You Cannot Appreciate Grace Unless You Appreciate Sin

oday's readings are taken from Isaiah, Psalm 138, 1 Corinthians, and Matthew. The priest's homily at the Church I attended today focused upon the "inadequacy" that Isaiah ("I am a man of unclean lips!"), Paul, ("I am the least among the apostles, one abnormally born.") and Peter ("Lord, leave me, for I am a sinful man.") expressed towards God almighty when he was revealed or chose them. The priest said that when God chose these men, he took away their feelings of inadequacy and gave them the confidence to do great things, to "go deep" in Peter's case (The Priest made this the catch-phrase of his homily, making a fun football reference.)This was a good point to make, but I fear the priest missed a more significant point and may have mischaracterized the men and their fears. Let me explain.

So, how did he mischaracterize them? By describing God's calling them out from their feelings of inadequacy, the priest makes it seem like the inadequacy is imaginary, like the patriach and saints from today's readings were overly scrupulous and hard on themselves. But the inadequacy of humanity in the face of divine holiness and love is real. Sin is real. And we cannot understand the full magnitude of divine Grace until we gain a sense of the depth of sin in the human heart.

I actually sensed this absence throughout the service today. We began appropriately with the hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy," echoing the cry of the angels in the throne room of God, but we only sang the first two verses despite singing all of the verses for all of the succeeding hymns. What verse was missing?

"Holy, Holy, Holy, though the darkness hide Thee 

Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see 

Only Thou art Holy, there is none beside Thee

Perfect in Power, in Love and Purity." 

Was it a coincidence that the word and concept of "sin" were conspicuously absent from both the homily and opening hymn this morning, despite their prominence in the readings? No, while perhaps not conscious, it is no coincidence. Rather it is a mindset that is far too prevalent in the West. It is the mindset that fears to confront people with their sin for fear of alienating them, for fear of making them feel "judged."

Over the past century going back to Sigmund Freud and the concept of psychoanalysis, we have gradually lost the concept of sin, replaced by the urges of the subconscious. We have turned a moral and spiritual problem into a purely biological and psychiatric problem. Psychiatry cannot solve original sin. No amount of education can solve original sin. Only admission of our human inadequacy before God, repentance for sin, and asking for the divine Graces promised and given to each Christian at his baptism can solve the problem. Only God can guide us out into the deep water, or cleanse our unclean lips with the fire of His Holy Spirit.

P.S. It's been awhile since the last post, and I'm consciously taking things in a new direction. I will no longer be limiting myself to apologetics. This will be where I jot down ideas I have on spiritual matters in general. Maybe eventually I will get a reader or two. (Hi, Mom!)