Moment of Meditation: Ham's Sin (Genesis 9:22)

And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. Genesis 9:22 Noah’s youngest son Ham sees his father’s nakedness in his tent. Instead of covering Noah up respectfully, he goes out and tells his brothers outside the tent. Not simply telling the facts, but loudly proclaiming the hilarity of their father’s condition. Ham’s sin isn’t the sight. It’s the words. He’s breaking the Eighth Commandment. Luther tells us in the Large Catechism, “I can indeed see and hear that my neighbor sins. But I have no command to report it to others. Now, if I rush in, judging and passing sentence, I fall into a sin that is greater than his.” This is exactly what Ham is doing. He sees Noah’s sin, but he goes off to spread the word around instead of doing as his brothers will do next time. Amen.