The Incredible Hulk and Sin

In the comic, The Incredible Hulk, scientist Bruce Banner is exposed a gamma bomb. The exposure to the gamma rays causes Dr. Banner to involuntarily turn into the Incredible Hulk, a giant, green, humanoid monster whenever he gets angry. (Disclaimer: I am NOT a comic book geek so if I get any Incredible Hulk factoids wrong please do not persecute me). In the 2008 movie, The Incredible Hulk, they occasionally put on the screen, "DAYS SINCE LAST INCIDENT" followed by the applicable number.

I have to say, sometimes I feel like Bruce Banner in a constant battle to ward off those temptations and triggers that cause me to sin. I know very well what my faults are and when I fall to temptation and sin I feel like a giant green humanoid monster that makes people go screaming in the other direction. Am I the only one who feels like they have that sign following them around, "DAYS SINCE LAST INCIDENT" and feel the embarrassment when that sign says "zero." At least Bruce Banner only had one sin--that of wrath--that he seems to have to worry about. Sometimes I feel like I have done all of them. I feel like I could go into confession and tell the priest to put me down for a least one of everything. Envy? Yeah. Pride? Okay. Wrath? A few times. Lust? Whoa, Nelly--definitely lust.

Poor Bruce Banner does not seem to have any hope in sight though. He may try anger control techniques or breathing exercises but in the end he is left with only a pair of torn jeans on. (And just why DON'T his jeans rip off anyway?) On the other hand, we have God's grace to help us combat the sins that face us. Through the sacrament of reconciliation, God dusts us off, gives us a new set of clothes to wear and sends us off again. At that point, it doesn't matter if the number on that sign "DAYS SINCE LAST INCIDENT" says "zero" because I'm as clean and pure as the day of my baptism.