There was a teacher talking to a class of first-graders about sin, and about how God forgives our sins when we sincerely ask God to do that. The teacher went on and on about how to ask for forgiveness and such, and finally decided to stop and ask some questions to make sure that the kids were following what she was saying.
So she said: "Class, who can tell me the first thing you need to do when you want God to
forgive a sin?"
She was pleasantly surprised when from the back of class little Johnny raised his hand, because he had seemed not to be paying attention at all.
She pointed to him and said: "Great, John, please tell the class the first thing you have to
do if you want God to forgive your sins."
"Well teacher," said Johnny, "if you want God to forgive your sins, the first thing you gotta do is...sin."
He does have a point.
Our readings today call us to reflect on the whole process of sin and forgiveness. We see it in the case of David in our first reading, in the responsorial psalm, and in the account from Luke's Gospel of the sinner who washes Jesus' feet with her tears and is forgiven. For starters we might acknowledge that reflecting on our own sinfulness is something that has pretty-much fallen out of favor. Sure, we're still quick to point out others' sins, like Simon the Pharisee who is quick to remind himself what a sinful person this woman is who is at Jesus' feet. I'm sure Simon would gladly tell anyone who would listen all about her sins. And we catch ourselves doing that too. I'll bet we all think we know what the woman's sin was, right? She's a prostitute, or so we think. Woman-- well known sinner in town-- the sensuous behavior of wiping Jesus' feet with her hair.
We're quick to judge her and articulate her sin. But the Gospel story never says what her sin is-- we're just quick to jump to conclusions.
And we probably have already thought of Simon the Pharisee as a sinner, or at least as not genuine in his hospitality. He invites Jesus to a fancy dinner and then doesn't go the extra stop of providing that his feet be washed.
But in this world of instant communication and snap judgments about others, do we reflect on those times when we miss the mark ourselves, when we sin? Are we like King David, realizing what he has done, or like Simon the Pharisee?
Do we take the time at the end of the day to look back and reflect on where we've gone
wrong?
Do we truly appreciate that we are, as Pope Francis said when he was asked to describe himself early in his papacy, sinners-- not as a figure of speech or a literary device, but truly people who are in need of God's forgiveness?
You know, there is an app for that-- probably no surprise. Download "Laudate" on your phone and you'll see an "Examen" function that takes you through a series of questions to reflect upon, customized a bit for your life situation, age, marital status and such.
You know the categories- "in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in
what I have failed to do."
So why do that-- why worry about our sins, our failings, the places where we've come up short? Isn't this just a way to get us filled with that good, old Catholic guilt, and to make us feel bad about ourselves?
Let me suggest that reflecting on our sins is done for just the opposite reason-- it is done to make us truly happier, healthier, more Christ-like people, to put us more in touch with the good news of the Gospel.
First of all, on a purely practical level, if we don't spend some time reflecting on our day and where we've missed the mark, we'll never change, never improve. We need to be self-reflective if we've going to pinpoint our problems and overcome them.
When I was in high school we had a baseball coach who would sometime pitch batting practice for the Twins. He'd played pro ball, gotten all the way to triple-A ball with the old Minneapolis Millers before he got hurt and turned to teaching and coaching.
He was in his 50's and didn't have blazing speed any more, but if your problem was hitting a high inside fast ball, he could throw you 20 in a row, just at the spot of your greatest weakness, so you could learn what to do when you saw that pitch in a game.
The Twins batters of those championship teams of the 60's swore by him.
We reflect on our failings for just that same reason-- to figure out where we're weak, where we've got a problem, and then come up with a way to improve, to overcome our failings.
Even if we weren't people of faith, self-critical reflection makes sense. But as Catholic Christians, there's more going on. We truly believe that God forgives our sins if we ask Him to do that. But we can't fully seek that forgiveness unless we reflect on where forgiveness is
needed.
And the more we see how we truly are "sinners," as the Pope says he is, the more we appreciate the tremendous mercy of God, the more we are like the man who owes 500 days wages-- not 50-- in today's Gospel example, and can experience the greater happiness that comes with being forgiven the greater amount.
Now I don't want anyone going out and saying that the deacon told us we should sin a lot so that we can be forgiven a lot and be really happy. No, sin has its own negative consequences, which forgiveness doesn't eliminate. Sin doesn't lead to happiness. But understanding that whatever we do God has our back, God wants to forgive us, God in the words of Pope Francis "never tires of forgiving us," so we should never tire of asking for forgiveness-- understanding that leads to a deep inner peace and comfort with our inevitable failings.
And there is one more thing about forgiveness we might reflect on from this Gospel, and that is the sacrament of reconciliation. That sacrament seems to have fallen into disuse, and that's a shame. We can and should ask God for forgiveness in the quiet of our own hearts, but there is something deep, something special about going to another human being-- who is sitting "in persona Christi"-- as speaking our deepest failings.
Maybe that's why the woman today takes this tremendous risk of throwing herself at Jesus' feet, at a banquet to which she is not invited probably attended only by men who clearly are prepared to judge her harshly. She takes the risk because hearing Jesus say her sins are forgiven matters-- there's something more there than just hearing it in her heart, rich as that is.
That's why taking the risk of going to confession-- and I know it's scary-- I've gone hundreds of times and it is still scary-- that's why taking the risk matters. Because it is deeper, richer, more profound to hear it with our own ears that our sins are forgiven, and to receive the grace that goes with that.
Yes, the first thing we have to do is sin, but we're all pretty good at that. And yes, God has to forgive us, but God's very essence is to do that. What is up to us, and what we might reflect on today, is what comes in between.