Please note: The reflections and opinions expressed in this piece are those of the author and are shared in the spirit of personal faith and contemplation. They do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Diocese of Palmerston North.
Ash Wednesday, on 18 February, ushers us into the 40 days of Lent — a fitting time to consider the topic of sin.
These days, simply mentioning sin can make people prickly. Typical responses include: “There’s too much emphasis on sin,” “I haven’t been to confession for years,” “My sins put Jesus on the Cross,” “I’m unworthy,” or “It’s all too negative.” Many of us still carry guilt‑based attitudes from childhood that paint God as harsh and unforgiving. Such views can derail us from responding to the God who, in truth, loves us extravagantly.
In Hebrew, the word for sin — khata — means “to miss the mark”: to fail in living as God’s image and likeness. Sin, then, could be understood as a kind of immaturity. Yet dismissing sin altogether, or simply replacing it with the phrase “wrong choices,” ignores something innate about the human condition.
St Paul recognises, as many of us do, that we are often contradictory beings. We live in tension between what is true and untrue, healthy and unhealthy. He calls this an inward struggle:
“I cannot understand my own behaviour. I fail to carry out the things I want to do, and I find myself doing the very things I hate.
When I act against my will … it is not my true self doing it, but sin which lives in me.”
(Romans 7:19–20)
Before his conversion, Paul — then Saul — persecuted Christians. Only when he acknowledged his sin (Acts 13:9) could he understand its roots in the Fall, a story that seeks to explain how sin entered the world. But evil did not have the final say. God’s plan of restoration healed this broken friendship when Jesus became the willing, reconciling sacrifice at the first Easter. Because of this, we are no longer victims of ancestral sin.
When we integrate our sin — when we own our “stuff” — we also claim God’s investment in us: the call to live fully alive.
Lent offers a golden opportunity to stop struggling against ourselves, to let go of excuses, to stop blaming others, and to acknowledge situations we could have handled more maturely. Let us celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation: to say we’re sorry and seek God’s forgiving friendship once again.
“Go in peace, your sins are forgiven” is music to the soul.
And that truly is worth getting excited about.