we have all sinned: 5th week of Lent 2013

Before I go to the second article of faith which is our belief in Jesus Christ, I would like to dwell first on the very reason why we need Jesus, why we need a savior.  And what is that?  Sin.  Man sinned.  We have all sinned.  We all have the tendency to sin.

One of the classic Tagalog songs entitled Sapagkat kami ay tao lamang is a popular song, well at least in our time (at kung yan man ang kasalanan, ay sapagkat kami, ay tao lamang, I would like to hear Pilita Corales sing that again) but it is a popular song then which I believe has also contributed to a popular misconception of sin.  Tawo man lang ako. Why?  Let me explain.

There are two extreme beliefs on the relationship of man and sin. 

The first extreme believes that man by his own natural power is capable of doing good even without the help of God.  Even without God’s grace we are capable of living a moral life.  Siling ni San Agustin this is not correct. 

Catholic faith teaches us that we are not capable of doing good on our own, because the sin of Adam has wounded us deeply, the sin of Adam has wounded our nature.  This extreme position however believes that our will is sufficient to make us live sinless lives.  Indi na naton kinahanglan ang grasya sang Dios, indi na naton kinahanglan ang bulig ni Kristo because on our own we are capable of goodness.  Hapaw kaayo ang epekto sang sala.  Bisan kita lang masarangan ta ni.  This is an extreme view which St. Augustine attacked.

Another view is the opposite extreme.  If the opposite extreme holds nga ang sala hapaw man lang to, wala gid man sia nagguba sang aton kabubut-on, the other extreme however holds nga grabe gid ya ang epekto sang sala, indi na gid kita makabawi pa.  We are really corrupt to the core. 

The opposite extreme holds that the will is sufficient to do good, this other extreme holds that the will is truly corrupted, it has no more freedom, indi na kita makapili, wala na kita choice.

This is what I mean when I say that this song is making popular the concept, that wrong concept nga kung yan man ang kasalanan, ay sapagkat kami ay tao lamang.  This is not catholic faith because you are subscribing to an extreme position that your will is so corrupted by sin wala ka na choice.  Mahulog ka gid man sa sala, bal-an mo ngaa, sapagkat ikaw ay tao lamang.  That is not catholic belief.

So let us appreciate our catholic belief on sin.  We believe that to become good we need Jesus, we need grace, we need God’s intervention.  We cannot become good on our own because of our tendency to sin.  That is why we pray – Lord make me a better person.   Why do we pray that – because we cannot become a better person without the grace of God.  Our nature is too wounded to live on its own. 
And yet we could not also say that our will is too corrupt to make a choice, we cannot say our will is too wounded to decide in freedom.  No!  For although daku ang igo sang sala sa aton we can still decide and we can make a choice.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph.  I really admire St. Joseph especially in this gospel.  Joseph can divorce Mary.  The odds are all against his sticking it out with Mary.  Jesus was not his child – his male pride was hurt, he was betrayed by his soon to be wife.  Yet he chose to stay.  And yet it was not just his decision.  The grace of God was also with him in the form of an angel who gave him the strength to do what he needed to do.  There you see grace and human cooperation – grace alone is not enough, man alone is not enough.  Amo na bala ang siling nila, kon mangayo ka sa Dios nga magdaog sa lotto, at the very least taya ka man, bakal ka man ticket.  This is the mystery of sin and grace at work in all of us. 

And so we pray:  Lord I cannot be good without you, and yet you cannot make me good without me.  Lord, I cannot go to heaven without your grace, and yet you cannot make me go to heaven if I do not want to.  I cannot forgive the person who hurt me if you will not give me magnanimity.  And yet even if you tell me and prod me and encourage me to forgive, I could never forgive if I would not want to.  Lord permit me to see how sin and grace work in me.  Help me to see this beautiful interaction between your will and my will, between your grace and my response, between what you want and what I want.  St. Joseph pray for me that I may become like you, that I may learn to cooperate with God in  my life.  Amen.