Scapegoating and Sin
Fr. Brian Carpenter
Originally posted on 3/21/2010

Most people know that I tend to be a technophile, and at times, a downright geek. So naturally I tend to visit a lot of websites and play around on my computer. However, lately I have become aware of how these communication tools not only serve to unite us, but also to create very steep divisions, and probably to the point where it is sinful.

The Devil does like to create division. In fact, it is quite possibly his best weapon. Why do I say this? Well, so often the devil can get two sinners for the price of one by creating divison. The Gospel readings from the past few weeks (weeks 4 and 5 of Lent, Cycle C) drive this point home. In Gospels we see an account of one sinner (the younger son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and the woman caught in adultery) whose sin is public. What is interesting is how this public sin is able to create scandal in such a way that it leads others into sinful behavior. The older son in the parable, as well as the Scribes and Pharisees in the real-life encounter, reveal how the sin of one person can create a mass hysteria whereby people tend to forget any notions of mercy and compassion, and instead insist on vindictive judgment (illustrated by the older son’s refusal to attend the party, and the mob’s insistence on stoning the woman).

In both cases, the devil seems to have turned one sin into two, as the response to the first sin is often itself sinful. It may be defended as simply insisting upon justice, but God who knows the hearts of humanity seems to know that it is deeper than that. It is not about justice, but about a masking of sin. Rather than truly being in union with his father, the older son seems to have followed his father’s precepts, but in such a way that they never really took root in his person. That is to say, his motivation was just as selfish as that of his younger brother. The only reason he obeyed the father was to gain some reward. Had his will been united with that of his father, he too, would have been found rejoicing at the return of his younger brother. However, his attitude at the younger brother’s return revealed that he himself was guilty of the same sin. In the encounter with the woman, Jesus makes this same point to the Scribes and Pharisees in his command that the one who is without sin cast the first stone. Here again, a group of people wanted to be proven correct vis a vis the one whose sin was publicly known, even though they knew that they too had committed sin, they too had violated the Mosaic law.

This is the classic pattern of scapegoating. And the devil loves to use this as his weapon. Rather than looking toward one’s own sin, the devil prompts us to look at the sin of others and become self-righteous. Why does this help him? The answer is quite simple, as long as we are focused on the sins of others, it is hard for us to truly focus on our own sin. And if we don’t focus on our own sin, we don’t seek forgiveness, we don’t repent. Rather, we become self-righteous.

Sadly, the internet, which is often billed as a place where people are brought together and everyone’s voice can be heard, has fallen victim to this same mentality. Rather than truly being a place where people can come together in unity, it has become a source of greater division. On a superficial level, I will reveal that I am a Mac user. As such, I tend to visit a number of Macintosh related sites. I am often amazed at the manner in which the sites tend to vilify Microsoft, or PC’s in general. Now, I am not proposing that we all hold hands and get along. But what I am suggesting is that the fact that Windows has more bugs than the Mac OS does not excuse the flaws of the Mac OS.

I am also a huge Notre Dame fan. But really, does vilifying other schools somehow make the flaws of Notre Dame (whether spiritual or on the gridiron) better?

What has happened is that the internet has allowed for the creation of a lot of groups that tend to bolster themselves by vilifying other groups. Rather than taking a look at their own sinfulness, they tend to mask their sins by pointing to the sins of others.

Thanks be to God that his Church has given us the season of Lent, a season where we can take a step back and honestly face our own sinfulness rather than mask it by pointing the finger at the sins of others. The attitude of first addressing our own sins before we publicly scold others is the weapon that the Church has given us in order to combat the devil. Should we be upset at sin? Certainly. But we must be careful that their sin does not lead us to sin. Rather than vilifying sinners, and demanding that they be publicly stoned, we should first take a look at our own sins, seek forgiveness for them, repent from our sinful ways, and then proclaim the good news to others, the good new that they too can repent from their sins, and experience the same mercy that we experienced.