselves as being on top of things and having it all together. We suppress parts of ourselves that are socially counterproductive. We take those parts of ourselves that we don't like and bury them in the shadowed corners of our lives so we can pretend they don't exist. 

At the end of the day, we forgotten what it means to be an authentic human being. Perhaps even more than forgetting, we’re afraid of certain parts of ourselves because if they emerged they could cause us problems.

I think Celtic Christianity's biggest appeal to me is the way it emphasizes becoming comfortable in your own skin. It emphasizes the importance of embracing who you are so you can become an authentic human being. 

A major part of this is recognizing that you are going to fail, screw things up, do things you regret, fall apart at the worst possible time, etc. Why? Because you're human. 

Truth be told, you're a mess. 

Whether you like it or not, you are not the untarnished mask that you wear to to gain the approval of others, no matter how hard you try to convince others (and yourself) otherwise.

And it's important that you come to terms with this. It's important that you learn to accept yourself just as you are.

Becoming comfortable being human

Right now, I'm 55 years old. The greatest treasure I have attained during my becoming is the growing awareness of what it means to be human. Once you become aware—deeply aware—of your humanity, you experience a form of liberation. 

You are liberated from the need to…

• be right 

• succeed

• have answers

• know what your next step is 

• be liked by everybody 

• feel complete

Self-awareness and self-acceptance change everything. 

So, if you ever feel like a failure as a human being, you're not. You're just a human being, and feeling like a failure is part of it. 

Let that sink in…really sink in.

There is immense comfort in knowing that.