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We should not be afraid of our shortcomings

March 11, 2022

Ezekiel 18:21–28 | Matthew 5:20–26 | Psalm 130

I am guilty of calling people fools. And worse. The readings set for today call to mind that “sin” (what one priest told me is “missing the mark”) comes in all forms. Ezekiel writes of downright wickedness. Jesus refers to name calling, insults and murder. I’m not sure what wickedness is envisioned by the prophet, but I suspect I would recognize it if I saw it, and I surely know what murder is. So while I am infrequently guilty of wickedness (again, whatever that is), I am guilty of mental name calling, impatience, exasperation, and other unflattering emotions. 

On a daily basis, I listen to a podcast “Prayer for the Day.” During the week I am writing this blog, Father Luigi Gioia is presenting his reflections and offering his prayers to listeners worldwide. In one reflection, something he said particularly struck me. He entered a Benedictine monastery at the age of 18, and immediately he began to have all sorts of negative emotions: annoyance, envy, anxiety, even anger and resentment. He stated he had experienced these emotions before but never with such intensity as he felt them at that time, particularly just as he had entered a monastery to become a monk. He went on to say in the years since, he learned we should never be afraid of these types of emotions or hard on ourselves for feeling them.

What I took away from his reflection, and (more importantly) from our readings for today, is we are all human. We all miss the mark; some of us may commit “wickedness.” We all fall short, in some way, every day. Yet, we should not be afraid of our shortcomings—our humanity– because I know we are loved by God, even with all our foibles, failings, missing of marks, sin.  And we are saved by the Cross of Christ, now and forever. For that, I am grateful.

Judi Nichols