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A story is told about how Leonardo da Vinci created one of his great masterpieces, Last Supper. While living in Milan, da Vinci received the inspiration to paint a depiction of Jesus with his disciples on the night before he died. In order to paint the thirteen people, he needed to obtain models, each of whom was to have a face that expressed da Vinci's vision of the particular person he wanted depicted. Needless to say, this was a difficult task.

One Sunday, when da Vinci was at the local cathedral he saw a young man in the choir who looked exactly as the artist had conceived Jesus. He had the features of love, tenderness, caring, innocence, compassion, and kindness. Arrangements were made for the man, Pietri Bandinelli, to sit as the model for Christ. Years went by, and the painting was still not completed. Da Vinci simply could not find the right face for Judas. He was looking for one who was filled with despair, wickedness, greed, and sin. It took ten years, but da Vinci finally found a man in prison who he felt was perfect as the model for Judas. Again arrangements were made for the man to pose for the painting. Leonardo labored feverishly for ten days, but as the work progressed he noticed that changes were taking place in the prisoner. His face became even more strained with tension and his eyes seemed to be filled with horror as he observed the master artist painting his likeness on the wall. Thus, one day da Vinci stopped his work and asked the prisoner directly, "What is troubling you so much?" The man began to cry, but then controlling himself, he responded, "Don't you remember me? Years ago I posed for you as the model for the Lord Jesus." The man had turned his back on Christ and given his life over to sin and in the process the world brought him to his low state of degradation. Those things he once loved he now hated and the things he despised were now special to him. Where once there was love, now misery reigned. Where once there was hope, now despair. Where once light was abundant, darkness was now dominant.

This powerful tale illustrates very clearly the destructive power of sin in our world. Today our Gospel Reading shows how sin cripples our ability to be who we want to be, the one God calls us to be. Fortunately, however, Jesus is the antidote to sin, the one who defeats evil through reconciliation. As contemporary disciples of the Lord, we are both called to see the destructive capability of sin in our own lives and do what we can to effect reconciliation so as to destroy evil in our world.

The destructive power of sin and God's rescue of the world has been an integral part of salvation history. Sin first entered the world with a destructive force that forever changed the direction of human history and actually initiated God's plan to rescue us and bring us home. The sin of Adam and Eve removed them from paradise and for all time men and women would labor by the sweat of their brow, feel pain, and experience a physical death. Yet, even as hard and as far as humankind fell, still God provided the vehicle for reconciliation that would allow men and women to gain the paradise that had been God's plan for them at the outset. God provided a bridge, but it was necessary for each human to enter upon the journey. God pressures no one and forces the hand of none. Reconciliation is provided, but we must exercise our free will in order to take advantage of God's plan for us.

The pattern of human sin and God's reconciliation continued throughout the pages of the Hebrew Scriptures. God rescued his people from bondage in Egypt, but we recall that the path to the promised land was long and arduous. The physical distance from Egypt to the promised land was not great and even people in Moses' day could, with adequate supplies, have made the journey in a few weeks or less. But we know that the Jews wandered rather aimlessly for forty years in the desert. We also know why -- sin. The people were rebellious and disobeyed God's Law, as provided to Moses on Mount Sinai. The people's worship of the golden calf was only one of many similar incidents where the people broke faith with Yahweh. The destructive result of sin was obvious for the Israelites. God provided the way home, however, and the people eventually reached the land of their inheritance, but not without great delay and much pain. Few who left Egypt probably entered Israel. Sin has its consequences.

The wages of sin were also graphically demonstrated during the period of the kings in Israel. Amos and Hosea were sent by God to the northern kingdom of Israel to warn the religious elite that God was not pleased and that unless sin was rooted out and a return to the Law of Yahweh made evident there would be severe consequences. Amos (2:13-16) wrote: "I will press you down in your place, just as a cart presses down when it is full of sheaves. Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain their strength, nor shall the mighty save their lives; those who handle the bow shall not stand, and those who are swift of foot shall not save themselves, nor shall those who ride horses save their lives; and those who are stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day." When Amos' warning was not heeded the nation was overrun by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.E. Sin in the forms of idolatry and social injustice led directly to the destruction of the nation.

In the southern kingdom of Judah a similar pattern was seen. Numerous prophets, including Isaiah and Jeremiah, prophesied exile for the people unless the rulers changed their method of leadership. Isaiah (5:26) wrote, "He will raise a signal for a nation far away, and whistle for a people at the ends of the earth; Here they come, swiftly, speedily!" Their refusal to listen and heed the warning of the prophets spelled doom for Judah through the infamous Babylonian exile. Sin had again raised its ugly head and brought death and destruction to God's people. Yet, God obviously never gave up on Israel and, thus, provided the way home, eventually sending Jesus, the premier reconciler, and the one who would initiate God's kingdom in our world.

Today's Gospel Reading on an individual level demonstrates how sin cripples our ability to be the person we want to be and the one God wants us to be. Yet, God also provides the antidote to our human frailty. We hear of an encounter between Jesus, a paralytic, and this man's faithful friends. The cures of the possessed man and the leper were obviously public knowledge and thus people from all around came to see Jesus, possibly seeking a physical healing. The paralytic and his friends have come too late and cannot gain access to the house where Jesus is staying. They are not deterred. On the contrary, they use an innovative and possibly dangerous method of opening the roof and lowering their friend before the Lord. We can imagine the scene and what others would have thought or said.

Jesus recognizes the faith of the paralytic's friends, but his response was not what other's expected. Instead of immediately curing the man he says, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Some of the scribes observing this event cry that Jesus is speaking blasphemy, leading to a discussion on the issue. Was Jesus equating sin with the man's paralytic condition? Did the man's sin or that of his family bring physical harm to his body? Scripture experts tell us the answer is assuredly no, but it is clear nonetheless that the Lord is communicating an important lesson. Jesus is saying that sin is destructive, that it cripples us in many ways. Through sin we cannot be all that we want to be. As the paralytic is restricted in his physical ability, so sin restricts us. Thus, Jesus wants to demonstrate if we can rid ourselves of sin we will be able to do all things as his physical cure of the paralytic will allow the man to move freely, without restrictions. The connection between the destructive power of sin and the superior power of Jesus to conquer evil is illustrated through the Lord's physical cure of the paralytic.

Today society has put sin on the "back burner." For many reasons contemporary people are seemingly not concerned about the power of sin and its ramifications. Even more importantly, many today do not recognize that sin is ever present. People today simply do not think that the things they sometimes do or fail to do are sinful. All seems acceptable; all is relative. People promote the idea of inclusivity, which is clearly an important Christian virtue, but they extend it to personal and even societal behavior. We go so far as to claim that unless we are accepting of our own actions and those of others that we are not being good Christians or Americans. However, we must be wary that we are not deluding ourselves, seeing an always bright and rosy picture when darkness is clearly evident. We should remember Oscar Wilde's novelette, The Picture of Dorian Gray, written in the early part of the twentieth century, which describes the life of a tortured man who is unable to honestly look at his life. He refuses to look inside and accept who he truly is -- namely a sinner who needs reconciliation. Only when a portrait, painted when he was at his physical prime, shows his corrupt inner self, does he realize his mistake. Unfortunately it was too late for Dorian Gray, but we can and must recognize our less than perfect selves and seek the reconciliation of the Lord.

Once we admit our personal sin and the need for reconciliation for ourselves, then we must recognize our sin against others and our need to rebuild trust, confidence, and relationships, that is the destruction sin causes.

The challenge to be a reconciler in our world is significant. A story illustrates the invitation placed before us to bring healing to our world. Two brothers who lived on adjoining farms developed a bitter dispute. It was their first serious rift in forty years of farming side-by-side, sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as necessary. They had never had a quarrel until now. It began with a small misunderstanding but eventually mushroomed into a major difference, and finally exploded into a war of words, followed by separation and silence. One morning there was a knock at the back door of the elder brother's door. He opened the door and found a man standing outside. He was stooped and was holding a carpenter's toolbox. "I am looking for a few days' work," said the itinerant carpenter. "Perhaps you have some small jobs that I can do." "Well, I believe I do," said the older brother. "Look across the creek at that other farm. That is my neighbor, in fact, my brother's property. Last week there was a meadow between our farms, but then he ran a bulldozer through the river levee and now there is a creek between us. I suspect he did that to spite me, but I will do him one better. You see that big pile of lumber. I want you to build a fence, an eight-foot-high fence, between us so that I never have to look at his place again. Can you handle such a job? The man replied, "I think I understand the situation. Please show me your tool shed and I will do a job that will please you."

The brother was going to town, so he got the carpenter all set up and then left for the day. The carpenter toiled all day, measuring, cutting, and pounding nails. At sunset the brother returned from town just as the carpenter was finishing. The brother was aghast; there was no fence but rather a bridge across the creek. It was a terrific piece of workmanship, even including handrails. And to the older brother's surprise, he saw his younger brother crossing the bridge with his arms outstretched. "You are quite a craftsman and brother to do this after all that was said between us." The two brothers warmly embraced at the center of the bridge. As they turned they saw the carpenter packing up his tools. "No wait," they said, "Don't leave. We have other projects for you to do." "No thanks," said the carpenter. "I must be moving along. I have other bridges that need to be built."

The moral of the story is obvious. Sin destroyed the relationship between the brothers, but reconciliation in the form of the bridge builder restored the trust and confidence that was shattered. This is our task as well on two levels. We must look into our hearts and recognize that we, as part of our human condition, are sinners and thus in need of God's reconciliation. Jesus has already started construction of the bridge that will rebuild our relationship with him, but we must get busy and finish our side. The Lord will not force us to finish the bridge, but the consequences of our failure will appear, as they have appeared over human history. Our bridge to the Lord is necessary in reconstructing our bridge to others. When both of these bridges are completed we will be able to continue our path to eternal life. Then we will hear the Lord's welcoming words, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34b).