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Should we regret our sins? When the apostle Peter realized what he had done by denying Christ, he "wept bitterly" (Matthew 26:75). A few weeks later, on Pentecost day, he reminded the residents of Jerusalem how scandalous it was that Jesus, an innocent man, was executed. "Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘What are we to do, brothers?’" Regret clings to wrongdoing like a shadow we can get rid of only with difficulty. Regret is ambiguous. It can make us sink into despair or lead to repentance. Disappointed in himself, Peter could have despaired. There is a "worldly kind of sorrow that brings death." But recalling Christ’s love for him changes Peter’s tears into "God’s sorrow, that ends in repentance and salvation with no regrets" (2 Corinthians 7:10). Regret for him was a transitional stage, a narrow gate that led to life. Sorrow that leads to death, on the other hand, is the vexed regretting of someone who only trusts in his or her own capacities. When these are found to be insufficient, such individuals begin to feel contempt and even hatred for themselves. It may be impossible to repent without feeling some regret. But the difference between the two is enormous. Repentance is a gift from God, a hidden activity of the Holy Spirit that draws a person to God. I do not need God to regret my mistakes; I can do that by myself. Regret keeps us focused on ourselves. When I repent, however, I turn towards God, forgetting myself and surrendering myself to him. Regret makes no amends for the wrong done, but God, when I come to him in repentance, "dispels my sins like the morning mist" (Isaiah 44:22). "To sin" means "to miss the mark." Since God made us so that we may live in communion with him, sin is separation from God. Regret can never liberate us from this distance from God. If it leads us to withdraw more into ourselves, it can even bring us further away from God and thus intensify our sin! As Jesus put it in words that remain somewhat enigmatic, sin is "that they do not believe in me" (John 16:8). The root of sin, the only sin in the deepest sense of the term, is lack of trust, not opening ourselves to the love of Christ. A woman came to see Jesus one day. She was weeping, and washed his feet with her tears. Whereas others were scandalized, Christ understood and admired her. That woman regretted her errors, but her regret was not bitter; it did not paralyze her. She trusted and forgot herself. And Jesus said, "Her sins, though they were many, have been forgiven: she has shown much love" (Luke 7:47). On the strength of these words, she had nothing to regret. Who could regret having loved greatly? By the grace of God, our sins can lead us to love more. And then regret should turn into gratefulness: "Give thanks for everything at all times" (Ephesians 5:20). What is original sin? Ever since life appeared there has been the enigma of death. In the animal world death may seem natural, but for human beings it has always been a question. Why do those we love go away for good? We want to have a happy life, without our happiness suddenly coming to an end. For this reason, since the beginning of time the longing for a happy life has given rise to different representations of a "golden age" when "everything was still fine." The stories that deal with this topic attempt to explain how death appeared in the world. The Bible draws from these traditions. The Book of Genesis begins by celebrating the original goodness of creation (chapters 1 and 2). Then it brings the troubles of life, especially death and fratricidal violence, into relationship with wrongs committed at the beginning (chapters 3 and 4). But what is striking in the Biblical account is that these original sins are identical to our own sins: the refusal to trust in God, telling half-truths to justify oneself, projecting one’s faults on others, not taking responsibility for one’s acts. Without answering the question of why evil exists, the Book of Genesis turns the responsibility over to each reader. We are Adam or Eve, Cain and Abel. In the New Testament, original sin becomes a more explicit concept. For the apostle Paul, Adam represents the unity of the human race and Adam’s fault means that, insofar as sin is concerned, there is no difference among human beings: "All are subject to sin, as it is written: Not one of them is upright, not a single one" (Romans 3:9-10). But Paul is only interested in Adam because this enables him to speak of the impact of Christ, which is just as universal, or even more so, than the contagion of sin: "If death came to the multitude through the offense of one man, how much greater is the effect God’s grace has had, coming to so many and so plentifully as a free gift through the one man Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:15). Speaking about original sin is thus a way of saying that salvation is universal before being individual. Christ did not come to snatch a few individuals out of an evil world, but to save humanity. All are sinners, their hands empty before God. But God offers the gift of his love to all. "God, in Christ, was reconciling the world to himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19). What Christ did "brought justification and life to all humanity" (Romans 5:18). No one, by their own abilities, can find a way out of the blind alleys that are the common destiny of all humankind. But through Christ humanity is saved, and each person can then welcome this salvation into his or her life. Jesus referred to original sin in his own way: "From the human heart evil intentions emerge: sexual immorality, theft, murder…" And yet he did not condemn very much; he was compassionate. When we become aware that every human being experiences the wound of sin, perhaps we too become more merciful. In the steps of Jesus, we are called to bring healing rather than to denounce pitilessly. It is not a question of downplaying the seriousness of evil, but of knowing that there is no sin that Christ did not come to take away by giving his life on the cross. Letter from Taizé: 2003/5
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Trebamo li žaliti zbog svojih grijeha? Shvativši što je učinio zatajivši Krista, apostol je Petar «gorko zaplakao» (Matej 26,75). Nekoliko tjedana kasnije, na Duhove, podsjetio je stanovnike Jeruzalema kako je sramotno da je Isus, nedužnik, smaknut. «Kad su to čuli, duboko potreseni rekoše Petru i ostalim apostolima: Što nam je činiti, braćo?» (Djela 2,37) Žalost slijedi krivicu kao sjenka koje se teško riješiti. Žalost ima dva lica. Može nas potopiti u očaj ili dovesti do pokajanja. Razočaravši samoga sebe, Petar je mogao očajavati. Postoji «svjetovna žalost koja rađa smrću». No spomen na Kristovu ljubav prema njemu obraća Petrove suze u «žalost po Božju koja rađa neopozivo spasonosnim obraćenjem» (2 Korinćanima 7,10). Žalost mu je bila prolazno stanje, uska vrata koja vode u život. Žalost pak, koja vodi u smrt, mučno je kajanje onih koji vjeruju samo vlastitim mogućnostima. Kada su te nedostatne, oni se počnu prezirati ili čak sami sebe mrziti. Možda se bez tuge nije moguće pokajati. No razlika između to dvoje je neizmjerna. Pokajanje je dar Božji, skriveno djelovanje Duha Svetoga što privlači čovjeka k Bogu. Ne treba mi Bog da bih žalio zbog svojih pogrešaka, to mogu i sam. Žalovanje nas usredotočuje na nas same. Pokajanje nas, pak, okreće k Bogu, daje nam zaboraviti sebe i predati se njemu. Žaljenje ne ispravlja učinjene pogreške, ali Bog, kad mu dođem u pokajanju «kao maglu rastjeruje moje opačine» (Izaija 44,22). «Zgriješiti» znači «promašiti cilj». Kako nas je Bog stvorio da živimo s njim u zajedništvu, grijeh je odvajanje od Boga. Žaljenje nas nikako ne može osloboditi od te udaljenosti od Boga. Vodi li nas daljnjem povlačenju u same sebe, može nas odvesti još dalje od Boga i tako još otežati grijeh! Isus je to opisao ponešto zagonetnim riječima, grijeh je «što ne vjeruju u mene» (Ivan 16,8). Korijen grijeha, jedini grijeh u najdubljem smislu riječi, je nedostatak povjerenja, neotvaranje ljubavi Kristovoj. Jednoga je dana neka žena došla Isusu. Plakala je i oprala mu noge svojim suzama. Dok su drugi bili zgranuti, Isus je razumio i divio joj se. Žaljenje zbog grijeha koje je počinila nije tu ženu paraliziralo. Ona je imala povjerenja i više nije mislila na sebe. I Isus reče: «Oprošteni su joj grijesi mnogi jer ljubljaše mnogo» (Luka 7,47). Po tim riječima ona nije imala što žaliti. Tko može žaliti što je puno ljubio? Po milosti Božjoj, naši nas grijesi mogu navesti da više ljubimo. I tada se žalost treba okrenuti u zahvalnost: «Svagda i za sve zahvaljujte Bogu» (Efežanima 5,20). Što je istočni grijeh? Od kada se pojavio život, postoji i zagonetka smrti. U životinjskom se svijetu smrt može činiti prirodnom, no za ljude je ona uvijek bila pitanje. Zašto oni koje ljubimo moraju zauvijek otići? Mi želimo sretno živjeti, bez da naša sreća odjednom prestane. Tako je od početka vremena čežnja za sretnim životom poticala različite slike «zlatnih vremena» kada je «sve još bilo na svome mjestu». Priče na tu temu nastoje objasniti kojom se greškom javila smrt. I Biblija crpi iz tih tradicija. Knjiga Postanka počinje slavljenjem izvorne dobrote stvorenja (poglavlja 1 i 2). Zatim postavlja životne probleme, osobito smrt i bratoubilačko nasilje, u vezu s pogreškama počinjenim na početku (poglavlja 3 i 4). No zapanjujuće je u toj biblijskoj pripovijesti da su ti istočni grijesi jednaki kao naši: odbijanje povjerenja u Boga, izricanje polu-istina kako bismo sebe opravdali, pripisivanje svojih krivica drugome, odbijanje preuzimanja odgovornosti za svoja djela. Bez da odgovara na pitanje zašto zlo postoji, Knjiga Postanka predaje odgovornost svakom čitatelju. Mi smo Adam ili Eva, Kain i Abel. U Novom Zavjetu istočni grijeh dobiva nešto određeniji pojam. Za apostola Pavla, Adam predstavlja jedinstvo ljudskog roda i Adamova greška znači da, što se grijeha tiče, među ljudima nema razlike: «Svi su pod grijehom, kao što je pisano: Nema pravedna ni jednoga» (Rimljanima 3,9-10). No Pavao se bavi Adamom jer mu to daje mogućnost govoriti o utjecaju Kristovu, koji je jednako tako sveopći, još i više nego zaraznost grijeha: «Ako su grijehom jednoga mnogi umrli, mnogo se obilatije na sve razlila milost Božja, milost darovana u jednom čovjeku, Isusu Kristu» (Rimljanima 5,15). Govor o istočnom grijehu je tako način da se kaže da je spasenje sveopće prije nego osobno. Krist nije došao pokupiti nekolicinu iz zloga svijeta, već spasiti čovječanstvo. Svi su grješnici, praznih ruku pred Bogom. No Bog pruža svima dar svoje ljubavi. «Bog je u Kristu svijet sa sobom pomirio» (2 Korinćanima 5,19). Krist je donio «svim ljudima opravdanje i život» (Rimljanima 5,18). Nitko po svojim vlastitim snagama ne može naći izlaz iz slijepih ulica koje su sudbina sveg čovječanstva. No po Kristu je čovječanstvo spašeno i tako svi mogu to spasenje primiti u svoj život. Isus se na istočni grijeh osvrnuo na svoj način: «Iz srca čovječjega izlaze zle namisli, bludništva, krađe, ubojstva...» (Marko 7,21). Ipak on nije puno osuđivao, on je bio samilostan. Postavši svjesni da svaki čovjek trpi od rana grijeha, možda i mi postanemo milosrdniji. Nasljedujući Krista, pozvani smo prije svega liječiti, a ne nemilosrdno optuživati. To nije pitanje podcjenjivanja ozbiljnosti zla, već znanja da ne postoji grijeh kojeg Krist nije došao ukloniti dajući svoj život na križu. Pismo iz Taizéa: 2003./5