Page 209 - Built For God Handbook (Annotated and Explained Edition) - The Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching - The New Evangelization - Pope John Paul II

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The mystics speak of a great Cloud of Unknowing, which resonates with the
first sentence of this chapter, claiming wisdom lies in knowing that we do not
know. The more we learn about life and the mystery of faith, the more we
realize there is to learn, which calls for a certain humility that, when denied,
leads one into the sin of hypocrisy.

The Greek word for sin is hamartia, which means falling short, like an arrow
falling short of its target. At its core, sin is the failure, by our thoughts,
actions, words, or omissions, to be the person we have been created to be.
There is a saying, “Name it, claim it, don’t blame it, tame it, and then we can
aim it,” which basically refers to the process of naming our sin and
sinfulness (that which makes us sin) and coming to the Lord to receive both
forgiveness and healing, as the way to an inner freedom that can then be
shared with others.

The biblical incident of the people who were being bitten by poisonous
scorpions in the wilderness and saved from death by looking upon a bronze
serpent raised up on a standard is a prophetic presaging of Jesus, the Son
of God, dying on the cross. As that bronze serpent was without poison, so
too, Jesus was sinless and without any addiction in him. As the Messiah
who came to redeem and sanctify, he who is free from sin has the power to
set us free from sin also.

b
a Matthew 23:1-4; 1 John 1:8; John 9:41; Job 36:26; Romans 6:15-18;
c 1 Peter 2:22-24; 1 John 3:4-6; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:1-8.
d