Lost: “There must be some way to earn forgiveness”

Nancy Guthrie:

In this week’s episode [of Lost], a character who accidentally killed a man bowed before a priest before being put to death. But the priest refused to absolve him of his sin.

“There must be some way to earn forgiveness,” he said.

This scene captures the desperate cry of all those who have done wrong. “There must be something I can do! There must be some way I can earn the pardon of God not only for what I’ve done, but for who I am!”

Perhaps the answer in the gospel might seem, at first, as harsh as that of the priest in the drama who says there is not enough time to do penance. Because the gospel says, “No, there is no way you can earn forgiveness. Your debt is impossible to pay.” But into this hopeless situation Jesus steps in and says, “I will pay. I will earn your forgiveness by my own sinless life and through my own sacrificial death. I will provide for you the forgiveness you do not deserve and cannot earn.”