Sin is not something we like to talk about or think about. But in today’s gospel from Mark 9: 42 – 48 Jesus confronts us with some very harsh words about sinful behaviour. St James also warns us about the consequences of sinful behaviour in today’s second reading. In the Old Testament the word for sin is heť which means to miss the mark. Fr John L. McKenzie, SJ in his Dictionary of the Bible devotes three pages to the Old Testament meaning of sin. In addition to missing the mark, Old Testament sin implies rebellion, breach of an agreement between nations and people and disloyalty. According to McKenzie the key element of the Old Testament notion of sin is “a breach of covenant” and non-action. Quoting McKenzie again “The first and dominant effect of sin is death; sin is the denial of life…the sinner dies a little each time he sins.” What happens to sinners in the Old Testament is usually some sort of shunning, banishment or death.
When Jesus
arrived on the scene, he preached about repentance, forgiveness and divine
mercy. One of Jesus’ sins in the eyes
of the Pharisees was that he befriended and associated with sinners. Over and over, we read in the Gospels that
Jesus is the conqueror of sin. In Luke
15:7 Jesus tells a crowd of tax collectors and sinners that “there will be
more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents that over ninety-nine
righteous people who have no need of
repentance.” Jesus confronted sin and
gave sinners opportunities to repent and taught people who had been sinned
against to forgive. This is what we
pray every time we say “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who
trespass against us.”
So, why is
Jesus using such harsh language in today’s gospel? Think about it. If anyone is diagnosed with cancer, one of
the first lines of defence is surgery - cut it out. Excising the cancer can save life. The same is true for our spiritual
lives. If we want to enter into the
Kingdom of God then we must get rid of whatever is causing us to sin. I don’t believe that Jesus meant literally
cut off your hand, or foot or eye. I believe he meant get rid of the bad habit,
the bad behaviour, the unhealthy relationship or anything that separates us
from God. All of us are sinners and all
of us are graced with forgiveness if we seek it. To me the story of the woman caught in
adultery found in John 8: 1 – 11 is one of the great examples of how Jesus
dealt with the forgiveness of sin. After
Jesus shamed the scribes and Pharisees who charged the woman, he turned to her
and said “’Has anyone condemned you?’ she replied, ‘No one, sir.’ Then Jesus
said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.’” Jesus says the same to us. And, so, we pray,
Pour out your Spirit, O God, over the whole world
to inspire every heart
with knowledge and love of you.
Grant that we who confess Jesus as Lord
may avoid whatever leads us and others to sin
and give witness to your love
made visible in Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
AMEN
