Bible Study: Proper 5 (B) – 2024

RCL: Genesis 3:8-15; Psalm 130; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35

Note: During the 2024 Season after Pentecost, Sermons That Work will use Track 2 readings for sermons and Bible studies. Please consult our archives for many additional Track 1 resources from prior years.

Genesis 3:8-15

“Sin” can be a difficult word for Episcopalians (and, to be fair, everyone else). For any number of reasons, we shrink from using the word. Is it because it feels antiquated or judgmental? Is it because the word has been used to harm us or those we love? Is it because we question whether people are actually culpable for their actions in a world with powerful and competing systems? It’s probably the case that all of these things are true, but avoidance of the concept isn’t a good option for Christians – instead, we ought to delve into the text and pray for illumination from the Holy Spirit.

Our first reading describes one of the first sins – a sign of the many troubles to come. Adam and Eve, having succumbed to temptation, hide themselves from God, ashamed of their nakedness. As we read, we find the results of their sin: shame, fear, separation, blame, enmity. The picture is bleak, but we are not without hope.

• Do you have trouble using the word or concept of “sin”? Why or why not?

Psalm 130

While the first few verses of the psalm may seem dour – the writer calling out from the very depths! – the overarching theme here is one of forgiveness of sins. As we saw in the reading from Genesis, sin distorts things, maybe feeling momentarily good, but ultimately leading to deeply miserable places. But hope remains – the psalmist knows that God forgives and redeems, which is good because our first ancestors didn’t have a monopoly on messing up. Indeed, nobody (with a single, notable exception) could stand justified before God without forgiveness and mercy. Sin afflicts all of us, leading us to lonely, humiliating places, but God promises that we need not stay there.

• How does it feel to know that you’ve done wrong? What physical and mental differences do you notice in yourself as a result of shame or guilt?

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

While sin isn’t addressed in a direct way in this reading, Paul provides helpful descriptions of what we are promised by God at the end of our earthly sojourn: Resurrection. Grace. A renewed inner nature. An eternal weight of glory. An indestructible home – forever. These come to us not because we’ve done a very good job of being humans – in fact, they don’t come to us because of our actions at all! Not, they come because God keeps reaching them out to us because God is gracious indeed. All we need do is turn back toward him, toward his outstretched hand.

• Does the Good News ever seem too good? Claiming it may be simple, but is it easy?

Mark 3:20-35

Back on the theme of discomfort: This is a shocking teaching from Jesus, and one that we must seek to understand well – the stakes are high. There is one sin, says our Lord, that will not be forgiven: equating the spirit of Satan and the Holy Spirit. Much has been written of the “eternal sin,” as it is often called, and we encourage you to read interpretations from across Christian history.

Setting it aside momentarily, though, there is another important, related side of this teaching, too: that every other misstep, every other malicious action, every other action that keeps us awake at night is forgivable by the God who made us. That is, our God promises mercy for any other action. Jesus Christ longs to gather us in, calling us his brothers, sisters, and mothers.

• Do these strike you as hard words to hear from Jesus? Why or why not?
• Search for interpretations of the eternal sin. Do any of these theories help you make sense of the teaching?