DAILY HOMILIES #sin

This is the night when God led our forebears, Israel’s children, from slavery in Egypt and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea. This is the night that God banished the darkness of sin with a pillar of fire. This is the night that, even now, throughout the world, sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices and the gloom of sin, leading them to grace and joining them with his holy ones. This is the night Christ broke the prison bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld…

Last Sunday, Jesus told the story of the Prodigal Son whose repentance, though motivated by hunger, was celebrated by his father. His Prodigal Son’s elder brother refused to attend the feast because he felt cheated. We act like the elder brother when we think God should not be merciful to sinners. Today, Jesus shows us how failing to examine our conscience leads us to believe we are better than others.

We may point fingers at the Israelites, but we only need to look carefully to see the golden calves we have erected around us. Those things you don’t need and you cannot give them out (use them to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, etc.) are your idols. Seeing these things may give you joy, but they cannot save you.

The man did not recognise Jesus. He didn’t know that his creator was standing before him in flesh and blood. Instead of answering Jesus’ question with a “Yes” or “No”, he complained about his problems. This story teaches us that there is no single solution to problems. The man was hoping on the water, not knowing he could also receive an instant cure by God’s power.

The prodigal son, now suffering from an inferiority complex due to sinfulness, wanted to be employed as a hired hand in his father’s house. He never imagined he could be forgiven. However, the father did something humans would rarely do; he forgave the son and restored his former dignity. The father saw him as one who had returned from the dead. This is how God treats us when we repent.

No matter what your past has been, as Micah says today, God will forgive your sin (Cf. Micah 7:18-20). The only time God will not forgive is when we refuse to ask for forgiveness. This is known as despair (the belief that God cannot forgive).

If asking has to do with praying, seeking involves making efforts. Yes, God is interested in the efforts you are making. The man who planted the fig tree did not see any fruits for three years, so he asked the vinedresser to cut it down. The vinedresser pleaded for more time to INCREASE HIS EFFORTS; that is, to dig around it, apply manure and water it more. What efforts are you making? Before you conclude that you cannot live above sin, why not increase your efforts? Why not dig around your heart and apply the manure of the word of God? The worst thing that can ever happen to you is to trivialise sin, painting it as “normal”. Every sin is a disaster.

Just as every sin begins with a temptation, the struggle against sin starts with knowing how to deal with temptations. Hence, on this first Sunday of Lent, our Gospel passage narrates how Jesus overcame temptations in the wilderness. In the three temptations of Jesus Christ, we find the three categories of sins which are: “…the lust of the flesh (turning stones to bread), the lust of the eyes (bowing to Satan to gain the riches of the world) and the pride of life (jumping from the pinnacle of the temple to gain the praise and admiration of all)” (1 John 2:16).

Jesus wants us to look inwards. To avoid judging and condemning others, we must look at ourselves. Jesus tells us today: “How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck in your eye.’ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck in your brother's eye.” (Luke 6:42)

Be a master of your emotions. Do not be pushed into action by your feelings; think of the consequences. You will always regret any decision made in anger. Instead of listening to God, Cain chose evil. After killing his brother, Cain wished he could turn back the hands of time. When God asked about his brother, Cain tried to dodge the question by asking if he was his brother’s keeper. In the end, Cain could not escape his punishment for murder. There is nothing to be gained from sin.

Every sin carries a mark of rebellion and mistrust in God as the one on whom our life depends. That is why there is a direct and immediate punishment for every sin for direct offenders and those who aid and abet the sin. This is the message behind our First Reading

In every temptation, Satan tries to disprove what God has said; he makes us doubt God, and then he goes further to make us believe that there is something we stand to gain by disobeying God’s instructions, such as the pleasure we hope to get, the excitement of it all, the fun it promises, the hope of becoming richer, more beautiful, more powerful, and connected, and so on. When we listen to the devil, we start seeing God’s commandments as restrictions rather than as keys to our happiness and fulfilment.