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June 7, 2024The story of salvation has always been full of many twists and turns, and we can see that from the very beginning of Scripture in the first reading this Sunday. We hear the multi-layered story of the fall of man from Genesis 3 in which our first parents disobeyed God. Many people blow past this story for so many reasons, but I would like to try to show some of its depth. First off, we see what sin does in what Bishop Barron calls the “shame blame game.” Adam’s response to our all-knowing God was cowardly. He did not take responsibility and ask for forgiveness but rather blamed his wife who then blamed the serpent. How often do we make mistakes and point the finger rather than seek forgiveness from both God and man? All the time! I know I do. Second, the shame that Adam and Eve felt was real, and it still reverberates within all of our hearts to this day. Adam and Eve walked with God but then became ashamed and terrified of him. They felt that they could not be loved by their Father because they knew they messed up and were aware of their helplessness. Nonetheless, the story does not end there. The all-knowing God who already knew of the helplessness in our first parents’ fallen nature before questioning them also knows how much we each need his grace to be made whole again.
This healing and this courage comes from Christ, but we must accept the help. God will not force us to love him, and he will not force his forgiveness upon us because he is infinitely good and desires us to choose him. He wants us to use our gift of freewill that he gave us so as to flourish by following him. When we do this, we begin to be closer to him and others, especially those that have also responded to his love. The interesting thing about sin is that it not only rips us apart from God, but it also rips us apart from each other. In fact, the Greek root word for diabolical means to scatter, which is what sin does; it scatters us and leaves us lonely. Nonetheless, Jesus Christ is the one who can heal us from this tendency to collapse in on oneself and turn against God and his creation. He offers us his hole-filled hand at all times. When we grab it, we find peace with God. When we reject it, we reject peace. When we grab it, we find peace with his creation and therefore ourselves and our neighbors. We become a family in a deeper sense than biology can ever provide. We learn to love God, ourselves, and others as he desires us to do.
Nonetheless, we have the choice to reject the Holy Spirit. We have the choice to hide in darkness rather than turn to the light. We have the choice to not seek forgiveness and hide due to the lies of the world and/or Satan. The unforgivable sin is the sin that one does not ask to be forgiven. It is rejecting Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and their love by believing that God cannot forgive us, but he can. The only way he won’t forgive us is if we do not ask. He is always calling us to him. He does not want us to put conditions on his forgiveness as the prodigal son tried to place on his father. His father simply forgave him, and he was given a feast. This also makes me think of the scene from Les Miserables when Valjean released Javert, his enemy whom he could have executed, without any “bargains or petitions,” which actually drove Javert mad. These are two reactions to forgiveness, and I hope we all respond like the prodigal son and rejoice in God’s love for us and then bring others into this family by bringing them the joy that the love of Christ and his forgiveness brought to each of us and the entire world.
