Let’s Talk Sin
I meet with a group of men nearly weekly to talk about issues of faith. If I had a quarter for every time one of them said, “How come we don’t hear about sin anymore?” I would be able to retire. So, guys here we go, this one’s for you!
In the Gospel today, we hear strong teaching about sin. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.” That is tough stuff if we take it literally. And, if we take it literally, the world would be filled with one-eyed, one-handed, one-footed, and tongueless people. But, I hope we can all agree that isn’t what Jesus is calling us to do.
What Jesus is calling us to do is to root out sin in our lives at its very core. He is calling us to more than a recitation of a grocery list of sins in a confessional. He is calling us to a deep introspection of why we do the things we do. It is much easier to make a list than it is to look at the source from which that sin comes. Please don’t misinterpret my words. I am not anti-confession. In fact, I am highly pro-reconciliation.
Sin is when I fall out of a right relationship with God, other people, or myself. When things are misaligned in my life, that is sin. When my relationship with God, others, or myself is out of sync, it is then that I need to stop, find, and fix the relationship.
Let me just say clearly, it is not someone else’s responsibility to fix relationships. I can’t wait with arms crossed, tapping my foot for God to swoop down and repair my relationship with Him. Neither can I wait for family, friends, or loved ones to “come to their senses” and repair a hurt that has caused an estrangement in our relationship. First and foremost, sin is thinking about the problem, and the responsibility for the solution is someone else’s. That is hubris, plain and simple.
It is easier to say, “I took the name of the Lord in vain 7 times. I missed mass twice, and I didn’t pray most days.” It is harder to stop and look at my relationship with God and admit that I have abandoned God, in all but name only. It is hard to own that I doubt, and I have fallen out of love with God. It is painful to acknowledge that I have allowed my faith to become just going through the motions. And not even doing that well.
In my relationship with others, it is easier to whisper in the anonymity of a confessional that I have cheated on my timesheet, taken money, spoken harshly to my family, or had an affair. Much more difficult is looking myself in the eye and the heart and admitting that I have been selfish, mean, and inconsiderate. I think I am more important than others, and I have put my wants and needs ahead of everyone else’s. I did this knowingly, even when I knew it would hurt them. When I did whatever I did, I wanted to hurt them, and I didn’t care.
So often, the entire area of sinning against ourselves is lost entirely. When we think about sin, we don’t think about how we sin against our very being created in God’s image and likeness. Gluttony in any form is a sin against self. My abuse of alcohol, drugs, sex, food, fasting, steroids and anything else with which we knowingly harm our bodies is sin. Our self-flagellation for wrongs we have done and refusal to forgive ourselves is sin. If God can forgive, how dare we be so arrogant as to not forgive ourselves. When I put myself down or hold back from using my gifts and talents, that is sin. When I retreat into myself, even when I know another is in need, that is sin.
Please do not cut off your hand or pluck out your eye. What Jesus is asking us to do is excise the attitudes behind the actions from our hearts and souls.
When I go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I go with my soul bared of the attitudes that pull me from being in the right relationship with God, others, and myself. I will then have not just confession and absolution but the grace to do the work of reconciliation. I have a new beginning that allows for the healing of relationships outside the confessional. This is the true grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is living absolution.
In God’s Endless Love,
Gwen
