Forgive me, for I have sinned...

Sin is a difficult subject, and it amazes one how widely it is used without hearing a sermon, at least once a quarter, on the subject.

The sense of sin is the one we may trace to Paul’s letters, amplified by Augustine. According

Rembrandt, "Prodigal Son"

to Augustine’s writings, every human, lives in a state of sin, due to being born of the flesh. And, while we are alive on this earth, we cannot escape the sinful nature of flesh. We can only escape it in the life of the Spirit, and it is the Spirit which is cleansed by baptism. An example of how devastating that sense of sin can be found in some biographies of great religions leaders, who were burdened with a strong sense of sin. Two who stand out are Martin Luther and John Wesley, both of whom were “rescued” from depression over the subject by passages from Paul’s letter to the Romans.

If that is the meaning of sin, then what does one mean when, in the confessional booth, one says “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.” That statement suggests that one may walk the earth free of sin, until you fail to exercise charity toward a beggar. Upon reflection, you realize your misstep, and feel remorse. (It is important to distinguish between remorse and regret. I may regret losing my temper, because it will create bad feelings between me and another, and I am liable to get a foot rule on the fingers for doing something which, to me, was almost an involuntary reaction, like the hiccups. I regret incurring those annoyances. But I feel no remorse.) I submit that, in general, when you feel remorse, it is the result of having sinned, as when you lift a dollar from your parents’ stash, in their bedroom chest of drawers. Experience has taught you that you will not be caught, or even detected, but you still feel remorse, even though you really wanted that Dinky Toy which just arrived at Glaziers, downtown. Regret is simply not that closely connected with sin. You can regret not going to see a particular movie, but that’s only because you were just too lazy to tramp through the snow and ice to get to the theater. All this means is that to the lay person, who has never had the urge to read, sinning is the result of a particular act, for which you generally feel remorse, such as the remorse (and regret) felt by the prodigal son.

So, does that mean all sins are immoral acts? The answer is clearly no, but a few examples should make that clear. Let’s consider this absurd picture. On a Sunday, when the confession of sins is being read from the Book of Common Prayer, we hear 80 people confessing their sins, do we imagine we have a sanctuary full of people who have, each and every one of them, committed an immoral act. No. Aside from a scattering of innocent white lies, there is not one broken moral rule in the house. But it is probably dripping in sin. The discrepancy lies in the heart of how Christianity measures virtue. The world at large will take not a moment’s notice if one happens to admire the attractive wife of a friend. But not Christians who are committed to the sense of Christian sin. Consider the Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Even more to the point, check out what Jesus says about anger Matthew at 5:22.

A good Christian life requires more from you than to simply avoid breaking a moral law (The 10 Commandments is as good a list of the moral laws as any.) A good Christian is virtuous, and that means more than being moral. Methodism takes this very seriously, and emphasizes that congregants make the effort to increase their virtues throughout life. But, according to one story I’ve heard, John Wesley said he only found a single person who mastered what is meant by Christian virtue. So, even in Methodism, forgiveness is necessary.

Consider the prodigal son. On the face of it, when he sets out, he asks for, and takes only what is rightfully his. He squanders his property by dissolute living. Then, he is in no position to recoup his losses due to a severe famine in the land. This second son claims that he has sinned. Here comes the important line Luke 15:19 “I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” The story attributes nothing immoral to the second son, yet he feels remorse (and not a little regret) at having failed in virtue, especially the virtue expected of scions of wealthy land owners.

We come to another word in the lexicon of sin. That is guilt, in the psychological sense. One may feel guilt about a world of different things, usually, but not limited to that for which we feel remorse. One source says guilt is when we violate our standards of conduct. I believe that works, as long as we realize that it includes personal standards, which may have nothing to do with Jesus, the Bible, or Luther’s Small Catechism. We may feel guilt for no good reason, for a slight which no one notices, and which everyone dismisses, when you describe it. In the pharmacopeia of the emotions, confession, and the granting of absolution, is the tonic to relieve one of guilt.

Pay close attention to the Confession of Sins from the Book of Common Prayer. It covers all those little guilts, including that feeling of unworthiness, which you cannot isolate or explain. God can forgive that which no one else can see or feel or understand.

-- Bruce Marold