What is the Unforgivable Sin?

 

July 7, 2024

Today’s Gospel reminds us of one of the many times Jesus was rejected; this time by his own townspeople. The people in Jesus’ hometown knew him like we know our neighbour, like we would know ‘Sharma aunty’s daughter’ or ‘Mr. Jones’ son’. “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and Jude, and Simon? Are not also his sisters here with us?”, they asked. And so, they did not take him very seriously. And Jesus leaves his hometown saying that a prophet is never recognized in his own time. He is disappointed, but not angry. But a few Sundays ago we read of another rejection, when the Pharisees say that Jesus was able to heal a man who was allegedly possessed by the devil, because he himself came from the devil or Beelzebub. This time, however, Jesus is more than just hurt. This time he terms the response of the Pharisees an unforgivable ‘sin against the Holy Spirit’ (Mathew 12:31, Mark 3:29 and Luke 11:15 & 12:10).

Why the difference in these responses when both sets of people seem to be rejecting him?  And what is this unforgivable sin that seems to go completely against the rest of Jesus’ teachings in which he has repeatedly stressed a forgiving God?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1864) tries to explain this unforgivable sin, in this manner: There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit - such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss.”  

This does not mean that a person necessarily needs to ask for forgiveness to be forgiven. In fact, Jesus on the cross, prays that his Father forgive his oppressors ‘for they know not what they do”.  Neither is the unforgivable sin to be equated with any kind of rejection  of Jesus,  or else the Nazarenes too would have been guilty of such a sin.  And in the parable of the Last Judgement, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that all those who actively loved their neighbour, including even those who did not recognise or openly accept him, were all saved.  In fact Jesus himself teaches that “everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven” (Luke 12:10). So obviously, when talking about the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit, the church is not talking about a rejection of Jesus, nor does it seem that atheism or heresy are to be equated with this sin. Rather, the crucial phrases in the Church’s explanation is the hardening of the heart that refuses to  accept mercy.

So what is this hardening of the heart that the Church talks about?  I would suggest that sometimes it so happens that a person chooses to cut him/herself off from hope, hardens the heart against hope, as it were. And when one does this, one seems to build up an internal wall that prevents him/her from recognising good anywhere, so that even acts of kindness are seen as coming from an evil place. We may all be guilty of this at some point in our life.  For instance, we might be so hurt by a family member or a friend that we just cannot see any good in them. And sometimes whatever they do, we only see it as harmful or deceptive. And then we create a wall, a way of looking at them and at life, that only we can change or break down. And as long as this wall stands, there is no way that we can be healed. If then, there is a person who refuses to see good in anybody or anything, then this wall that they build up against the world becomes an unbreakable wall and the sin an unforgivable sin. Because  how can God forgive someone who refuses to break down that wall that would allow him/her to  hope and accept mercy. That is why, in other modern commentaries, some have explained this unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit as the sin of ultimate desperation. It is the kind of desperation that Judas perhaps experienced when he went and hanged himself. Peter too had denied Jesus, but Peter does not cut himself off, while Judas loses hope completely and cuts himself off. The reason, then, that this is an unforgivable sin, is because for a person who sees no hope, forgiveness has no meaning. Forgiveness is the start of a journey towards something good, but it starts with a spark of hope - hope that there is some good out there that can embrace us.

And so, though we may be justified sometimes in questioning the ‘goodness’ of certain people, we must remember not to close ourselves off so completely that we cannot see true goodness just because it comes from a source we do not like. If the lives of such sources reflect some, at least, of the gifts of the Spirit i.e. “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”(Galatians 5:22-23). (See blog: What are the sins of the Flesh), irrespective of what they believe or don’t believe about Jesus or God, irrespective of whether they have hurt us in the past or not, then we need to be open to their truth.  Because, as Jesus says, grapes cannot come from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles.  (Mathew 7:16) 

First Reading: Ezekiel 2: 2-5

As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them.

Second Reading: Second Corinthians 12: 7-10

Therefore, because of these surpassingly great revelations, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 

Gospel: Mark 6: 1-6

Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.