Sermon: ”On Thinking Ourselves “All That” by Rev. Will Burhans on 10/23/22

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14

Preacher: Rev. Will Burhans

Date: October 23, 2022

 

            The youth and I down a couple Sunday nights ago talked about the 7 Deadly Sins. I thought that would be a nice light conversation to have with them after playing silly games in Chidley Hall.  I was curious to see how much they knew, if Generation Z as they are known, knew anything of the 7 Deadly Sins, this list created by the desert fathers and mothers of the 4th century.  So I divided them into two groups and had them guess what the list would be, thinking they’d guess at a few but likely wouldn’t know the whole list. Well, they got ‘em hands down with some debate about which words but ultimately very little trouble. All 7 of them – Greed, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Wrath and Envy. I asked how they knew and they said it’s something still in popular culture and one of them said they watched the movie Seven, which is a gruesome movie made in 1995 where a killer uses the 7 deadly sins to motivate his killings.

            That movie notwithstanding, it’s heartening in an odd way to know that the 7 deadly sins still remain a concept in the minds and imagination of a new generation cause the list really does a remarkable job of capturing the fallen nature of humanity. All these years later, some 1700 years, Greed, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Wrath, and Envy run amok in our world. Not so sure they’ve dissipated all that much.   I’d like to believe that maybe the virtues – generosity, temperance, humility, right action, purity, contentment, peacefulness – have increased in the world?  Do you think? I guess it’d be matter of perspective.

            The desert fathers and mothers spoke of 2 of the 7 Deadly sins as having a special place as the root of the other sins. The deadliest sin – Pride. And the other deadliest of the deadlies – Sloth. Why sloth? Don’t think laziness in work, think apathy, an “eh it’s not worth my effort to care” attitude and then you can imagine why sloth.  Sloth refuses to address and so enables the run amok nature of all the others.