When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” This is a complicated little verse or two. More so, I think, than we might first imagine. Jesus...
Reformation Day/Pentecost 20 A: Original Insecurit...
posted by DJL
Dear Partner in Preaching, I have a hunch that paying attention to just a little bit of grammar might help you preach the readings appointed for Reformation Sunday (and, for that matter, Pentecost 20). The point of grammar in question is that we often speak of sin in the plural when we should focus on the singular. A small thing, I know, but before you dismiss this distinction, let me explain first what I mean and then why I think it matters. When we talk about sin, it’s almost always in the plural – sins – as in describing bad things we’ve done. But sin described across Scripture, and particularly in Paul, is not so much a thing as...