At last, a well-argued exposition of a concept I’ve been wrestling with for a long time. Many years ago, I heard Don Williams say to our congregation: “You show me someone who says they are hurt, and I’ll show you someone who is resentful. They need to repent to be free.”
At the time it felt as cruel as it was liberating. I think this is the best articulation I have seen, of the mechanism he referred to in a simple, brutal, catch-phrase.
That, too, was great teaching, and has fed my pastoral practice over the years, but this article is really helpful! Thank you.
So excellent, taking notes here! This reminds me of the Alter calls of “rededicating your life to Christ”. Without a sacramental way to handle sin running down front to rededicate one’s life after sinning was the only option in the Evangelical church. That created many theological problems and could never sustain a way of life. Unfortunately, sin is apart of our lives. How many times does a person rededicate their life before it leads to even deeper shame? The Holy Spirit convicts and leads to agency. Without a way to resolve it like confession, and penance or making amends, helplessness ensues.
Thanks Kristie. Mulling your comment over, I find myself wondering—especially from an Ignatian perspective—whether one of the challenges in much Protestant spirituality shaped by a strongly forensic reading of sola fide is that formation can stall at the level of belief and behaviour, while desire itself remains largely untouched. Sanctification becomes either optional—something for the especially serious/attentive—or else compressed into narrow, often constricting forms of holiness driven by effort and self-monitoring - which is so sterile. Many live genuinely forgiven, yet inwardly restless, managing sin rather than being gently and patiently healed from it.
Ignatian spirituality begins somewhere else: with attention to the movements of the heart. It teaches us to notice where desire is being drawn toward God and where freedom is quietly narrowing. Consolation deepens faith, hope, and love; desolation is not failure, but information—revealing where grace is inviting healing. Within a sacramental (that you suggest), participatory vision, grace is not simply affirmed but repeatedly received, patiently reshaping desire through prayer, confession, Eucharist, and the Examen.
In this way, sanctification becomes neither optional nor oppressive, but life-giving: the slow liberation of desire and the growth of real freedom. The Christian life is no longer organised around control or reassurance, but around availability—learning, over time, to respond to God with a freer, truer heart.
I can feel a follow up article coming on. Sorry for the long reply!
Yes, please write more. “The Christian life is no longer organised around control or reassurance, but around availability—learning, over time, to respond to God with a freer, truer heart.”❤️
Jason, this is one of the best pieces on formation I have ever read. Maybe that's because I've never read about the concept of sin in a piece that is so succinct and clear. I love how you've explained it from the ancient Ignatian perspective, as well as from the contemporary lens of trauma. Thank you. I will be referring to this frequently.
At last, a well-argued exposition of a concept I’ve been wrestling with for a long time. Many years ago, I heard Don Williams say to our congregation: “You show me someone who says they are hurt, and I’ll show you someone who is resentful. They need to repent to be free.”
At the time it felt as cruel as it was liberating. I think this is the best articulation I have seen, of the mechanism he referred to in a simple, brutal, catch-phrase.
That, too, was great teaching, and has fed my pastoral practice over the years, but this article is really helpful! Thank you.
Thanks Toby, for reading and the feedback
Excellent read as we head towards Lent. Thanks!
So excellent, taking notes here! This reminds me of the Alter calls of “rededicating your life to Christ”. Without a sacramental way to handle sin running down front to rededicate one’s life after sinning was the only option in the Evangelical church. That created many theological problems and could never sustain a way of life. Unfortunately, sin is apart of our lives. How many times does a person rededicate their life before it leads to even deeper shame? The Holy Spirit convicts and leads to agency. Without a way to resolve it like confession, and penance or making amends, helplessness ensues.
Thanks Kristie. Mulling your comment over, I find myself wondering—especially from an Ignatian perspective—whether one of the challenges in much Protestant spirituality shaped by a strongly forensic reading of sola fide is that formation can stall at the level of belief and behaviour, while desire itself remains largely untouched. Sanctification becomes either optional—something for the especially serious/attentive—or else compressed into narrow, often constricting forms of holiness driven by effort and self-monitoring - which is so sterile. Many live genuinely forgiven, yet inwardly restless, managing sin rather than being gently and patiently healed from it.
Ignatian spirituality begins somewhere else: with attention to the movements of the heart. It teaches us to notice where desire is being drawn toward God and where freedom is quietly narrowing. Consolation deepens faith, hope, and love; desolation is not failure, but information—revealing where grace is inviting healing. Within a sacramental (that you suggest), participatory vision, grace is not simply affirmed but repeatedly received, patiently reshaping desire through prayer, confession, Eucharist, and the Examen.
In this way, sanctification becomes neither optional nor oppressive, but life-giving: the slow liberation of desire and the growth of real freedom. The Christian life is no longer organised around control or reassurance, but around availability—learning, over time, to respond to God with a freer, truer heart.
I can feel a follow up article coming on. Sorry for the long reply!
Yes, please write more. “The Christian life is no longer organised around control or reassurance, but around availability—learning, over time, to respond to God with a freer, truer heart.”❤️
Jason, this is one of the best pieces on formation I have ever read. Maybe that's because I've never read about the concept of sin in a piece that is so succinct and clear. I love how you've explained it from the ancient Ignatian perspective, as well as from the contemporary lens of trauma. Thank you. I will be referring to this frequently.
Thank you, Debbie.
Brilliant writing. It brings to mind Barbara Brown Taylor’s lovely line, “sin is our only hope”.
Her book, 'Speaking of Sin' I will look that up, thank you!
A good word!