Hello, fellow pilgrims. As we prepare to embark upon the throughline of our Camino together—stewardship—I once again would like to look at a reading from Track 2 of our lectionary. I mentioned last week that we use the readings from Track 1 during our Sunday services. So, we miss the scripture offered in Track 2 unless we intentionally seek to read and reflect upon it outside of services. In Track 3 this week, our lectionary offers us verses from the prophet Ezekiel. Through these verses, Ezekiel professes God’s love for every single human being and prophesies the damage of our transgressions upon ourselves and upon others. In doing so, he uses a word that we hear often but may not be able to define. That word is iniquity (in-ICK-wi-tee). In short, iniquity is injustice, unethicalness, moral wrongdoing. Anything that is done that goes against the two most important commands from our God—1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and 2) Love your neighbor as yourself. If these two commandments were followed, iniquity would be defeated. Everyone would have enough. No one would go hungry or homeless. War and terror would be shunned. Grace, Love, and Harmony would prevail. All of Creation would be recognized as a gift to be praised and celebrated and enjoyed by every creature, with every creature, for every creature.
By hurting one another, we are not good stewards of one another, and we hurt God. God created every one of us and loves us as beloved children, only wanting the very best for us. Why shouldn’t we want the same for one another?
Yet, both scripture and contemporary life expose our transgressions against this world, against God, and against each other. They expose our iniquities. Whenever we confess our sins, we acknowledge our iniquities (known and unknown, intentional and unintentional) and we ask God for forgiveness. Unless we move forward endeavoring not to recommit those offenses, our confession is nothing but noise and is devoid of sincerity or meaning.
This is where we fail God consistently AND we recognize the depth and grace of God’s love for us. In spite of our offenses, God consistently loves us and calls us to repentance and sincere reform—to do better and to love our siblings as God loves us, through the messiness and through the beauty.
We must always strive to do better for God and for one another—to abolish iniquity in our souls and in our world.
You are Beautiful, and you are Beloved.
Angela+