The First Sin

Through the centuries, the church has often pointed to Eve eating the apple in the Garden of Eden as the first sin. I'm not so sure. I have always felt like the first sin was Adam standing back in silence when he knew she shouldn't eat the apple of that tree. (After all, the command not to eat of that tree was given directly to Adam). But there he stood, in silence, as Eve tries to match wits with the snake. And then, without her partner so much as whispering a caution, eating the apple.
Go ahead and blame the woman if you want to. But I think the sin that has caused more heartache, grief and regrets is Adam's sin: the sin of silence--the sin of not speaking up when you know something is wrong.
Today, one of our United Methodist Churches held a funeral for one of our Christian brothers who knew what it was like to live with the regrets of silence. Woody Cooper was a student at Harding High when, on September 4, 1957, Dorothy Counts became the first black student at the school. The picture of this history-making day flashed around the world -- a sea of white students taunting her, throwing things at her, spitting at her. And Woody Cooper was in that picture.
He wasn't one of the students who threw things or spit at her. But, through the years, he carried a burden of regret that he hadn't stood up for her on that history-making day. Nearly 50 years later, Woody's Sunday School teacher, Sam Smith, was leading a lesson about the sins of omission. The teacher asked if anyone had a sin of omission on their heart. Woody raised his hand and said, "Dorothy Counts". That's when his Sunday School class learned that Woody had been one of the white boys in the world-famous picture on the steps of Harding High School. The next day, Woody Cooper tried to contact Dorothy Counts and apologize.
Their correspondence took some time, but they became friends. The night before he died, she visited with him in the hospital. Today, Dorothy Counts was the one in the crowd -- at his funeral.
49 years is a long time to live with regrets.
I am wondering if the story of Woody Cooper can give us courage to avoid those regrets--to silence our fears instead of our voices; to take a stand for what is right when it matters most. The story of the friendship of Woody Cooper and Dorothy Counts shows that God is working for redemption through all things. But there are moments in history that can't be reclaimed. What might the picture have been in 1957 if Christian white students spoke up and stood up and protected their black sister as she integrated Harding High School? That moment will never come again.