Seeing Our Sin

Reflections on seeing faults in others, allowing these to lead us to repentance, and receiving the mercy of the Lord based on today's readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/013126.cfm

We have heard of David’s rise to prominence and then his fall from grace. Now, today, we hear about the way he is called to repentance by the prophet Nathan.

Rather than simply accusing David of what he had done wrong, Nathan tells him a story. In this story, the details are different from David’s fall, but the sin is the same — one man is using his power to abuse someone who is relatively powerless.

When David hears the story, he does not immediately see himself in it. In fact, at first he is enraged and says, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this merits death!”

It is only then that Nathan replies, “You are the man!” and begins to show David how what he has done to Uriah is the same.

Are we not all very much like David? Do we not see the sin in the stories of others and judge it harshly, yet fail to realize that we are guilty of the very same sin?

Though sin itself brings about its own trouble, this lack of recognition of sin, combined with the harsh treatment of others for the very same thing, is one of the worst states to be in.

This is why St. Paul speaks out so strongly against it in his Letter to the Romans: “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.”

But again, many will hear this and still not recognize its truth and therefore will not be moved to repentance. It is precisely because we remain so terribly unaware of our own sin that we are often so scandalized by the sins of others.

“How could they do that?” we so often say when seeing something scandalous. We would know, if only we knew ourselves and how we are guilty of the same.

This pattern happens in many things, but it is perhaps most troubling when reading the Gospels. We hear the stories of the disciples and fail to understand them because we do not realize how often we are guilty of the same faults.

Today, we hear the famous scene of Christ stilling the storm. It should not be hard for us to realize how often we lose our peace and our trust amid difficulty, as the disciples did, but this can be difficult for us to admit.

We may acknowledge a temporary change in our disposition, but excuse it as if the circumstances demanded it. In the worst cases, we may even make a virtue of our stress and anxiety — claiming it is because we care so much, or finding some other way to exalt ourselves even in the midst of our folly.

But when we see the scene through the lens of the Gospel, we can see it for what it truly is, just as David could see clearly by viewing his situation from the perspective of another story.

We see that the disciples’ fear is directly correlated to their lack of trust in Christ. They are not afraid of the storm so much as they are afraid that the Lord will not save them from it.

And the Lord acknowledges this in His response. Seeing their fear, He asks them why they do not yet have faith.

We can look at this scene and say, “How could the disciples lose trust with Jesus right there with them?” And to this question we could respond, with Nathan, “You are that man!” I am that man.

How do we lose trust in the Lord when He is right here with us — when He has gone through such great pains (literally) to prove the depths of His love for us?

In many ways, the disciples are more excused for their lack of faith than we are — they did not know of the Cross, they had not yet received the Holy Spirit, and they had not yet been joined to Christ’s Body through the Eucharist.

Just like David, not only are we the man in the story whom we have judged to be guilty of sin, but our sin is much worse. Yet our God is still much greater than our sin — much, much greater.

The evidence of the Psalms suggests that David’s closeness to the Lord was at an all-time high immediately following this exchange with Nathan, because immediately afterward he enters a period of sincere repentance.

“I have sinned against the LORD,” he says. And then he allows the realization of this truth to fundamentally change him and open him up to the mercy and forgiveness of the Lord.

We are changed by the Lord whenever we open ourselves to His love in this way, but so often we do not.

We may say we have done something wrong, but we have a million excuses or justifications. We may say we have sinned, but fail to admit that it was actually our fault. And we hardly ever realize that this is a personal offense against the Lord.

But in the simple recognition of sin and sincere sorrow for it, there is the discovery of something new. As we allow that part of us that led us to sin to die away, it is reborn as something that can bring glory to God.

But again, this only happens when we recognize where the sin originates, do not negotiate with it, and hand it — and all of ourselves — over trustingly to the mercy of God.

This is, of course, what happens in the Sacrament of Confession. It is why we teach children to simply confess their sins, not to tell stories explaining why they sinned.

It is not because we want anyone to feel badly about themselves — quite the opposite. The Church wants everyone to receive the fullness of grace that the Sacrament has to offer, and this grace is particularly the gift of the forgiveness of sins.

To the degree that we realize the truth of our sin — that it is so grave because it is an offense against the Lord — we will be all the more overjoyed to realize the truth of His far greater mercy, and that it is He Himself who forgives us in the Sacrament.

Just like David, we might have our greatest examination of conscience through seeing our sin in others, or through someone showing us how we have done great wrong.

If we respond with judgment toward others without looking within, or if we become defensive when others try to help us recognize our sin, we will remain in it. But if we are open to the truth, we are able to receive the fullness of grace.

Too often, when we show ourselves unwilling to repent of our sins, others will stop trying to lead us to grace. This is not a fault of theirs; it is instruction from the Lord.

Yet when we receive correction and redirection as the blessing they are, we will continue to be given this grace — and many more.

May the Lord bless us all with a spirit of repentance and lead us to the realization that His mercy is far greater than any of our sins.