In the next few days I will copy what James Alison writes about 'the subversion from within of the understanding of sin that is operated by Jesus' death and resurrection' - he does two things and here is the first.
The first is to depict sin as, in fact, the condition of blindness within which all humans live, unless enlightened by the Light of the World. This blindness is related to a governing principle that has been present from the beginning of the world, and this governing principle is directly linked to an initial murder which has determined the content of the sort of blindness that is being described. This murder-related blindness is able to be perceived for the first time thanks to a different murder (that of Jesus), and the resurrection that enabled the victim to be received as forgiveness. The first beginnings of "sight" about sin consist in the recognition of one's complicity in the murderous order of the world, and therefore of the degree of one's blindness. All other understanding of sin are understandings that are blind to the real order of the world, and are thus all the more blind when they claim to have some insight into what is good or bad without being aware of the dynamism of expulsion that in fact structures their "vision."
In our Brief Order of Confession and Forgiveness, we say that we are 'captive to sin and cannot free ourselves.' In another version we say, 'we have turned from you and given ourselves into the power of sin.' Here we are hearing this 'sin' being the blindness into which we all live. It is more specifically the blindness to the murderous ways of our life together. We may not like the tone of that descriptions. And yet, when we are - in any way - involved (individually or corporately) with the expulsion of others, we are part of that long history of murder. We must see that. We must see that when we look to the Lord of Life as one who was pushed out, put down, and eliminated by the good and righteous powers of his day. We must see that as we push people out (the ways are many and vast) and find it easier to live with the power of blame than with the power of forgiveness and reconciliation, we remain within a blindness we will not claim. Blind - me - no way! We are invited into the land of forgiveness - that turns no one away. That is the beginning of this sight that the world avoids. That is the vision of Jesus and the Reign of God. That is the transformation of our humanity.
Connection: Even the little things - the acts of forgiveness that we simply do - no pomp - no special devotional apparatus - no announcement - is the beginning and the ending of our story of life offered to us by our God and visible through this death and resurrection of Jesus. The little things that can trigger warfare - large and small. The little things that we use to push some out of the sphere we consider 'right and good.' It begins there. That at least offers some light. Yes, we are people who long for light - real light - even when we tend to be so content within our blindness.
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