If human beings are wired for sin, God is wired for forgiveness. It's a nice combination in the long run. But in the short term there are some debilitating results: sin destroys relationships, we do not forgive others as we should, and the fear of being refused forgiveness makes us hesitant to repent.

We enter the season of Lent through the ashes of our sin. We sincerely intend to mend our ways. At the start of this season we impose a penance on ourselves to show our desire to change. But now that Lent is a few weeks old, many of us struggle to maintain its spirit.

The weather is breaking. Daylight savings time comes early. Spring training is underway. Chocolate Easter eggs are already at the grocery counter. We may have intended to perform six weeks of penance, but we are weak. We shorten the time between ashes and chocolate. We avoid the hard work of facing our sins, apologizing for them, and making the changes that will keep us from sinning again. Are we not sorry? Or have we decided that repentance doesn't matter all that much?

Next Sunday's Gospel foresees this problem (Luke 13:1-9). Jesus takes on the question of how sin relates to bad circumstances. He pacifies some people concerned about those who suffer at the hands of tyrants (like Pilate) or at the whims of nature (like a falling tower). It wasn't their fault, Jesus says. Their suffering was not a direct result of their sin. The people hearing these words surely breathed a sigh of relief - until Jesus said it didn't make much difference. Sin bears similar consequences. "Repent," he says, or "you will all perish as they did."

In the parable about the fruitless fig tree, Jesus shows God's patience. If a tree does not bear fruit, God will give it a chance through cultivation and fertilization. If it still won't bear fruit, "you can cut it down," he says, but surely God prefers a fruitful tree.

So next Sunday's responsorial Psalm (103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11) comes as saving grace. "The Lord is kind and merciful," it proclaims. Its explanation of God's goodness seems to outdo the vision of divine mercy in the Gospel. Usually people think the God of the New Testament is kinder than the God of the Old Testament, but next week's readings could argue the case the other way. Jesus shows a God who will forgive, but who stands ready to administer divine retribution through tyrants, towers and axes. The psalm takes another view altogether.

The psalm's list of God's benefits seems endless: God pardons all your iniquities, heals all your ills, redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with kindness and compassion, and secures justice for the oppressed. God showed Moses how to live and performed mighty deeds for the children of Israel.

This proclamation is not just adoration: it is motivation. We stand in awe before a God who possesses these qualities, but we also enter more willingly the mystery of repentance and forgiveness. Jesus tries to elicit contrition by reminding people of the repercussions if they do not repent. The psalm elicits contrition by reminding people how easily forgiveness can be obtained if they do repent.

This psalm could also motivate us to forgive as God does. This is not easy. Some of us withhold forgiveness from people who have offended our dignity. Or we grant a miserly forgiveness. This is easy to spot in children, especially when parents make them apologize. Kids may say the words, "I'm sorry," but a bowed head and clenched teeth send a different message. Adults are a little more expert at concealing such feelings. We may say the words and then ignore them. Or we may never apologize for the wrongs we have done.

Sin has consequences, but so does forgiveness. Forgiveness can lift spirits, make life's road straighter, and open our heart to a greater capacity for love. It may seem as though we are wired for sin, but we are wired for forgiveness as well. We give it freely to those we love because we don't want to lose their affection; we seek forgiveness freely from the same people for the same reason.

It may seem that God's kindness surpasses ours as the heavens are high above the earth, but that's no excuse to think we could never receive it or imitate it. The Lord is kind and merciful. This Lent, maybe we should be too.

Father Paul Turner is the pastor of St. Munchin Parish in Cameron.

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