WestonWilliams.com

Greetings to you who read this blog!  I could probably name you personally but that would ruin the illusion of having a mass readership.  As you can see things look a little different than yesterday or the last time you visited three months ago…  I have changed blog servers and software, upgraded my audio hosting capabilities and have added some pages.  There is still a bit of work to do to get this up where I want it, so look for upcoming changes regularly.  Also, if you had subscribed via the RSS feed you will probably need to resubscribe in order to get the proper updates and feed.  If you have any suggestions or if you see anything that needs a correction please let me know.

Recently the Vatican released an update list of sins one could commit. After scoffing at the thought of more sins, I looked at the list and realized that they might be on to something. As a society we have far advanced from when scripture was written. Our capabilities in science, communication, transportation and a host of other areas has dramatically increased. This means that our capacity for doing good has increased as well as our capacity for harm. Who would have thought 2,000 years ago the dramatic effect humanity has on the environment? Who could have conceived simply two hundred years ago the incredible moral boundaries science would have crossed in regards to genetics?
These are new territories for Christians and ethicists. What is acceptable in certain scientific arenas? What should we do in regards to the environment? How should we act in an age where the wealthy and poor are increasingly separated by financial gains? While we may not really need a new list of sins, we desperately need to understand the morality of our advancing society. We need people who will stand up in the prophetic tradition speaking truth to power and compassion to truth.
There are more ways to exploit people and there are more opportunities to sin. But with these opportunities to sin, there are more opportunities for God’s grace to abound and redeem the broken. Whose side will we be on?

“For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves,
We confess to you, Lord.
Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work,
We confess to you, Lord.

A little bit more, that’s all we need to be happy. If you’ve got a lot a little more would be nice. If you’ve got a little a little more would be helpful. A little bit more, it’s what justifies envy. A little bit more, it’s what causes us to bend the rules in our favor. During this season of lent we confess this to God, and we abstain in order to realize how much we truly have.

“For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, We confess to you, Lord.