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| MSF Lake from the dam. |
Why cry out over your wound?
your pain is without relief.
Because of your great guilt,
your numerous sins,
I have done this to you.
your pain is without relief.
Because of your great guilt,
your numerous sins,
I have done this to you.
Again we hear of God’s punishing sins with affliction. This is a common theme in the writing of the prophets. God has many arrows in his arsenal, especially plague, drought, famine and enemy invasions. With such weaponry it’s no wonder God has a bad reputation among so many.
The prophet will insist God never punishes arbitrarily. There are reasons for it, most especially the violation of the covenant. As God’s spokesperson, Jeremiah says, “Because of your great guilt, your numerous sins, I have done this to you.”
And, the prophet will point out, we have been warned repeatedly. It’s not as if we didn’t know we were doing wrong, or that the wrongdoing was somehow justified. No, we were warned and we knew our deeds were sinful, and we knew God despises our sins, but we did them anyway until punishment came like the proverbial two-by-four over the mule’s head. It was the only way to get our attention. Or perhaps, like the gazillion dollar settlement against the multi-national corporation. We just don’t listen to justice or mercy until we really, really hurt!
But even with the hurt, we find it hard to admit we have done wrong. There are always a thousand excuses near at hand. And we cling to innocence, blaming either our victims or the Judge, despite our manifest guilt. But excuses and claims of innocence do not repair a broken covenant. They neither relieve the stricken conscience nor heal the wounded victims.
Nor do they appease the wrath of God. If anything, our excuses and self-inflicted innocence only make matters worse. Sins are, by definition, inexcusable; and we would be well advised not to make excuses for them.
But if inexcusable, sin is not unforgivable. True, only God can forgive sins, as the Pharisees were quick to remind Jesus. But Jesus demonstrated his authority to forgive sins both by his healing the paralyzed man and, more importantly, by forgiving his tormentors on Calvary.
I like the new translation of the very old Confiteor. I confess that I have sinned through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. I think that sums it up pretty well. I have sinned and there's just no getting around it. I wish I had not done it. I wish I had not enjoyed it or profited by it. I am willing to atone for the sin and all its consequences even if that is not humanly possible.
Finally, having admitted our sins and experienced forgiveness we become capable of forgiving sin because God the Holy Spirit reaches out to others from our humbled hearts. Without God there is neither mercy nor justice, but with God even I can forgive, atone, restore and do justice.
Pride is a deadly sin.
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