Gospel Commentary: Pictures

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 3/27/03)

A picture is worth a thousand words. A teacher knows how to engage the imagination of students in the classroom. When the multiplication of words becomes wearisome, a good teacher draws a picture. An adolescent knows that he is reaching the end of an extended discussion when a parent exclaims, "Do I need to draw you a picture?"

It is difficult for us to get an accurate picture of ourselves. Within the family, on the job or among nations, the multiplication of words often obscures rather than clarifies problems. The inability to accurately picture ourselves leads to an inability to take responsibility for our evil actions.

Children display an often comical inability to picture themselves. "Did you eat that cookie?" "No," comes the child's reply, unaware that cookie crumbs are about his mouth. The feigned sincerity of the guilty little face is a picture worthy of a Norman Rockwell painting. But left uncorrected, the "cute" lies of children can easily become habitual and ugly. A pattern of getting away with bad behavior can easily harden into a habitual denial of personal responsibility.

Patterns of bad behavior are horribly destructive, but difficult to see. Patterns of unrepented sin corrode souls, destroy marriages, and disfigure society. Clerical lies and coverups scar the face of the Church. Sin crucifies the Lord and his Mystical Body throughout history. The madness continues because even if we are aware of our actions, we do not have the imagination to see how destructive our sins are.

Christ has an accurate picture of us. From the Cross, Christ gazes upon us and sees us for who we are. He sees our sins, our indifference, our hatreds, our lies, our ingratitude. Yet, as he endures the most horrible of tortures we inflict upon him, he prays, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." With all of the blood that flows from that Cross and with all the blood that stains our hands, he does not indict us. He excuses us as he directs our attention to the horror of what we've done.

It is not enough simply to know our sins. We must also act on that knowledge and choose Christ. The Lord warns the learned Pharisees, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, 'We see,' so your sin remains." The nineteenth century Catholic theologian, John Henry Newman wrote, "Being a great theologian doesn't make you more holy; it only makes you more guilty when you sin."

With God's grace, it is necessary for us to see the whole picture. Knowledge of our sins apart from Christ is not sufficient. We must see our sins in the context of their consequences. The Cross directs us to the day when we battered him, spat upon him and crucified him. The Cross teaches us that there is no such thing as a "private" sin. Every sin committed in history is depicted by the Cross of Christ.

Holy Mother Church is a good teacher. The mighty Cross that hangs above every Catholic sanctuary gives us a picture of the central event of the life of Christ, and ours. A penitent that gazes upon that Cross does not need a sermon with a multiplicity of words. He needs a priest in a confessional.

Fr. Pokorsky is administrator of St. Peter’s Mission in Washington, Va.

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