Bible
Study: Ephesians 4, 7 to 16 and Luke 13, 1 to 9.
Going back
to our catechism days, we recall how we defined the word sin: an offence
against God whether by thought, word, deed, action or inaction. A sin is
something we do or refuse to do that offends or displeases God. We have a
device called conscience in our hearts that tells us each time we sin and one
of its signals is to make us feel bad or sorry over what we did or didn’t do.
In today’s
Gospel passage, Jesus takes advantage of a calamity that occurred in that time to
further teach us about the gravity (seriousness) of sin. In an age and time
when sin is so trivialized like this, this Gospel passage comes to hit the nail
on the head. We know those things that are sinful but somehow, we joke about
them. We know we are offending God but we take it so lightly that it almost
seems as if there is nothing with such things. Worse still, we have persons who
brag about their ability to sin, some sing with it and some even go for world
records with things they know are sinful.
As much as
we take sin for granted, we don’t joke when we hear about calamities. Tune on
your television for instance and you hear about how 30 persons died in a motor
accident and you are moved. Have someone tell you about how herdsmen raided a
community and slaughtered thousands, you almost feel like weeping. But Jesus is
saying today that all such physical calamity are nothing compared to what
happens to us each time we sin.
A report
came to Jesus about how Pilate murdered some Galileans and mixed their blood
with the sacrifices. Jesus does not comment about whether Pilate was right or
wrong. His point of emphasis was on the seriousness of the crime compared to
the seriousness of living in sin. In other words, Jesus was saying: sin by
itself is just as deadly and dangerous as having a whole tower fall on top of a
person, or having one’s blood extracted and mixed with sacrifices.
The popular
opinion in the minds of many at that time was that God allowed them to suffer
because of their sins. And this was the impression Jesus wanted to correct. God
does not use calamity to punish us, he is not a policeman. That they died in
that manner was not a punishment for their sins because those persons were not
worse sinners than any of us. As Jesus comments, “Do you suppose they were
worse sinners? I tell you, No!...” Calamity in our lives is not calculated
according to the degree of our sin. Calamity can happen at any time to anyone. For
instance, what crime did the baby in the womb commit for its abortion? Does the
baby even know what is right or wrong?
Nonetheless,
Jesus goes further to add: “… But, unless you repent, you will all likewise
perish.” What does this mean? Is Jesus trying to contradict himself by tying
sin to punishment? Is Jesus saying that God only keep record of our sin and
saves our punishment for latter days? Not at all. The point here is that sin is
deadly. Every sin is trap by itself and just as we are afraid of been murdered
and used for sacrifice, we ought always to be afraid of sin.
“Unless
you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Jesus is not saying, unless you
repent, one day a big stone will fall on your head. No, he is saying, unless
you repent, that sin you allow to linger in your life will have the same effect
on your soul as a heavy stone on your head. Every sin is a calamity. There is
no small sin or big sin. Sin is sin and it is always deadly. Sin is not something
to be taken for granted at all!
We must be
able to see sin for what it really it is; an oppressive force that makes us
slaves, slaves to our flesh, slaves to our passions, slaves to material
possessiveness, slaves to power, lust and so on. As long as we remain in sin,
we are not able to bear the right fruits expected of us by God. On a good day,
free from the corruption of sinfulness, we should bear fruits, we all have different
callings and different roles to fulfil in the house of God as St. Paul explains
in our first reading: Some are called to be “apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, some pastors, and some teachers to equip the saints for the work
of ministry.”
Let us
pray:
Lord
Jesus, rid me of my sin that I may truly and fully live out my destiny. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.
Fr. Abu
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