The Ascension of the Lord

Lectionary: 58

Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

In the Gospel of Saint Luke, there are six references to repentance, and three to forgiveness, especially the mission of the Baptist as described by his father Zechariah:

He will give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins...." 

In the Gospel's sequel, the Acts of the Apostles, we find again six references to repentance, and four to forgiveness. Clearly, there is no following of Christ without repentance for sin. 

I raised some anger when I spoke to young people of "Critical Race Theory" on Ash Wednesday. A gentleman was upset that I reminded young Catholics of our doctrine of Original Sin and that we, like our ancestors, have sinned.  He might be equally upset if I speak of this important doctrine today, on the Feast of the Ascension. If it's not in season on Ash Wednesday, I don't suppose it's any more appropriate a week before Pentecost. 

In their competition to sustain innumerable churches -- small, big, and mega -- many American churches deny the doctrine of Original Sin. Pastors do not risk naming the sins of their membership. They might rail against liberals or conservatives with the assumption that none of those despised enemies are in the building. But given the high cost of overhead, they cannot afford to denounce abortion, racism, Antisemitism, the proliferation of guns, tax evasion, environmental waste, shopping, or any local sins.  

The preachers must make their consumers feel good every Sunday morning, especially when the polarized news media hammer at all the wrongs of society. If there is money in outrage, there is also money in reassurance. (Case in point, the irate customer who heard my homily about Original Sin and CRT concluded by saying,  you "will never receive another nickel from me.") 

Renouncing the doctrine of Original Sin , these self-described patriots must espouse Manichaeism, the prehistoric but perennial heresy which splits all reality between good and evil. There is right and wrong, good and bad, light and darkness, black and white, male and female; and no gradations between them. Except in rare, passing moments of remorse, they assume. "I am good and they are bad." They being anyone who offends, hurts, threatens, challenges, or disagrees with me. The Internet so far has proven how readily people sort themselves into silos of us vs. them. I listen to those who agree with me; I despise those who don't because they are evil. Almost fifty years after Roe v Wade, neither side seems to have heard anything the other said. They agree only that the others are evil and we are good. 

The liberal response of inclusiveness, however, falls into its own silo of heresy, dismissing the reality of the Other. "We all want the same thing!" they declare, as if everyone agrees. Can one voice can speak for everyone? Actually, our disagreements run very deep and may be insoluble. 

I find hope in the willingness of our Jewish ancestors who, centuries before John the Baptist and Jesus were born, readily acknowledged their sins. "We have sinned like our ancestors; we have done wrong and are guilty." Any nation can celebrate its glorious past; (and all have!) Only God's Chosen can admit that they have sinned against their own identity as the Jews did when they saw they had violated the Covenant. As Americans do when they realize they have betrayed the self-evident truth that "all men are created equal." 

The doctrine of Original Sin confesses that "all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God." Reminded of both our personal guilt and our inherited guilt, and grateful for the revelation, we turn back to the Lord. Without that truth, we might suppose Christ died for our sins but he didn't have to do it for me. With it, we experience another mighty work of God as grace turns me back to the Lord.