Some Additional Comments
Sin
I would like us to examine our views on “sin.” In today’s
world, many people think of sin in religious terms only or they don’t even know
the word, but they do have a sense of right and wrong, good and bad. In our
Catholic understanding, we have been taught that we are sinful people and God
sent Jesus to redeem us. The Church taught us that we sin against God and
others in many different ways, and we assembled lists that we bring into the
confessional. We think of sin as something we did or did not do.
During the last century, we became aware of social sin or
even national or international sin. These are enormous realities in which we
feel we have little power to effect any change. For example, we may work for a
corporation that invests in another company that has disreputable business
practice that we consider wrong. How do we seek the sacrament of
reconciliation? The complexity of our world has changed; our understanding of
sinfulness is not that simple anymore.
Jesus says the sin comes from the attitudes that we hold.
Sin comes from inside us, which is the reason we must always form and inform
our consciences. Our understanding of sin has to mature. A contemporary way to define sin is to say
that sin is a failure to even try to love another person. It is in the “not
even bothering to care.” It is not about getting it right or wrong, missing the
mark, not understanding enough; it is about not even bothering to care.
This definition can change the way we think and feel about
ourselves. We have to see ourselves as people who are loved by God and as
people who need to reconcile our relationship with God and others. God has
already forgiven our sins – once and for all. It is time for us to live in the
realm of the resurrection.
Video: Celebrating
What’s Right with the World
Dewitt Jones, a former National Geographic Reporter, put
together a film and TEDx talk called “Celebrating What’s Right with the World.”
Sometimes we need to put on a fresh lens so we can see the beauty that is before
us in the “here and now.” I recommend viewing at least one of these films because
it mirrors a Jesuit, Catholic perspective on the world. The Spiritual Exercises
help us to see and love the world the way God sees and loves the world.
Mercy
Cardinal Walter Kasper writes in his book Mercy, “mercy is the best thing we can
feel. It changes the world… it changes everything… makes the world feel less
cold and more just.” Mercy means to enter into the suffering, the chaos, of
another person. Pope Francis goes so far to say the Mercy is the name of God,
and mercy is at the heart of all relationships.
Mercy is shown at the Incarnation (God chose to be with us)
and at the Paschal Mystery (love is revealed in the depths of suffering.) The mission
of Jesus was to reveal the mystery of God’s love in its fullness. God searches
for us to give us mercy we do not deserve. Because of the Resurrection, the
Holy Spirit allows us to face directly life’s problems and illnesses, our world’s
wars and tragedies, and not to be overwhelmed by them, because nothing is outside
the reach of the resurrection – even death itself.
Mercy is not just a response to human sin. It is, more
generally, God’s tender and compassionate response to the human condition in
all its complexity, brokenness, and beauty. Mercy is a love that creates,
heals, reconciles, and makes all things whole.
The Church’s primary task is to introduce everyone to the
great mystery of God’s mercy by contemplating the face of Christ. What we say
and how we say it; our every word and gesture, out to express God’s compassion,
tenderness, and forgiveness for all.
As we give mercy, we are transformed by it. The church can
be transformed by it. Mercy is God’s way of changing the world, transforming us.
Mercy is the kingdom of heaven. We are merciful when we just show up for another
person. We don’t have to do anything. We don’t have to say anything. We just
have to metaphorically hold the person in honor before us.
Friendship with God
Jesuits speak about our life with God as one of friendship. Our
name means “The Company of Jesus,” that is, those who choose to be with him in
friendship. This friendship develops in stages because we are not static and
God is not static. We go through a period of infatuation, curiosity, discovery
and play, further exploration, and then we come to a point of testing. We might
have to reveal something to God that we fear God may not like. Once we reveal
this fear to God, God typically responds with mercy and acceptance, and our
bonds are strengthen. We learn to trust God more and more and we become more
authentic in our interactions with God. We say what is on our minds more
freely, we love God more freely, and we speak to one another as friends do.
God does not want us to suffer but to have the fullness of
life. Our work as ‘friends in the Lord’ is to live more fully in that freedom
and to receive and give mercy to ourselves so we can give it to others freely
and generously. I invite you to begin to explore the nuances and depths of this
relationship – for the salvation of your soul – and for your happiness today.
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