Bible Study: 2 Samuel 11,
1 to 10 and 13 to 17. And Mark 4, 26 to 34.
As we continue our reflections this
week on the theme of repentance, today’s readings drive home the point that
VIRTUE JUST LIKE VICE IS NOT AUTOMATIC. We do not suddenly fall into sin
neither do we suddenly become spiritual giants in seconds. Repentance does not
happen within a flash of light, and at the same time, one does not fall into
sin just like that. There is always a process of seed sowing, watering,
waiting, deliberation and growth before the final output.
In our Gospel passage this morning,
Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a seed which a man scatters on the ground.
While he goes to sleep, he does not how the seeds grow but he notices a gradual
development, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain and finally the
harvest. The spiritual life is pretty much the same. The progression from
habitual sins to virtue takes a definite process.
Repentance begins by sowing the right
seeds in your life. That is, allowing God’s words enter your heart daily, then
you meditate on those words by constantly repeating them in your psyche.
Gradually, you start putting them into practice, your vocabulary itself
changes, you begin to form new habits and with continuous progress in a
positive direction, you soon become what God’s words demand of you.
The kingdom of God is like a grain of
mustard seed. Your beginning might seem small and you may even get discouraged
at first wondering if you will ever be able to put sin behind you but that word
of God which you allow into your spirit everyday has the potential to make you
into Saint. It becomes the biggest of the shrubs.
Just as virtue grows, vice also takes
a gradual development. In our first reading, we encounter an idle king taking a
walk along the roof of his palace. From idleness to lust, from lust to
adultery, from adultery to murder. Sin progresses! Ordinarily, one may say
being idle is okay but can you see what idleness leads to? Almost all the sins
we commit can be traceable to our quest for entertainment or our attempt to
deal with boredom.
Repentance would begin when you start
thinking seriously about moderating or censoring your channels of
entertainment. Just think about the lyrical content of modern day music, films
and even television shows. Satan quietly plants seeds of immorality and
indecency in our hearts when our minds are less busy and unconsciously we begin
to crave for sin. As much as we cannot completely avoid moments of rest and
relaxation, we must be on guard and remain spiritually conscious.
Consider the fact that it was only
after Jesus had completed his fasting for forty days and forty nights that
Satan tempted him with turning stones to bread. Those moments we let down our
guard, when we feel we have given God his due, those moments we want to just
relax and have fun are moments we encounter our greatest temptations! If the
process of having fun begins to involve sin, then the fun itself is no longer
funny because we would only end up crying and regretting at the later on.
To be spiritually alive is to be able
to distinguish entertainment or relaxation from temptation! Repentance demands
that we grow in the right direction, that we consistently carry our little acts
of holiness till they become building blocks of character. The reason why
certain sins are hard for you to quit is because they have become engraved into
your character and the only way out is the same way in. That is, continuous
rejection of evil, continuous working in the opposite direction or as Jesus
puts it, planting the right seeds. Like a child learning how to walk, you must
celebrate every victory over temptation, you must begin afresh and never give
up in the direction of the narrow path till you re-build your character again.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, teach me to avoid those
little sins and to see them instead as bad seeds preventing me from living in
your light. Nurture your word in me every day that I may grow tall and strong
in spirit. Amen.
God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is
well with you.
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