A man sinned greatly against himself, and when death came to him he charged his sons, saying: When I have died, burn me, then crush me and scatter [my ashes] into the sea, for, by Allah, if my Lord takes possession of me, He will punish me in a manner in which He has punished no one [else]. So they did that to him. Then He said to the earth: Produce what you have taken-and there he was! And He said to him: What induced you to do what you did? He said: Being afraid of You, O my Lord (or he said: ‘Being frightened of You’), and because of that He forgave him.
Hadith Qudsi 32
Within a couple of minutes, I ran into two very different stories of sin and forgiveness. In one, the morale of the story is that culprits really should accept forgiveness, it would be foolish not to turn when this is offered. In the other story (above) the culprit despairs and seeks his own annihilation.
I find the hadith extremely beautiful and I think that God relates to that. I think that Jesus could relate to that. He was very prompt to proclaim to whoever he wanted that his/her sins were forgiven, sometimes out of the blue. Most of the time, the people could not even dare to hope that they could be forgiven (and the religious authorities of the time had made that abundantly clear).
People still live with this kind of despair while some of us are basking in cheap grace. We emphasize the turning point, we celebrate people being reborn, being saved, now walking the narrow path and so on...
What of the folks who have never experienced this and who reach for another drink in despair? Do we keep conveying to them that their sins are forgiven when they don’t even dare to hope? Or does our behaviour convey that we think they’re depraved and worthless failures? I used to know this despair and I used to sense it in others. To my surprise I also used to find the words. It’s just that I don’t see a lot of despair in my neck of the world. And I’m loosing touch with mine.
Hadith Qudsi 32
Within a couple of minutes, I ran into two very different stories of sin and forgiveness. In one, the morale of the story is that culprits really should accept forgiveness, it would be foolish not to turn when this is offered. In the other story (above) the culprit despairs and seeks his own annihilation.
I find the hadith extremely beautiful and I think that God relates to that. I think that Jesus could relate to that. He was very prompt to proclaim to whoever he wanted that his/her sins were forgiven, sometimes out of the blue. Most of the time, the people could not even dare to hope that they could be forgiven (and the religious authorities of the time had made that abundantly clear).
People still live with this kind of despair while some of us are basking in cheap grace. We emphasize the turning point, we celebrate people being reborn, being saved, now walking the narrow path and so on...
What of the folks who have never experienced this and who reach for another drink in despair? Do we keep conveying to them that their sins are forgiven when they don’t even dare to hope? Or does our behaviour convey that we think they’re depraved and worthless failures? I used to know this despair and I used to sense it in others. To my surprise I also used to find the words. It’s just that I don’t see a lot of despair in my neck of the world. And I’m loosing touch with mine.
Sculpture by Antonio Canova
2 comments:
Yes, I think that was pretty much the point of my own parable. I promote a more loose hold on meaning and interpretation. It's more interesting, artistic and often gives room for multilayered meaning.
Espiritu,
I find your comment incredibly interesting! I’ve been playing with it in my mind for an hour and it’s fascinating stuff.
My point was that I don’t really have a problem with despair: I think it is sometimes more respectful than just accepting grace, and I admire that. So is it fatal depravity to be unable “to accept the greater gift they are offered”? I don’t know and I think is one the most mind-blowing question ever. What is despair and what is rebellion?
I’d love to dig further into this. Wow, I'd love to write a thesis about this! We have a poem in France written by Geo Norge about the second robber and I love it (I hope my readers understand French. I haven’t got time to translate it today, but I will at some point if someone requests it):
Le Mauvais Larron
Celui des trois qui a le moins de chance...
Excusez-moi, je m'y connais si peu,
Et puis son cas - excusez-moi, Messieurs,
En général est passé sous silence.
Ce garçon-là, je crois qu'il a souffert
Autant qu'un autre. Et même, plus j'y pense,
Et plus je trouve, excusez si j'offense...
Endurer ça pour aller en enfer!
Enfin, languir avec ces quatre clous
Aux pieds, aux mains des heures et des heures...
Crever méchant, soit: vous seriez bon, vous,
Avec ces trous et ce sang qui vous pleure?
C'est entendu, c'est un dur, un pervers,
Jusqu'à la mort dans son mal il se vautre...
C'est fort quand même aller seul en enfer
Si près d'un Dieu qui sauve tous les autres.
Son camarade avec deux ou trois prières
Va droit au ciel et lui sur son poteau
S'enrage seul et se tord les boyaux
Et souffre tout pour aller en enfer.
Son camarade avec le choeur des anges
Va jubiler toute l'éternité
Et c'est sur lui tout seul que Dieu se venge
De ces maux qu'il a lui-même inventés.
Excusez-moi si je n'y comprends rien,
Oui, je saisis l'énorme différence,
Mais, en tout cas, ce garçon-là, c'est bien
Celui des trois qui a le moins de chance.
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