Reflection on Today's Readings, Monday of 32nd Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1
Texts: Wisdom 1:1-7; Ps. 139:1 -10 ; Luke 17:1-6
Today, Jesus Christ advises us not to lead other into sin. There are several ways to lead others into sin. Others could be led to sins by our ways of lives and by our words. Jesus shows that leading others into sin is a serious sin when he says, "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, then that he should cause one of these little ones to sin." He tells us, here, that temptation will always come but that we should not be the tempter, one who brings about the temptation. We are to provoke others to live the life of holiness, not the life of sin. Leading others into sin is a kind of sin that we can commit easily. We are advised, today, to stop whatever we do that can lead others into sin. Let us start doing things that help people to raise their hearts to God and to live a holy life.
Jesus goes further to tell us that we should learn how to correct and forgive one another. He puts it thus: "Take heed to yourself; if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him; and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven in the day, and turns to you seven times, and says, ‘I repent, ‘you must forgive him". He bids us to forgive always. We are to forgive when the person who offend us has realised his fault and so repented. At repentance of our neighbour, we are to forgive them.
The apostles realised that there is need of faith to be able to forgive as Jesus taught them. Hence, they say, “increase our faith!" We cannot live the new life Jesus has brought us without faith in Him; we need to have faith in His words to be able to practice them. Our problem is not size of faith but true faith. This is clear in the response of Jesus Christ: “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree, 'Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea, ‘and it would obey you.'”
The first reading reminds us that true manifests to us the presence of God. True faith entails righteousness and sincerity of hearts. We find God when we seek Him in true faith. The wise says, "Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth, think of the Lord with uprightness, and seek him with sincerity of heart; because he is found by those who do not put him to the test, and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him." The wise continues to tell us that If we have true faith, we will stay away from sin and therefore welcomes the Spirit of God into our lives, for God's Spirit dwells in holy souls.
He also tells us that we will always be called into account for whatever we do, for God is the witness of our inner feelings; no of our secret actions, feelings and thoughts escape Him as He fills all things and holds them in being. This means we should rather be sincere before God than being deceitful. There is no need to be deceitful before Him, for He knows all things. We can only deceive ourselves, not God.
Lord our God help us to live life that inspires holiness in others; may we not lead other into sin. Amen.
Fr. Andrew Olowomuke
Posts
0 Comments