Homily

I was thinking about the women going to the grave of Jesus. It seems as though all the men are in hiding, fearful for their lives. So why did these women go to the tomb despite possible danger? Probably out of a sense of duty—yes. Probably out of love for Jesus—yes. But I think there is another reason.

Some time ago I read a fine little essay by James A. Patrick and he wrote that we live in a time and a place where almost no one believes in original sin, that human nature is flawed from the very beginning of life, that we live in a world populated with nothing else but sinners, of whom I am the first. Now I am not the best sinner, not the most evil person, not the scum of the dregs of humanity, not first in that. I am the first sinner because when I am looking for someone who does wrong, I should always see me first before others. And if I do not, there is a problem.

Patrick writes that in the Middle Ages and even some time after that, people certainly believed that they sinned, and they believed in an actual judgment on the part of Christ which would separate the goats and the sheep, those bound for hell and those bound for heaven. That's why the scene of the Last Judgment is so often found over the doors of Europe's cathedrals, and in our own tradition the icon of the Judgment is on the back wall of the church so it is the icon that faces you as you are leaving church—a reminder of a truth from God. People understood they were sinners, they accepted that truth. But they also knew they were not doomed because they had a Savior. That Savior pardoned all those who sincerely asked Him, and not only did He pardon but He also provided grace to help the sinner improve his moral state and come closer to his full potential as a human being and as a son, or daughter, of God. Just and proper punishment was waived by the mercy of Christ to all who desired it from Him.

Things are different today. People do not believe in original sin, but rather, what Patrick calls, original innocence. We are all born good, not people in need of divine assistance or pardon. People are born innocent but evil forces in the world corrupt the world as laws, traditions, customs and governments do their damage upon society and humanity. Because I am basically a good person the wrongs I see in the world must be caused by the evil that some other people are doing. Government is doing bad stuff, or else it's not doing enough of the good stuff. Rich people and big corporations cause tons of trouble. Pollution, bad agriculture, the high cost of universities and cable TV—these are the evils that innocent people, like me, have to fight against. Yes, it's true that sometimes I feel I may have done wrong but after I examine my explanations for why I did what I did, it turns out that because of circumstances, I was not really guilty at all, or at least not very guilty. But plenty of other people are.

I must quote Mr. Patrick here: "At worst, the evil and pain that impinge upon every life are caused by lack of education; knowledge will set you free, a doctrine that was originally promoted by the serpent in the garden and since propagated by Gnostics, Anabaptists, illuminati, philosophers, rationalists, Horace Mann, The National Education Association, the Humanists Association and its allies, the ACLU, the National Librarians Associations, the sex education industry and National Public Radio." He made me laugh, not because what he writes is actually funny in itself, but because it is so true. How many there are who preach that education is the real solution to all the evil in the world. So how then does one explain how university graduates in Europe leave everything behind to join ISIS in Syria and become murderous monsters? Their answer must, and is, always the same: they just needed more education. If only Mr. Putin would go back to school.

The doctrine of original innocence has people constantly looking to people and institutions out there as responsible for the ills of the world and as responsible for solving the problems that those out there create for me. And certainly, it is true that there are people and institutions that create trouble for me and there are people and institutions who do evil. But if I see my primary solution to troubles in life as attempting to fix all that bad stuff out there (or at least blaming all the bad stuff out there) then I am poorly focused, because there is no need for God, certainly not a God who can pardon me for my own sins, and offer me forgiveness and grace. If I am not a sinner who regularly seeks pardon from Christ for my own sins, but rather a good person who has nothing to confess, then Christianity is optional because Jesus did not come to save us from our goodness. If I am good, I do not need to turn to someone else to find goodness. Jesus may be helpful sometimes, but He is not absolutely necessary. And to quote Mr. Patrick one more time:

"The four last things are then not death, judgment, heaven or hell, but a good obituary, a sufficient estate, successful children and a happy sendoff to the woozy white terrain of the nice God, in Whom we may have only had a conventional interest, while in the church below, our associates describe excellences in ways that would embarrass St. Augustine or St. Thomas."

It's embarrassing many times to look at our own sins. It is humbling to see our weaknesses, to recognize our failings, to examine our own self-centered thoughts and actions, to admit we have done wrong and not once but many times and often in the same ways over and over again. No wonder people want to ignore reality and pretend that they are all good. But it is only in facing up to reality and asking pardon from Him Who alone is All-Good that we can be forgiven. And that forgiveness leads us to be grateful to Him Who has alone the power to save us. And that gratitude not only elevates my own life, it also brings the grace of God into this world by my life. The truth about me should always lead me to seek Christ, and in my sinfulness, call out for His goodness. That goodness, He grants to me, does indeed make a difference in this world without a necessary university degree, or law or senate bill to back it up.

So why did the women go to the tomb apart from their sense of duty or their love for Christ? I think they also went because they, understanding the true state of their sinful souls, wanted to have contact, at least one more time, with the greatest good they had ever known in their lives. Like them, let us also seek Christ not in our innocence but rather in repentance, for it is there that we find Him so clearly as the One Who can save us. It is there that we also find the greatest goodness that can come into our lives, for He is the true source of mercy.