February 7,
2013 Daniel
Daring Daniel's
previous reflections
Sunday 5C: Beyond
sin
Isaiah
6:1-2, 3-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11
Once, I saw a T-shirt that in a humorous way described the main tenet of every religion. Under Catholicism the slogan went more or less like this: ‘when bad things happen, I deserve it.’ Once, my friend told me a joke. A man asked another man:
- Are you guilty?
- Of course, I am guilty. I am a Catholic!
Our
preoccupation with sin and guilt surprises people from other religious traditions.
‘You Christians must be very bad people – you’re always confessing your
sins’ – a Buddhist commented (source unknown). And it seems to be an apt
comment. We confess our sins in public at the beginning of every Eucharistic
celebration; we confess our sins in private in the sacrament of reconciliation
depending on one’s feeling of guilt. Are we bound for life to this seemingly
unbreakable cycle of sin, guilt, confession, and relief, till the next time we
sin? “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man,” says Peter to Jesus (Luke
5:8). Is that also our attitude in front of our sins and failures, giving up on
ourselves and waiting for bad things to happen, because we deserve them?
Go
away from me, Lord – sin
Peter
fell at Jesus’ feet and acknowledged himself a sinner. We do not know what he
meant by that. The Greek word used here - ‘hamartolos’ – can mean sinful
behavior, but it can also describe a person who does not bother him/herself with
observing the Law of Moses, thus s/he is considered to be irreligious. Was Peter
irreligious by the moral standards of Judaism? What were his sins? There
is no need to speculate about these questions. The fact is that Peter did not
deem himself worthy of being in the presence of Jesus.
I
have an impression that some of us live in a state of silent despair when it
comes to our spiritual life, while others stop bothering themselves with it
altogether. The moral standard that is expected of every Christian seems to go
beyond our abilities. Be perfect (Matthew 5:48); be merciful (Luke 6:39); love
your enemies (Matthew 5:44); forgive others (Matthew 6:14). We try our best, but
at the end of the day we give up. Just to appease our troubled conscience, we
console ourselves with saying that ‘nobody is perfect,’ and that ‘we are
not angels.’ But deep down in our hearts we feel that something is wrong.
It
was their fourth quarrel in four days. Jim left her crying. They were in their
fifth year of marriage. He could not understand himself. Rose was so kind and
supportive. They had just become parents. He had a good job. And yet recently he
could not temper his anger while talking to her. There were even moments he was
violent and abusive. No matter how much he promised himself to treat her with
kindness and respect, they always ended up fighting; no matter how often he
confessed that sin, he was unable to reform; no matter how much his friends told
him that it is alright to shout at one’s own wife from time to time, he felt
he was failing her in their relationship. Something was really wrong, and yet he
felt helpless. He began to fear that
their marriage may end up in a ‘disaster’.
Don’t
be afraid
Although
sin is an important concept in Christian faith, too much focus on it leads
nowhere. Besides, it is not the full message of the Gospel. We proclaim
Christ’s victory over sin and death in our lives. Paul wrote to the Church at
Corinth: “I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached
to you, (. . .). For I handed on to you as
of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the
third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). We often
see ourselves hopeless in our efforts to be good; we are powerless in our fight
with sin; we are morally weak, without strength to overcome our vices. But that
is precisely the reason why Christ came into this world. Paul again: “You see,
at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the
ungodly” (Romans 5:6). To all of us who are hopeless, who lose the battle with
sin, Paul brings the message of hope: ‘Christ died for you, so you can be free
from your situation of helplessness.’ And this message carries within itself a
power to transform our lives.
At
the age eighteen, Nicky Cruz was a gang leader and a drug addict, spending most
of his time on the streets of Brooklyn, New York. In 1959, David Wilkerson
appeared in the area to preach Jesus to the ‘lost youth of Brooklyn’. At
their first encounter, Nicky, with a knife in his hand, told the pastor to get
lost and never come again. When the following week, Pastor Wilkerson again
organized the prayer meeting, Nicky, together with few members of his gang,
decided to disrupt the meeting and teach the pastor a ‘lesson’. Then
something incredible took place. As Nicky was approaching the area where the
prayer was taking place, suddenly, he was overtaken by a strong feeling of
remorse for the things he had done in the past and began to pray. He asked God
for forgiveness, and later on, he also apologized to Pastor David. The following
day he went to the nearby police station and turned in all of his weapons.
Today, Nicky Cruz is known as pastor and evangelist, the founder of a ministry
for teenagers with broken lives, with outreaches in Latin America and Europe.
God
sees beyond sin
The
amazing thing about Peter’s experiences is Jesus’ disregard for his sinful
condition. “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men” (Luke 5:10).
Peter saw himself as a sinner; Jesus saw in him a leader and a missionary. It
often happens that we are the worst critics of ourselves. Due to our family
background, due to our teachers and educators, and even due to our church, we
are filled with many negative voices that constantly repeat the message: ‘you
are not good; you cannot make it; it is not for you; you are a sinner.’ My
high school English teacher once asked me what I would like to do in life. I
said that I would like to study Asian languages and cultures. She told me that I
did not have what it takes, that I barely spoke English. We met again two years
ago. By then, my English was fluent;
I had learned two Asian languages, and I had a lot to say about Asian cultures.
God
sees beyond our sins. Where you or other people only see negative things, God
sees your potential. You have what it takes. You only need to realize that He is
much more concerned with your transformation than you are with your sins. Look
at the experience of Isaiah, the prophet: “Then one of the seraphim flew to
me, holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my
mouth with it, and said, ‘See, now that this has touched your lips, your
wickedness is removed, your sin purged’ ” (Isaiah 6:6-7). And what follows?
A question: “Whom shall I send?” (Isaiah 6:8). You are His missionary. He
wants you to develop your potential, so you can serve Him and His people.
Conclusion
If the message of the Gospel is true, and I believe so, then there is no point in giving up on oneself and crying in despair, ‘go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.’ We should be less preoccupied with sin, and more with Jesus’ amazing grace of provision and invitation to join in His mission. It was not without reason that the story about Jesus was called good news. It is all about God’s gracious love, abundance, and blessing. Let us, then, keep it that way and not change it into a religion of guilt.