INTER GENERATIONAL SIN

20160813 INTER GENERATIONAL SIN

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading

Ezekiel 18:1-10,13,30-32 ©

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows:

  ‘Why do you keep repeating this proverb in the land of Israel: “The fathers have eaten unripe grapes; and the children’s teeth are set on edge”?

  ‘As I live – it is the Lord who speaks – there will no longer be any reason to repeat this proverb in Israel. See now: all life belongs to me; the father’s life and the son’s life, both alike belong to me. The man who has sinned, he is the one who shall die.

  ‘The upright man is law-abiding and honest; he does not eat on the mountains or raise his eyes to the idols of the House of Israel, does not seduce his neighbour’s wife or sleep with a woman during her periods. He oppresses no one, returns pledges, never steals, gives his own bread to the hungry, his clothes to the naked. He never charges usury on loans, takes no interest, abstains from evil, gives honest judgement between man and man, keeps my laws and sincerely respects my observances–such a man is truly upright. It is the Lord who speaks.

  ‘But if anyone has a son prone to violence and bloodshed, then this son shall certainly not live; having committed all these appalling crimes he will have to die, and his blood be on his own head.

  House of Israel, in future I mean to judge each of you by what he does–it is the Lord who speaks. Repent, renounce all your sins, avoid all occasions of sin! Shake off all the sins you have committed against me, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why are you so anxious to die, House of Israel? I take no pleasure in the death of anyone–it is the Lord who speaks. Repent and live!’

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 50:12-15,18-19 ©

A pure heart create for me, O God.

A pure heart create for me, O God,

  put a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from your presence,

  nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

A pure heart create for me, O God.

Give me again the joy of your help;

  with a spirit of fervour sustain me,

that I may teach transgressors your ways

  and sinners may return to you.

A pure heart create for me, O God.

For in sacrifice you take no delight,

  burnt offering from me you would refuse,

my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.

  A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

A pure heart create for me, O God.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Col3:16a,17

Alleluia, alleluia!

Let the message of Christ, in all its richness,

find a home with you;

through him give thanks to God the Father.

Alleluia!

Or

Mt11:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed are you, Father,

Lord of heaven and earth,

for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom

to mere children.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 19:13-15 ©

People brought little children to Jesus, for him to lay his hands on them and say a prayer. The disciples turned them away, but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children alone, and do not stop them coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ Then he laid his hands on them and went on his way.

INTER-GENERATIONAL SIN

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [  EZ 18:1-10.13.30-32; MT 19:13-15 ]

The question of inter-generational sin and original sin has always been a source of contention and disagreement.  The objection lies in that if sin must be willingly committed by one who is free, then it is not fair that we suffer the sins of our parents and ancestors through no fault of ours.

The cause of such misunderstanding is due to the fact that the word “sin” is used analogously and not literally. Of course, we cannot inherit the sins personally committed by someone else.  Nevertheless, we can inherit the guilt as a consequence of their sins.

In the Old Testament, great emphasis was given to the collective sin of the community.  This was because salvation was always taken to be of a people or a nation.  People tended to see themselves as a community rather than as individuals.  The success or failure of one would have had repercussions on the rest of the community. More so, if the person who sinned was the head of the community, as his sin would have involved the whole nation.  Hence, the sin of the king or the leader of the tribe, or the father of the household, would cause all those under his care to suffer the punishment for his sins.

Thus, we can understand why the bible, since the time of Moses, speaks about the sins of our forefathers affecting us. We cannot deny that in some ways we are influenced by both the culture of the society we are born into and also the spiritual influence of our parents.  Although it would not be right to speak of genetic sin, certainly the emotions and the psychological state of our parents would have affected us even when we were in the womb of our mothers and when we were being brought up by them as well.  Therefore we must recognize that we do suffer the effects of the sins of our parents, although we do not and cannot inherit their sins.  Indeed, Ezekiel himself did not sin, but like the good and righteous ones of Israel, he too was in exile because of the sins of his fellowmen.

Of course, there is a danger that we can exonerate ourselves of all guilt and push the blame on our forefathers.  This is what Ezekiel sought to do in today’s first reading.  We must see sin in perspective. Ultimately, God does not condemn us for the sins of our parents, but only our personal sins.   So it is more important that we take cognizance of our own personal sins rather than blaming them on our parents. Yes, we suffer the consequences, but we have the freedom and the will to change the orientation.  The power to overcome our sins is within us.  We need not resign ourselves to committing the same sins our parents did.  In other words, the prophet is saying that we are responsible for our own sins.  “As I live – it is the Lord who speaks – there will no longer be any reason to repeat this proverb in Israel.  See now: all life belongs to me; the father’s life and the son’s life, both alike belong to me.  The man who has sinned, he is the one who shall die.”

Isn’t this what the doctrine of original sin, and by extension, that of inter-generational sin, wants to convey, namely, that we share the fallen nature of our parents?  This fallen nature has affected us physically, emotionally, spiritually and psychologically.  We are wounded right from the start.  Original sin itself strictly is not yet a sin, except insofar as the fact that right from the start of our conception we are not in union with God.  However, soon it will become a sin in a real sense because we will then reenact what our parents had done by our personal sins.

Of course, inter-generational healing does not exclude our asking forgiveness for our own personal sins.  The responsorial psalm and the prophet made it clear that we must repent of our personal sins and not lay all the blame on our relations.  Like the psalmist, we must seek sincere repentance for our sins and ask the Lord to cleanse us and recreate in us a new heart.

In the same vein too, baptism also takes away our sins insofar as we are separated from God.  Through baptism, we are reconciled with God. Our sins, original and personal, are forgiven.  As a consequence of the grace of Christ, we experience an inner renewal of body, mind and spirit.  We should not have any doubts about the power of the sacrament of baptism to free us from sin and the Evil One.  The grace given to us at baptism is always there.

How is it possible that our sins are taken away at baptism?  The same principle holds with regard to the vicarious death of Christ.  Jesus, as the New Adam, rescinded all that was lost by the First Adam.  As St Paul says, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.  Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” (Rom 5:17-19).  Jesus as the head, and we being His body, enables us to share in His victory over sin and death.

However the Council of Trent also teaches that concupiscence still remains in us in spite of our baptism.  Nevertheless it is not a sin, but a tendency to sin remains.  Our human nature remains weak but with the grace of Christ we can overcome temptation to sin.  Hence, we are now in communion with God in principle.  We are renewed in Him and we are His children.  But the warfare still carries on and the battle against sin must continue to be fought with the grace of God.  So, existentially we all remain sinners even after baptism.  After all, who does not sin after baptism; unless we are baptized before death!  Metaphysically however, we are saints.  To preserve our holiness, we must strengthen our prayer and spiritual life; frequent the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.

The importance and relevance of inter-generational healing, therefore, is that it is not a matter of asking forgiveness for the sins we have inherited from our parents, rather, it is to ask God to forgive their sins on one hand; and on the other, we choose to forgive them for the effects of their sins upon us.   Through forgiveness we help the departed souls to rest in peace and return to the Lord; at the same time we free ourselves from curses, guilt and our bondage to their past.  So generational healing is the practical application of the grace of Christ given to us at baptism to heal our wounds, especially emotional and psychological traits inherited from our wounded forefathers and those who have had an influence over us directly or indirectly.

The gospel text today brings to light the relevance of generational healing.  If Jesus reprimanded the disciples for forbidding the children to go to Him, it was because He understood how we can influence our children for better or for worse.  Knowing that we come from dysfunctional and imperfect parents, they too, need prayers to be healed of the negative traits they received from their parents and relatives.  Of course the other meaning of blessing the children is to remind us that unless we are innocent, receptive and trusting in God, like children, we cannot share in the life of God.

As parents, we must therefore consider carefully what we do and say and how these will affect our children for better or for worse.  Recognizing how much influence we can have over our loved ones, let us strive to live a life of holiness so that we can impart goodness to them instead of evil.  On our part, recognizing that we are wounded from our past, we must continually seek the Lord for inner healing and at the same time, pray for the forgiveness of the souls of the faithful departed, that they too will embrace the loving mercy of God’s forgiveness and be united with the Lord in heaven.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved