Perhaps you've seen one of those interesting optical illusions in which the artist creates a black-and-white figure, that depending on where you focus, on the black or the white, you will see one image or another. I have a recollection of one of these in which you might see either a chalice or the face of Jesus. One seems to be the mirror image of the other. Our sin and God's mercy seem to have that same relationship in holy Scripture. Sin is a black hole that God's forgiveness fills. There is no need for forgiveness unless sin has created an irreparable hole in humanity and human life. This is why trying to fix our own sin is ultimately quite silly. It is not merely that it's impossible because of our fallen nature and the perfection demanded by the law, but if we are capable of fixing our own sinfulness then there is no need for Christ, forgiveness, the sacraments, or the church. And perhaps for that reason every attack on the means of grace is an admission that we think we are capable of taking care of our own sin, thank you very much. This is certainly what Jesus has in mind when he says that "The well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" ( Mk 2:7).

Clarity about our own sinfulness and depravity gets us more than halfway to clarity about the overwhelmingly great mercy which God has won for us in Christ through his passion, death, and resurrection. While there may be much that is infelicitous about the phrase, I believe that the ancient church called the fall of Adam the felix culpa "the blessed sin" because the early church was quite clear about the power of God's mercy and the peace that it granted to broken hearts struggling with sin and human weakness. And as counter-intuitive as this phrase may be, we could only say this on our side of Adam's fall, with all its ill effects. We become truly blessed through an understanding of our own sin and depravity and that that sin and depravity has been met by the overwhelmingly gracious forgiveness of God. Some years ago, my wife required significant abdominal surgery; and as ready as she was for it, surgery is never a pleasant option representing any number of medical threats. Yet that surgery also gave to her wonderful medical benefits, improving her health and overall well-being. Surgery and its pain is the flip side of the health that follows; one without the other is impossible. Confession is like surgery. It is painful. It often results in something being pulled out of our guts. Only then can God's mercy bring the salve of healing into our lives. The empty becomes full. The hungry is filled up. Tears are dried.

This is why Luther will argue backward from the generosity of God's mercy in Christ to the depths of our sin and depravity. How big is the debt owed, if the price to be paid must be the blood of the eternal son of God? Pretty big! If he is granting the Holy Spirit to us, then we have no spirit within us. If he is granting life as a gift to us, then we must be among the dead. If he is forgiving sins to us, then we must be among the sinners. If this is the blessing of God to sinners, then let me be a sinner; a really big one.