MAKING MISTAKES
MY TAKE - OTHER’S TAKE
- GOD’S TAKE
ON MY MISTAKES
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 16 Tuesday in Ordinary
Time is, “Making Mistakes: My Take - Other’s Take - God’s Take on My Mistakes.”
Today’s first reading from Micah and today’s Psalm 85
triggered for me the theme of this homily: Making mistakes: my take on my
mistakes as well as how I think others take my mistakes - as well as I think
God takes my mistakes.
WHEN WE MAKE A MISTAKE
When we make a mistake - whom do we think about mainly?
Ourselves? Others?
God?
In this homily I want to think about all 3 - how we see
mistakes impacting ourselves as well as others and God?
MYSELF
Let me begin with myself?
What do we say when we make a mistake?
When I make a mistake,
I say things like, “Dumb! Dumb! Dumb!”
or “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”
I close my eyes when saying that or I say, “Dang it! Dang
it! Dang it!”
I might even hit myself or bang my fist against the palm of my hand. “Oooouuh!
Uuuuuuuuuuuh!”
For example, I miss an appointment and blame it on my old
age. Or I end up in the wrong nursing home as I did last Saturday and I get frustrated at myself for the mistake I
made. Well, Crownsville and Croften
both begin with a “C”
So when we sin or make a mistake - we might ask - “How
does this make me feel about myself.”
What do I think about myself as myself? Can I forgive
myself? As priest people tell me about
the mistakes of their life - some they are
aware of life like a scar on the skin of their soul.
Do I feel guilty? Can I forgive myself? Do I deny that I made a mistake?
I like the distinction some make between shame and
guilt. Guilt means, I made a mistake.
Shame means I am a mistake. So guilt is
easier than shame.
OTHERS
Then there are others?
Sometimes we worry about what others will say or think about us when we
make a mistake?
We hope they will give us a break - allowing us to be mistake
makers.
Here is where we get a chance to understand Christ - who said, “Let the one without sin
toss the first stone.
Here is a chance for us to discover what others are
really like - who our friends are?
Friends are those who call us up - to see if we are okay
- after the news gets out that we got caught shop lifting - or we got fired
because we stole from work - or what have you.
Sunglasses and side doors and the dark are mistake makers
best friends.
GOD
Then there is God. How do we see God - when it comes to
our making a mistake.
Today’s first reading from Micah has God described as the
God who removes guilt. It says that God does not persist in anger at our being
a mistake maker. Micah says God has compassion on us.
Micah says that God casts into the depths of the sea, all
our sins.
I remember hearing a big sermon by a priest saying God
buys this big trunk - fills it with our sins - locks it - chains it - and then
throws it into the deepest part of the ocean.
In today’s psalm, the author says God doesn’t rejoice in our sins. It says God covers our sins. Like we’re sitting next to God at a table with a white table cloth and a red juicy meatball gets away and rolls off our plate and God says - pointing to the sunset out the window and everyone looks that way while God slips off his white napkin and covers the table cloth that we messed up - with that slippery meat ball.
God is all about joy, rejoicing, kindness, life, saving
us from sin and self-embarrassment.
We might get angry with ourselves - others might get
angry with us for spilling bloody red spaghetti sauce on the family name - God
doesn’t. God likes us as part of his creative juices. Amen.
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