Daily Retreat 10/05/07
2007 Oct 5 Fri
Bar 1: 15-22/ Ps 78(79): 1b-2. 3-5. 8. 9/ Lk 10: 13-16
From today’s readings: “We did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God, in all the words of the prophets whom He sent us, but each one of us went off after the devices of his own wicked heart, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God.... For the glory of Your Name, O Lord, deliver us.... Whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
Guilty or not Guilty?
The Bible (especially the Gospels!) is full of Good News, particularly in regards to the mercy of God, His refusal to let sin have the last word. Yet the proclamation of the mercy of God does not negate the existence of sin. This is true both personally and collectively.
The book of Baruch begins with a moving confession of collective guilt. The people of God had sinned grievously, and even though some individuals may have been personally innocent of those grave sins, everyone suffered the evil consequences of the sins.
With the modern emphasis on rugged individualism and personal rights, this biblical reminder can seem so out-of-date with its insistence that there are negative as well as positive aspects of the reality of human solidarity.
But that’s precisely why the scriptural insight is so timely and pertinent. If we can boast, “WE have sent man to the moon!” then we must also admit, “WE have polluted our environment.” It’s true that “WE have saved millions of lives with the smallpox vaccine!” but “WE have also ruined lives with drugs.”
Yes, WE have sinned. We have all sinned individually, and we have all sinned collectively. We have sinned as a family, for instance, by investing more of our time in television and sports than in our faith development. We have sinned as a community, for instance, by being more preoccupied about infrastructure breakdown than about family breakdown. We have sinned as a nation, for instance, by legalizing abortion. We have sinned as a Church, for instance, by excusing or ignoring sins of the clergy.
But when we acknowledge our collective guilt, then we can also together turn to God, imploring His forgiveness in solidarity: Deliver us and pardon our sins, O God! Have mercy on us, O Lord!
Bar 1: 15-22/ Ps 78(79): 1b-2. 3-5. 8. 9/ Lk 10: 13-16
From today’s readings: “We did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God, in all the words of the prophets whom He sent us, but each one of us went off after the devices of his own wicked heart, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God.... For the glory of Your Name, O Lord, deliver us.... Whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
Guilty or not Guilty?
The Bible (especially the Gospels!) is full of Good News, particularly in regards to the mercy of God, His refusal to let sin have the last word. Yet the proclamation of the mercy of God does not negate the existence of sin. This is true both personally and collectively.
The book of Baruch begins with a moving confession of collective guilt. The people of God had sinned grievously, and even though some individuals may have been personally innocent of those grave sins, everyone suffered the evil consequences of the sins.
With the modern emphasis on rugged individualism and personal rights, this biblical reminder can seem so out-of-date with its insistence that there are negative as well as positive aspects of the reality of human solidarity.
But that’s precisely why the scriptural insight is so timely and pertinent. If we can boast, “WE have sent man to the moon!” then we must also admit, “WE have polluted our environment.” It’s true that “WE have saved millions of lives with the smallpox vaccine!” but “WE have also ruined lives with drugs.”
Yes, WE have sinned. We have all sinned individually, and we have all sinned collectively. We have sinned as a family, for instance, by investing more of our time in television and sports than in our faith development. We have sinned as a community, for instance, by being more preoccupied about infrastructure breakdown than about family breakdown. We have sinned as a nation, for instance, by legalizing abortion. We have sinned as a Church, for instance, by excusing or ignoring sins of the clergy.
But when we acknowledge our collective guilt, then we can also together turn to God, imploring His forgiveness in solidarity: Deliver us and pardon our sins, O God! Have mercy on us, O Lord!
posted by FrPitstick | 10/02/2007
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