DAILY HOMILIES #sin

As we say in the Stations of the Cross, “no matter what my past has been, I can begin anew.” God is inviting us today to rise from where we have fallen, to pick up our Cross again, to say with the Prodigal Son, “I will arise and go to my Father.” Perhaps you haven’t been to the sacrament of confession for a very long time, today is another opportunity. Examine your heart, make a firm purpose of amendment, and return to God.

To condemn is to write off a person as good for nothing, irredeemable, beyond repair, and disposable. If God never gives up on us, why should we give up on our fellow human beings? As our responsorial psalm sings: “O Lord, do not treat us according to our sins.” If this is our prayer, then we too should not treat people according to their sins.

I like how Matthew concludes today’s Gospel passage: “Then the devil left him, and behold, angels, came and ministered to him.” There is nothing as sweet as overcoming temptation. Each time we defeat the devil, we are visited by Angels and the consolation they bring always far outweighs whatever fun or pleasure the devil had promised us if we sin. Meanwhile, if we agree to the lies of the devil, we soon realize within a short time, like Adam and Eve did that we were deceived.

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

Having realized what they had done, Adam and Eve became ashamed and hid away from God. Their eyes had become open and they suddenly felt unworthy of God’s presence, they died to innocence. They could no longer approach God freely as before. God can never lie; He wasn’t joking when He said they would die if they ate of the forbidden tree.

The easiest way to drop the weights of sin, fear and doubt is to remove yourself from the midst of people who tend to carry these weights. You must put certain persons out of your life; those who constantly lure you into sin, those who inspire fear in you always, those who downplay God or claim He doesn’t exist. Everybody cannot be your friend.

The problem with many Christians today is that they assume there can somehow be a middle way. So long as we know the difference between what is right and what is wrong and we still choose to do what is wrong, we are acting as children of the devil.

If you truly desire to rid yourself of your sins, you need to improve your relationship with Jesus, that is, spend more time with Jesus – deepen your prayer life. Occupy your mind with the things of God; read books, and seek to know God better. Pray for an increase in faith that God may open your eyes to see why sin is evil, and that God may strengthen your desire to live above sin.

Surely, there are consequences for our sinful choices but God does not hate us because of our sins. He continues to love us, providing several opportunities for us to repent. We can learn to be more sympathetic towards sinners (those who hurt us) treating them as sick patients in need of recovery than as less-than-human creatures deserving only of our hatred.

John the Baptist speaks in the present tense: “Even now, the axe is laid to the root of the trees… his winnowing fork is in his hand…” Meaning “now is the time; the harvest has begun already.” Live your life like someone who knows that death is just around the corner.

The book of Revelations may appear very difficult to understand but the message is very clear – God will judge the world and it is only those whose names are found in the book of life that will eventually merit heaven.

Today, we are called to do a cleansing of our minds and hearts. We are called to make a whip of cords and search through our lives for any sinful inclination or vice that pollutes the temple of our bodies.