DAILY HOMILIES #adultery

Since there are no perfect humans, and Jesus says divorce is not an option, how can couples find joy in marriage? The answer is forgiveness. Forgive quickly. St. Paul would say: “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27). If couples learn to forgive each other seventy times seven times, marriages would be blissful.

The story of Susanna tells of the courage of a well-trained woman who preferred death to sin. The judges thought they could blackmail her, but God came to her rescue. In today’s Gospel passage, the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus whom they accused of adultery. Like the Judges in our first reading, they thought they had cornered Jesus. In the end, Jesus, God in human flesh, displayed a wisdom far superior to any human imagination.

One lesson from today’s Gospel passage is to avoid making promises or talking too much when we are happy or intoxicated (under alcohol). While drinking alcohol is not a sin, we must be responsible for whatever we do or say afterwards. Herod could not return his words when he realised the girl asked for John the Baptist’s head. She could have also asked for Herod’s head.

Dear friends, it is always better to die for God’s sake than to live in sin. Nevertheless, when we stand for God, God never turns a blind eye at us. Our Psalmist today sings: “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want…

Are you having trouble controlling your sexual appetite? Do you find yourself falling into the sin of adultery by thoughts, words, or actions? Are you struggling with fornication, masturbation, and unchastity in one form or another? Jesus has the solution for you: Start from the root - “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away.” (Matthew 5:29). In other words, start by uprooting your bad thoughts and unholy desires. Do not leave any room for lustful wishes. When you look at a person, let their beauty remind you of the beauty and perfection of God.

Each of us has a past. You may see yourself as a desert, God is saying, I will make rivers flow from you. You may have gone deep in sin, yet God is saying: “my child, you can still be a Saint.” The God who called a murderer and changed his name from Saul to Paul is the same God we serve.

Keep your mind engaged and your thoughts clean always. Avoid pornography; do not seek out the nakedness of others and even if they are not properly dressed, do not look lustfully. Run. Run from sexual sin! Run from adultery. Run from fornication.

Take away faithfulness marriage/religious life becomes a caricature. An unfaithful spouse does great damage to his/her family just as an unfaithful celibate does great damage to their flock.

Dear friends, let brotherly love continue. Do not be a Herod to someone just because he or she is telling you the truth. Do not be like the kinsfolk of Jesus who were almost throwing him down the cliff because He told them the truth.