Rerouting...
Matthew 18: 15-20 New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE September 6, 2026 Photo of a yellow traffic sign in the shape of square resting on one of its corners. In the middle of the sign is a black arrow in the shape of a U-turn. Background is blue sky fading into pale lavender clouds. So let’s get this out of the way. Like a lot of theological language, that word “sin” carries a lot of unnecessary baggage with it, depending on what brand of Christianity we were steeped in. Images of firebrand preachers and comedians poking fun with cries of “Sinner, repent!” both inflate and reduce the meaning of the word, rendering it meaningless, which I suppose is the whole idea. We connect the word with shame and guilt, both of which tell us that we are bad people, which is not what sin means, and so in an effort to be free people, we reject the word entirely. A convenient, all-too-human way to avoid correcting behavior akin to denial. Properly translated, the Greek word for sin...
