20080727 The Power to Forgive Sins

20080727 The Power to Forgive Sins

Romans 12: 6-14
St. Matthew 9: 1-8

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Do you believe Jesus Christ has the power to forgive sins?

First you have to believe that there is such a thing as sin. This is not something that comes easily to people. The constant voice of fallen pride whispers in our ear, telling us what good people we are, how we are much better than those around us, that we really have not done anything wrong. Even when we are brought face-to-face with the consequences of our mistakes, that voice whispers that we did what was best at the time, that we are victims of difficult circumstances, and that what we did was not nearly as bad as those things that real criminals do. After all, we have not killed anyone or anything.

That whispering voice is lying to you. You have done something wrong. You are a sinner. Even if you gather the entire world as witness to what a great guy you are; even if you have broken no worldly law; even if you have never brought physical or spiritual harm to anyone; you are a sinner. You are a sinner, and through your sin have separated yourself from Communion with God, and you have separated yourself from real union with your brothers and sisters in this world.

I have come to know you this past year, and that has been a real pleasure. I now know you to be upstanding citizens, friendly neighbors, and trustworthy friends. But my observation stands. To quote the 1st Epistle of St. John (1:8 – 2:1) “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us… And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” St. John says that if you claim not to be a sinner, that you make God a liar. Do you understand things better than he does?

If you remain unconvinced, hear me now: you cannot live in this fallen world without sin. It surrounds us like a disease, a contagious disease that no-one bothers to recognize. It is an epidemic that is destroying the souls and bodies of everyone who draws breath. You can see it in the little compromises you make to get by, compromises that seem natural because everyone makes them. You can see the tragedy of this epidemic in the trail of broken hearts it has left in its wake. You carry this disease in your heart. That little voice that tells you that you have no sin is the voice of madness, the killing of your nerve endings of your conscience so that you do not notice the leprous infections it is spreading there.

Sin is the root of all spiritual sickness and pain. It is how it spreads. The sick man must know he is ill to accept treatment. Christ is our Great Physician, healing all who come to Him. Can you heal yourself? Can the world heal you? You cannot and it cannot. When you believe it can you open your wounds to further infection.

When Christ repaired the body of the paralytic, he did it to demonstrate the greater and more meaningful power He brought to this world: the power to forgive sins. This is more meaningful because He has already given us the treatment to repair our bodies – or have you forgotten that all the saints are Resurrected into eternal health? You may be like the child who complains of the cast, wanting the bone to be mended immediately so that she can play now, but your body is already being healed.

Shouldn’t you be more concerned about the sin that is eating away at your immortal soul? Your Loving God and Father is awaiting your confession. Do not be like the patient who lies about his symptoms and leaves the doctor untreated. You have free will. No one will force medication on you without your consent.

God is not judging you or your sin - He is describing your symptoms so that you can live life fully, free of disease. As St. John says in his Gospel (3:17); "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

So I ask you again “Do you believe that Jesus Christ has the power to forgive sins?” If so, open your heart to Him, the Great Physician, and be healed.