It was dark last night when I arrived home from the church. There was enough light to give the snow whitened landscape an eerie look. As I proceeded to clear the walks and attend to my evening chores, I could hear the plaintive yip of the coyotes down at the base of the hill. Such evenings produce an almost Poe-like morbidity in my outlook. Over the years, I've learned not to waste such a moment, and so I settled in to watch Paul Almond's 1961 Macbeth, with Sean Connery as the ill-fated lead, and Zoe Caldwell as his evil, and yet all too familiar wife.
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| Sean Connery and Zoe Caldwell in Paul Almond's 1961 Macbeth |
Macbeth always makes me think about the consequences of human decisions to sin by taking things into our own hands, instead of waiting to see the wondrous things that God has in store for us. I suppose as partial definitions of sin go, that is as good as any, "to have it our way, without reference to the plan that God might have for our lives." The stark and grainy nature of Almond's black and white production forces the viewer to concentrate on the power of Shakespeare's language, and allows one to avoid the distractions of special effects, costume, or set. Perhaps that is the best way to approach sin and all of its attendant consequences. Directness and honesty keep us on task, and call us to realize that perhaps the greatest New Year's resolution of all is to see to the salvation of our own souls by allowing God's grace and mercy to break the power of sin in our lives.
And that brings me to the point of this ramble. Is there hidden and un-confessed sin in your life that threatens to devour you? It will, you know. While bold strokes to win great temporal prizes might seem like a good idea in the short term, they ultimately fill us with a sense of guilt that is as consuming as that of lady Macbeth, or with a realization of distrust like the Thane's as we come to assume that everyone else is as duplicitous and self-serving as we have been. It is no way to live, and it sets us on a road to eternal destruction.
But the good news of Christmas is that "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." and therefore we can know God's forgiveness and cleansing and peace. We can rise above the bad choices of our past and feel clean as the wind driven snow. Indeed, at the point of our forgiveness, a loving Father, through the work of the Son, sends us the witness of the Holy Ghost that we might find healing and peace as we receive that forgiveness that only God is able to give.
If you struggle with the consequences of past decisions, I would invite you to receive God's healing forgiveness at the beginning of this new year. Sometimes it helps to verbalize your sin in the presence of another person. I am available to hear sacramental confessions at a time convenient to you. If I am a little close to home for that in your mind, other priests in the area would be available. I can provide their numbers, or they are available on the Diocesan website. If you absolutely do not feel comfortable confessing to a priest, remember that Jesus is our great high priest, and he is the only mediator between us and the Father. Talk to him directly in prayer. Tell him what you have done to the best of your remembrance, and ask him to forgive you and to give you strength not to do such things again. He will hear your prayer. He will forgive your sins. And he will lift the burden of your guilt and put you on the road to healing in this life and heaven in the world to come. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, One God. AMEN.
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