Saturday, October 12, 2013

George, the skeleton, Talked!

My teaching friend and one of the best friends I ever had, kept a replica adult
skeleton at the front of his classroom. Around its neck hung the sign, "George
Talked!" Quite a discipline maneuver. There, of course, was always a bit of
humor in his classroom; he was loved by students and fellow teachers! He died
several years ago of complications of diabetes; I'm not sure where George hangs
out, these days.

We all have skeletons in our closet! They are the things that we really do not want
others to know, and may be things that no one ever finds out. Most of these
skeletons center around things we have done that would fall into the category
of sin. 

I am not sure how I would survive being a Catholic who goes to confession. I
am not sure I believe that a priest would have the power to forgive sins that have
already, by the grace of God, been forgiven. I am guessing that even with a priest,
there would be some skeletons still unknown, and that it wouldn't matter how many
"Hail Mary's" I said, there would still be those things I am embarrassed to share.

There is nothing you can do to make God love you more.
There is nothing you can do to make God love you less.

I love that quote, and I have forgotten who to attribute it to. The point, here, is
that the one avenue of "safe revelation," it seems to me, even for those really
nasty sins, is the avenue of discussing them with our God.  The obvious point is
that God has the key to that skeleton closet. He already knows what hangs in
there and, through the work and blood of His son, Jesus, those skeletons are
a moot point.

He forgives sins of the past, of today and of the future. The priest may say, 'Sin
no more," but we will. God knows this. He is bigger and stronger than our sins.
When we talk to Him, He listens and understands. It's called GRACE! What a 
remarkable God we love!

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