In our day to day lives, we are often put in situations where we have to deal with the failings of others within our families, our friendships, and even our communities. So how do we deal with those situations? How am I expected to act as a Christian when faced with the sins of another? Let's discuss all of this together.
Welcome to answers from an apostolic faith.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.
So how are we supposed to deal with the sins of others? What should be the Christian response to another person’s trespass or failing? My beloved, this might seem like an easy question to answer and some might simply answer: God is love and so we ought to love one another. Or some would say: We ought to forgive as God has forgiven us. And while this may be true, I would like to argue that it’s only seemingly easy in theory, because at the practical level of our daily lives, we really are no good at all in dealing with one another when we sin. Let me paint a picture for you. Let's imagine a few scenarios and see what we think would actually happen in our communities today.
Scenario #1. Imagine, if you wish, a man and a woman in the church community who are seeing each other and they announce that the woman is suddenly pregnant and with child even though they are not married. How do we react? Do we come together and support the young couple? Do we show them love and encourage them to take the right step to marry and to form a family or do we shun them? Do we talk about them? Do we suggest that they be removed from the service so as to set an example to others that this behaviour is unacceptable? Please, let's be honest. What are we most likely to be tempted to do with one another?
Let me give you a second scenario. A young man in the church is arrested for committing a crime of some sorts and everyone becomes aware. And while the situation is scandalous and his reputation seems to be completely tarnished, the young man makes an appearance at church. What do we do? Are we welcoming him with open arms? Do we encourage him and say that we are so happy to have him back among us in the church? Or do we talk about him behind his back and wonder if he actually changed his ways? Do we maybe warn others about him and tell them to keep a safe distance from him?
My beloved, I ask these questions, because all too often we fail at being Christ-like, although we are Christians, we are little christs. And while there is no denying that these situations are complex and require wisdom and discernment, we can all agree that we could all together learn to be more Christ-like when dealing with such difficult circumstances.
There is a story in the paradise of the desert fathers that I am reminded of that I believe sets the standard for how we ought to deal with one another. It involves Abba Ammonas, the disciple of St. Anthony who was also a bishop. He went to go visit a monastery in the wilderness of Egypt where one brother was found there who had a very bad reputation. And rumour had it that this same brother had a woman in his cell that he was sinning with. And when the other brothers found out, they decided to confront him, to catch him with the woman in his cell and to potentially even kick him out of the monastery.
And so the brothers informed Abba Ammonas and they requested that he joined them as they confronted the sinful brother. And when that same brother heard that they were coming for him, he hid the woman underneath a large barrel or a cask in hope that they would not find her. So let's go ahead and read together exactly what happens next:
''The crowd of [the] monks came to [that] place. [And] now Abba Ammonas saw the position [of the woman] clearly but for the sake of God he kept the secret; he entered, seated himself on the cask and commanded the cell to be searched. [And] then when the monks had searched everywhere without finding the woman, Abba Ammonas said, 'What is this? May God forgive you!' [And] after praying, he made everyone go out, [and] then taking the brother by the hand he said, 'Brother, be on... guard.' [And] with these words, he withdrew.'' (The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Ammonas:10)
My beloved, there is such a great lesson to learn from this story. While Abba Ammonas knew very well what had happened, he opted to cover the sin of his brother the monk. While he witnessed the evil committed by the monk and knew firsthand that the woman was indeed there, he foresaw a greater evil: the loss of a brother. A brother that Christ our Lord died to save would be cast out. And so he urged him to repent through the guarding of his soul. He addresses the person without guilting or shaming him. He did not even lecture him on what is acceptable or unacceptable for a monk, no! Instead, he covered his brother's sin and encouraged his repentance.
My beloved, we need to remember that in the Thanksgiving Prayer of the Coptic Orthodox Church, every single one of us, all of the believers, we come together and we say the following:
''Let us give thanks unto the Beneficent and Merciful God, the Father of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ. For He has covered us, helped us, guarded us, accepted us to Himself, spared us, supported us and has brought us unto this hour.'' (The Thanksgiving Prayer)
Notice how we give thanks to God for He has covered us. Imagine, if you wish, that the Lord would remove His grace from us and we would be left uncovered and exposed. All that I do in hiding is now suddenly openly declared for all to see. What then? What would become of me? We also give thanks because the Lord spares us. He does not throw us to the wolves, as the saying goes, no. The Lord sets the standard of how we ought to treat one another.
Truly Abba Ammonas understood this and so he covered his brother and spared him, just as the Lord did for him.
One last example for us to consider is how the Lord reacted to the sinner woman who was thrown at his feet in John, chapter 8, after she was caught in adultery. The scribes and the Pharisees, they asked the Lord to judge. And here our Lord sets a new standard of what ought to be done when dealing with another's sin. Let's take a look at what the text tells us:
'' 4 ...they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6 [And] this they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. 7 [And] so when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 [And] then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 [And] when Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 [And] she said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:4-11)
Now, let's not be confused here, dear brothers and sisters. This isn't the Lord letting her get away or Him turning a blind eye to what has been done. Not at all. However, the Lord is more preoccupied with saving the person, in this case, the adulterous woman who is of much greater value than the condemning letter of the law. You see, God's sense of justice is different than ours. The world erroneously believes that justice is some sort of legal penal system where bad people get what's coming to them in order to learn some sort of lesson. That's not at all our understanding of the Word.
For the Christian, justice is when wrong is made right, when a person is redeemed or realigned, literally justified. And so this is what He offers the sinner woman. He redeems her and offers her back her dignity. He realigns her to His will through this process and she is justified by Him. And to be clear, He clearly says: neither do I condemn you, but sin no more. The calling to repentance and to a godly life is always there.
My beloved, through these examples, we ought to remember three key things when dealing with others and their sins:
#1...As we ask the Lord to cover us, we ought to cover each other;
#2...Our focus needs to be on the redemption of the person who is of greatest importance to God; and
#3...While we call everyone to repentance, love is always what justifies us, not some legal or penal ideology. And if we keep this in front of us as our standard, then we will be worthy of being called Christians and the world and all who are slaves to sin will be able to see the redeeming love of Christ in us.
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