“Any ideas?”
Silence.
“Though it does not tell us, I believe Jesus was writing one sin after another. A secret sin in each of these men’s life that they believed no one could possibly know. The fear of having their own sin exposed sent them running.
“The point here is not the sin of adultery, or any specific sin, it’s the fact that we’ve all sinned. In other words, congregation, how would you like your worst sin made public? I want you to stop and actually think about that. What if I asked you, John, or you, Heather, or you, Linda,” he pointed out into the congregation, “to come up here right now and confess a sin only God knows, which of course I will not—but how would you feel?”
Stillness filled the room. Matt looked around in astonishment. These people were visibly affected. Some squirmed, some shifted, while others had tears sliding down their cheeks. Most just looked down, making no eye contact with the pastor.
“We’re all in need of our Savior daily. We’ve all failed. We’ll never be free of sin until we walk into glory, but what we do have is enough. As Jesus said, ‘go and sin no more,’ with no condemnation, He lived out an example for us to emulate. We must offer forgiveness and encourage a sin-free life by being there for each other in times of weakness.”
He paused with a catch in his voice. “I’m unwilling to allow this morning to be just another sermon and you tune me out. I need you to hear and follow with action.
“Love and forgiveness are two of the most important qualities we have as Christians to give to one another. The world will only be drawn to Jesus through our love. Can we do this family? Can we love unconditionally?
“Let’s end with the Lord’s Prayer, but before we begin,” he cautioned, “I want each of you to think through each word as you pray. Don’t recite it by memory. Pray it with your heart. Pay special attention to the instruction on forgiveness.”
Matt bit back the tremble to his lips but couldn’t contain the tears that snaked their way to the cleft of his chin. Never had he heard anything so beautiful in all his life as those powerful words prayed in unison. The congregation filled the rafters with voices full of passion. He brushed the tears free as amens rose to the heavens in agreement.
Pastor Harry signaled Anna and his wife to come up. “Now, congregation, Anna has something to bring into the light. With help from the Spirit and support from both Eleanor and myself, she’s going to face her darkest secret with courage and share it with you. My hope and prayer are that you’ll put yourself in her shoes and think about what it would feel like to come up here and share your darkest deed. And then I want you to do as you just prayed—forgive as you have been forgiven.”
Matt noticed how Pastor Harry protectively stood on one side and Eleanor on the other. They put their arms around her as she began.
Matt listened to her story, told with a humble brokenness and a plea for forgiveness in a way that broke his heart. Unbidden tears threatened to fall yet again.
He paid attention to the faces of those around him. There was genuine shock, but there was also a good number who bore the face of compassion.
He was glad to see people gather around her up front and hug her. However, it did not escape his notice that her sister sat in her seat with a fierce, unrelenting jut to her chin. He slipped from the pew and exited.
Lorena felt nothing but relief to hear about her Auntie Anna’s failure. Her tortured soul found comfort in the fact that at least someone in her family was real. She was so tired of her stuffy parents and their friends who thought themselves perfect. In fact, Lorena felt repelled by their hypocrisy. How often she would hear her mom gossip about this one or that, or speak judgmentally as if she had no sin herself.
Her younger brother Todd fit right in. His mild-tempered personality that would do anything that Mommy or Daddy said irritated her to no end. He certainly didn’t get the wilder side of sixteen-year-old Lorena, and she found his tattletale ways beyond annoying.
Lorena was angered by the public display the church had made of her Aunt Anna. She watched the faces of the people around her, their shocked expressions, as if they’d never sinned. As far as Lorena was concerned, it was none of their stinkin’ business. She’d never understand why her Aunt allowed them to force her into such a degrading situation.
When she voiced her opinion on the way home from church, she was met with cold disapproval.
“Your Auntie Anna deserves every bit of the shame she felt today and more. How do you think we felt having to endure the public scrutiny of such disgrace within our family? I’m sure my friends think I knew about this all along, and it’ll take some real talking to convince them otherwise.”
Lorena watched her dad still the tirade with a hand upon her mom’s knee and a knowing look.
“It’s easier for you, Tom, she’s not your twin.” Her mother huffed and shifted her body toward the window to create a wall between them.
Lorena couldn’t contain herself. “Why is it always about you, Mom? Can’t you for one-minute think about what poor Aunt Anna is going through?”
Her mom’s head swiveled around to the back seat, and her eyes bulged wide. It reminded Lorena of the screech owl they had studied in school. She smirked at the shocked, angry look her mother gave her.
“What did you say to me, young lady?”
Lorena hated that title, young lady. She was only called a young lady when punishment was doled out. The rest of the time she was
