What we think, say, do or do not do, has consequences for ourselves and others. The smallest act of kindness, like suggesting, as Jesus did in today’s Gospel, of giving someone a drink of water goes a long way. The reality that 2.2 billion people do not have adequate access to the most basic of needs, safe drinking water (water.org), is an amazing and disheartening statistic. The most serious of sins in this regard is not bothering to care. Jesus shared clearly, in the Gospel of Matthew (cf. chapter 25), that what we do to the least of our brothers and sisters, we do to him.
We have a choice to act in ways: that limit or provide access for people seeking such basic necessities as food, water, and shelter; that harm or hurt; that divide or unify. Jesus uses graphic, hyberbolic words in today’s Gospel, such as “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire” (Mk 9:41-50). Jesus does not literally mean that we are to cut off our hand or foot, or pluck out our eye, but he is showing us the seriousness of sin. Sin cuts us off from the source of our life who is God. Identifying and repenting from our sins is important for our physical as well as our spiritual well being now and in the life promised to come after our death.
Sin invites us to walk a path that leads to death. God invites us to walk a path that leads us to life. “Although many people nowadays think of sin primarily as breaking a rule or violating a law, in Jewish Scripture, the word ‘sin’ (Hebrew chatá) literally means to ‘miss the mark’ or to ‘miss the path‘ (Pitre, 54).” God is inviting us to share in his life now and for all of eternity. We can walk away and chart our own course apart from God’s guidance or we can walk the path that he lights for us to follow. Jesus spoke bluntly and graphically to show his followers and us that to miss the mark, to sin, to chart our course on our own will have deadly consequences.
This is why Jesus began his public ministry echoing the prophetic tradition and John the Baptist when he stated, “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Jesus came as a light to reveal to us our sins so that we can turn away from any illusions, false promises, and apparent goods that we are attached to, repent from them, and turn back to choosing to follow God first. Our lives will be much better when we seek first the kingdom God and see the world not as man does but as God does.
Venial sins hurt our relationship with God but mortal sins rupture our relationship with God. The antidote is the same for each, to be sorry for our sins, confess them, be willing to perform the penance to atone for our sins, so that we can be absolved, forgiven, and return to the path that leads to life. A daily examination of the Ten Commandments is a good place to start. The first three have to do with our relationship with God and the seven following have to do with assessing how we love our neighbors.
Examining the seven deadly or capital sins: wrath, sloth, gluttony, lust, greed, envy, and pride are also very important to examine. Asking the Holy Spirit to help us to see any of these sins which are the root of all of our sins is not an exercise in shame or condemnation. We do so in an effort to strengthen our will, to identify and renounce them so that we can be freed and healed from the unhealthy attachments and disordered affections that lead us astray. What can help us to overcome the temptation to any of these sins is to engage in practices to develop the virtues: meekness, diligence, temperance, chastity, generosity, and humility, that will counter each of the seven deadly sins listed above.
When we turn away from God and engage in thoughts, words, and actions that are divisive, dehumanizing, and self serving; when we rationalize and justify behavior that goes against our Gospel values and our consciences, we play a part in contributing through our personal sins to the condition of original sin that plagues our world. When we act in these ways, we are off the mark and going against God’s plan that we pray for each day: “May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Jesus is not calling us to jump out of bed today and amass heroic acts of virtue, nor is he asking us to change all alone, and all at once. The disciples took time to get on board with his message. It will take time for us to learn and grow as well. Jesus loves us more than we can ever imagine and when we open our hearts and minds to receive his love daily, we will grow in the humility necessary to identify and repent from our sins and grow in virtue.
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Photo: Hike through Runyon Canyon Park, Los Angeles.
Pitre, Brant. Introduction to the Spiritual Life. Image: New York, 2021.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 