{"id":6321,"date":"2013-12-15T17:43:56","date_gmt":"2013-12-15T23:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/joeljmiller\/?p=6321"},"modified":"2013-12-15T17:43:56","modified_gmt":"2013-12-15T23:43:56","slug":"why-its-good-to-remember-our-sins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/joeljmiller\/2013\/12\/why-its-good-to-remember-our-sins\/","title":{"rendered":"Why it’s good to remember our sins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Over the course of several books, crime novelist Philip Davison gave life to his character Harry Fielding, an operative in British intelligence tasked with undesirable jobs. A small train of colorful characters orbit through Harry\u2019s universe, including his flamboyant aunt Kate.<\/p>\n

\"Remembering<\/a>
wheat_in_your_hair, Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At one point in the final Fielding outing, A Burnable Town<\/em>, Kate wants her nephew to go to church.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh God,\u201d Harry exclaims. \u201cI don\u2019t have to contemplate my sin, do I, Kate?\u201d<\/p>\n

She answered with \u201ca very practical\u201d yes and off they went.<\/p>\n

I can identify with Harry. Contemplating my sin is never fun. I haven\u2019t been to confession recently, and there\u2019s a part of me (the better, more truthful part) that thinks I\u2019m just avoiding the reckoning. Usually my failings sit there in the open, gross and obvious. Sometimes I have to swing a lamp in the darker crannies of my heart. I hate it either way.<\/p>\n

The prayer book has a brief preparation for confession that helps in self-evaluation, and the primary confessional prayer lists sins that run the gamut. Check<\/em>, I think as I recite it, check \u2026 check \u2026 check<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But we\u2019re not meant to look at our failings without also looking to the cross. <\/p>\n

I heard a presentation<\/a> by Fr. Tom Hopko on the Lord\u2019s Prayer in which he mentioned three reasons why it\u2019s good for us to remember our sins. The first goes right to this point: We remember our sins to more fully appreciate the grace of God. To face my sins while being reminded that Christ has covered them is a profound relief.<\/p>\n

The simultaneous remembrance of our sin and Christ\u2019s mercy is the basis of Christian testimony. \u201cBut such were some of you,\u201d says Paul after darting through a litany of wickedness. Our sin is part of our story, though obviously not the better part \u2014 thanks be to God.<\/p>\n

The second reason to remember our sin, said Fr. Tom, is to find motivation for holiness in the future. I suppose this use of our remembrance is like the jolt of pain we feel when touching something hot. I\u2019m not going there again<\/em>. I wonder if we take full use of this function of memory. Often enough, I\u2019m afraid I don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s far more likely for me to be prideful, which it so happens is addressed by Fr. Tom\u2019s third reason for remembering our sins \u2014 so that we would not judge others. If forgiveness has any fruit, humility must be a large part of the first harvest.<\/p>\n

\u201c[I]f we remember our own sins, we shall never store up the sins of others,\u201d said John Chrysostom.<\/p>\n

This last point calls to mind Christ\u2019s parable of the forgiven servant. Relieved of his own debt, he is in no position to demand repayment from others. Neither am I. God is the judge. And as we remember our failings, we can be thankful for his mercy on us all.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the course of several books, crime novelist Philip Davison gave life to his character Harry Fielding, an operative in British intelligence tasked with undesirable jobs. A small train of colorful characters orbit through Harry\u2019s universe, including his flamboyant aunt Kate. At one point in the final Fielding outing, A Burnable Town, Kate wants her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1270,"featured_media":6322,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[14,254,285,449,534,633],"class_list":["post-6321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiritual-growth","tag-a-burnable-town","tag-forgiveness","tag-grace","tag-mercy","tag-philip-davison","tag-sin"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy it's good to remember our sins<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Over the course of several books, crime novelist Philip Davison gave life to his character Harry Fielding, an operative in British intelligence tasked\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/joeljmiller\/2013\/12\/why-its-good-to-remember-our-sins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why it's good to remember our sins\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Over the course of several books, crime novelist Philip Davison gave life to his character Harry Fielding, an operative in British intelligence tasked\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/joeljmiller\/2013\/12\/why-its-good-to-remember-our-sins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Joel J. 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