A wise man once told me that whenever someone says the word, “but,” start listening. Because, no matter what they said before that, they’re about to tell you what they really want you to know, right after the “but.” Jesus does that very thing in today’s Gospel discussion with the Scribes. I’m not saying that every word He uttered before the “but,” was just prelude – or had no real meaning. That’s not it at all. Before He used the coordinating conjunction, He famously explained how Satan cannot drive out Satan, because a house divided cannot stand. What Jesus says in the first part of today’s Gospel reading is definitely important. BUT … look at what He says after that short word.
In this section of Mark, the Scribes had come down from Jerusalem because they heard that Jesus was healing people and casting out demons. When they saw Him, they said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” Then Jesus said to them,
"Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"
In Leviticus, Jewish law clearly says, “the one who blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him.” And Jesus told these Scribes (those who were trained to understand and teach the law) that what the law told them about blasphemy was wrong. Jesus told them that even if someone takes the name of God in vain, that person can be forgiven and not be stoned. Then comes the big “but,” where He says, “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”
I don’t know about you, but when Jesus begins talking about the possibility that there is an eternal sin – one that cannot ever be forgiven – that tends to make me a little nervous.
You see, I truly believe in a God of ultimate grace, mercy, and forgiveness. The God that I understand is the one who — through the Incarnate Word, hanging helplessly and painfully on a cross — said, “[F]orgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” thereby gaining pardon for those who were directly responsible for the murder of God’s only Son.
I have experienced the gracious and loving God whom Jesus talked about in the parable of the Prodigal Son. I have been both the prodigal and the other son from that story. And nowadays I find myself being the father of the prodigal. I have, at times, squandered what I was given, and come back, begging God the Father for another chance. And at other times I have been the son who stood on the porch and bitterly complained because I was the “faithful” one who worked hard and didn’t get the credit I “deserved.” And in both cases, God forgave the sin and welcomed me with open arms. That is the God I know and experience on a daily basis. So I might feel worried when Jesus talks about an unforgivable sin.
But, you know what? Jesus’ words concerning this sin are not cause for fear, they are simply a statement of fact.
Sin can be defined as walking apart from, or turning our back on, God. And any time we walk apart from God, Jesus has told us that if we repent (the Greek word for which, “metanoia,” means “turning around,”) if we just turn around and walk with God, then the Spirit of God will welcome us back to that place and we will be reconciled with God. When Jesus said, “[W]hoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.,” He was simply saying what theologians have said in every generation since. That is … the Holy Spirit is the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation. Without the healing power of the Spirit, you can never forgive or be forgiven. Therefore, if you refuse to embrace that Spirit, or if you deny its existence, in other words, “blaspheme against” it, you are committing a sin that cannot be forgiven because you have foreclosed the Spirit’s action. So Jesus was not threatening us, He was telling us how things work.
And how things work is this: We forgive because God forgave us first. We love because God loved us first. Every day, in a multitude of ways, we sin and are sinned against. Some of those sins are small — mere peccadillos — things that were never meant to be malicious, but were committed as mistakes. Others are bigger — things that we do to intentionally cause harm, or otherwise go against God’s command that we love our neighbors as ourselves. And still others are sins against God alone, things that do not outwardly hurt others, but still separate us from the love and grace of God. Jesus told us that every one of those sins can be forgiven, if we repent and return to God. In essence, all we have to do is want to be forgiven, and want to change our ways, and we will be forgiven. But once we have that forgiveness from God, then the hard work of walking in the way of Jesus starts.
Once we have received God’s forgiveness, we must pursue the life of God’s new creation. As it says in our corporate confession in the Book of Common Prayer, we should “delight in (God’s) will and walk in (God’s) ways, to the glory of (God’s) name.” And walking in God’s way means walking in the Way of Jesus. That means offering God’s love to our neighbors and forgiving those who sin against us, just as we have been forgiven our own sins.
When I leave here today, and that first of many people cut me off or drive aggressively, as I make my way back home, I am supposed to treat those people the way Jesus would. I am supposed to forgive them — as opposed to those well-worn gestures that being a driver in America “entitles” us to use. And when I hear people telling some story about politics in America today, I should believe that those who believe differently than I do, in the political realms, are also children of God, and I should treat them that way, instead of ascribing bad motives to the things they say and do. When I hear people saying bad things about other people, I should not only walk away from the conversation, but perhaps should also point out that the object of their scorn is one the beloved in Jesus’ flock. In other words, as a forgiven person, my job is to: Love the Lord my God, with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength; and to love my neighbor as myself.
So the good news is: you don’t have to be frightened of some obscure, unforgivable sin. The bad news is: once you’re forgiven, you have to act like it, live like it, and forgive others as you’ve been forgiven.
In the name of the God of forgiveness, Father, Son, and ever-forgiving Holy Spirit. Amen.
[Proper 5B Sermon 060621,1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15), Psalm 138, 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35]
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