February 20/Friday after Ash Wednesday
For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,and done what is evil in your sight.” ~ Psalm 51.5-6
One of my favorite New Yorker cartoons of all time – and the list is long – shows a husband and wife facing each other, her arms folded, ominously, across her chest. The man says, “I’m sorry. I was wrong.” The caption reads, “WITH NO TIME LEFT ON THE CLOCK, THE SEASON ON THE LINE, DAN UNLOADS THE HAIL MARY FOR THE WIN – UNBELIEVABLE!” Reluctance to acknowledge one’s mistakes is not limited to males, of course (is it?). To admit fault goes against the grain for many of us who think of ourselves as generally well-intentioned people, and who prefer to occupy the moral high ground. When we are inevitably called out, our first reaction is to defend, deflect, or dismiss. It wasn’t my fault, I didn’t start it, I was tired, you misunderstood me, it’s no big deal – the litany of excuses can be long indeed. “I’m sorry – I was wrong,” are the simplest, and the hardest, words to say. But we cannot be forgiven unless we first acknowledge how broken we are, and we can start by acknowledging that brokenness to God, in prayer. Pettiness, anger, envy, excessive criticism of others, thoughtlessness, dishonesty – God has seen it all before. Nothing we say or do can shock God. But we need to own all our faults, to claim them as our own and ask forgiveness. That means looking squarely in the mirror at the truth of our lives, the darkness as well as the light. And as we present to God a heart and a spirit truly chastened, even crushed, by our deep and full awareness of our sin, he will respond with an outpouring of love and mercy. The means to experiencing that mercy is to humble ourselves to say, “I’m sorry – I was wrong.”
Lord Jesus Christ, Give me the humility and the moral courage to acknowledge my sins both to you and to all those in my life whom I have offended. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022026.cfm
To hear the Christian alternative rock band Jars of Clay sing “God Be Merciful to Me,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSoVRTV9pk0
