DON’T BE AFRAID
Guilt in itself isn’t something invented by religion. It constitutes one of the oldest and most universal human experiences. Before religious sentiment flowers, this sensation of «having failed» at something can be noticed in the human being. The problem isn’t about the experience of guilt, but in how to deal with it.
There’s a healthy way of being guilty. The person takes up the responsibility of her actions, regrets the damage she may have caused, and tries to do better in the future. Lived out in this way, the experience of guilt forms part of the person’s growth toward maturity.
But there are also less healthy ways of being guilty. The person closes himself up in unworthiness, fosters infantile feelings of being stained and dirty, destroys his self-respect and destroys himself. He tortures himself, humiliates himself, fights against himself, but in the end of it all doesn’t free himself or grow as a person.
What’s proper for a Christian is to live out this experience of guilt before a God who is love and only love. The believer recognizes that she has been unfaithful to that love. This gives to guilt a weight and an absolute seriousness. But at the same time it frees her from collapse, since she know that though a sinner, she’s accepted by God: in God she can always find the mercy that saves from complete unworthiness and failure.
According to the story, Peter, overwhelmed by his unworthiness, throws himself down at Jesus’ feet saying: «Go away from me, Lord! I am a sinful man». Jesus’ response couldn’t be anything but: «Don’t be afraid», don’t be afraid of being a sinner and of being with me. This is the destiny of the believer: we know we’re sinners, but at the same time we know we’re accepted, understood and unconditionally loved by that God who is revealed in Jesus.
José Antonio Pagola
Translator: Fr. Jay VonHandorf
