Sin

"Oh, Happy Fault"

A Sunday school teacher asked second grade students, “What would we need to do so that our sins are to be forgiven by God?” One student raised a hand and said, “We first need to sin.” 

How deep the child’s response is! If there were no sin, we do not need God. St. Thomas Aquinas said, “Oh, Felix Culpa” which means “O happy fault”, he continued, “O necessary sin of Adam which gained for us so great a Redeemer!” 

Sin is not something we need to hate and pretend not to have but something we need to embrace to be true to ourselves in which we let the Lord work for us. 

We are all sinners. In fact we are beloved sinners. The more we sin the more we have a chance to be loved. I do not mean that we can sin more for our greed.  

However, if we sin with heart to repent and to love more, I would like to sin because of the redemptive character of sin. 

So let us not be afraid of our sins, rather more worry about not showing love. What a sinful woman in the gospel showed was that showing great love is more important than condemning oneself and hiding in despair. 

In other words, if we know how sinful we are, we should be more eager to showing love to others because of God’s abundant mercy that we experience in our grave sins. 

Sin is certainly a scar on the soul but it is not just ugly but mysteriously glowing so that we can find light in the darkness there trusting in God’s mercy and hope. 

If we meet someone oozing love in one’s words and deeds, we could be sure that that person overcame guilt and self-condemnation and lives in Jesus’ love and peace. 

We are beloved sinners. What should we be afraid of? We are already dead in our sins and only God can raise us up from the dark dungeon. 

Therefore, I, like you, joyfully boast that I was a sinner and then I have been saved by the mercy of God, my Lord and my best friend.  

Jesus tells us today, “Your sin has saved you; go in peace.”