Dear Sisters and Brothers,
We residents of Northern California have a pretty good life. The housing is pricey, sure, but that's because so many people want to live here. People want to live here for access to the Pacific Ocean, the Sierras, the Oakland Hills, Wine Country, Big Sur and so many other beautiful places. The weather is amazing and pretty much anything will grow in our gardens. If I had to guess a location for the mythical Garden of Eden, I'd plot it somewhere on the border of Sonoma and Napa Counties. I feel drawn to church on Sundays to praise God for all of these blessings. But sometimes the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer go on and on about sin, suffering, evil and vulnerability. How can I reconcile the bucolic life around me with the fragility of life in the Bible?
My first thought is that if sin, suffering and evil seem irrelevant, you're pretty lucky. Rather than dismissing the concepts as old-fashioned, we should thank God that we haven't experienced them too often. So many of us here in the Bay Area are blessed. Rather than dismissing sin, suffering and evil, we might share our blessings with people who know these things more directly.
My second thought about sin, suffering and evil is that you don't actually have to look very hard to find them. Vladimir Putin may well be the face of evil on earth right now, commanding his armies into corporate sin, and provoking unbelievable suffering in Ukraine. Closer to home, there's rising racism, growing economic inequality, metastasizing homelessness, and just the general meanness in America right now. We may not think we bear responsibility for these things personally but we are enmeshed in a world that enables them.
During this season of Lent we have an invitation to face the challenging parts of human nature, to learn some humility from our individual and collective sins. During Lent 2022, we have a chance to ponder the words of John Bradford: "There, but for the Grace of God, go I."
Peace,
Stephen