Jesus Warns his disciples;

“I tell you solemnly, all men’s sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies; but let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness:“

There is a sin that is unforgivable, a sin that even God cannot forgive. What is this sin? So awful that it goes beyond the mercy of God? What is the sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit?

It is simply the sin of rejecting God, turning away from God.  Because we have this great gift and privilege of free will, we can turn our back on love and life, turn our back on God. In the first reading Adam, in disobedience having eaten the forbidden fruit is now attempting to hide from God, even though this is an impossibility, God knows everything sees everywhere and is everywhere, Adam in his arrogance and shame tries to hide from the one who it is impossible to hide from!  God knows exactly where he is and God knows exactly what he has done.  And God says to him “where are you”, where are you in relation to me, why have you turned your back?  Why did you do that which I told you would bring death?

Of course, Adam tries to pass the blame, it was the woman who told me to eat, he refuses to acknowledge his guilt, to admit he had got it wrong and made a mistake, he refuses gods forgiveness.  As does Eve when she is questioned, she blames the serpent.  She passes the blame down the line, rather than admit guilt and that they have done something wrong.  Rather than ask forgiveness they blame the other, this is the sin against the Holy Spirit.  The sin is unforgivable because it is the sin of not taking responsibility for our actions, freely choosing not to repent, be forgiven.

It is easy to cast blame, to convince ourselves that it’s not our fault, but when we do this, we commit the unforgivable sin, because we refuse to accept gods love, mercy and forgiveness.   

The unforgivable sin is an easy sin to commit with the most dreadful of consequences, eternal death, darkness and hell.  We have to understand that there are no excuses, we are the only ones responsible for our actions and reactions, there is no one to blame but ourselves.

When Peter and Judas betrayed Jesus, Peter by denying he knew him and Judas by handing him over to the authorities.  Peter repented, he was sorry, he asked forgiveness, and so was welcomed back and became the leader of the early church.  The same opportunity was open to Judas.  Even after his terrible crime Judas could have repented, but he chose the unforgivable sin and as Jesus said of the one who betrayed him “better for that man had he never been born.”

God does no want to lose any of us, he made us in love to love and his love goes beyond comprehension.  But he made us with the ability to choose, because love has to be a choice.  Let’s not make the mistake of Adam and Judas, let’s be open, acknowledge our faults bring them before the lord in the sacrament of reconciliation and allow him to heal us.  Let’s never allow ourselves through self deception or pride to commit that most awful unforgivable sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.