Dear Friends,
Good morning! Today one sentence in today's gosopel reading caught my attention: Mark 5:40.
Mark presents a few miracles. In one instance word came to a synagogue official that his daughter had died. Immediately Jesus went with the man to his home. Upon arriving to a scene of chaos and tears, Jesus said that she was not dead but asleep. "And they ridiculed him...."
The question that came to my mind was this: do I "ridicule" Jesus? Of course most of us would immediately respond "Of course not."
But what should I call my sinful actions that are repeated time and time again? Is that not a type of ridicule, a mockery of Jesus' final hours on this earth? When I fail to live the Commandments, when I decide how to live my life contrary to the teachings of Jesus and my Church? Gossip that truly hurts another person's reputation? Living a life with immorality or unethical practices in a way that I want to?
Yes, I know I would not want to ridicule the Son of God. I would not do anything to make a mockery of Jesus' death and resurrection for me. Yet, as we know well, falling into the same sinful pattern in my life is, if we can face ourselves with honesty, we would have to say that we have allowed ourselves to ridicule Jesus Christ's effort to bring us salvation.
The Lenten season is rising on our horizons. Maybe we can use these pre-Lent days to examine how we live our lives with regard to what our Church calls "habitual sin." The season of Lent offers us the opportunity to end those habits that harm us, those sins that deprive us of true freedom that offers us genuine joy.
Oremus pro invicem!
Fr. Milt
Good morning! Today one sentence in today's gosopel reading caught my attention: Mark 5:40.
Mark presents a few miracles. In one instance word came to a synagogue official that his daughter had died. Immediately Jesus went with the man to his home. Upon arriving to a scene of chaos and tears, Jesus said that she was not dead but asleep. "And they ridiculed him...."
The question that came to my mind was this: do I "ridicule" Jesus? Of course most of us would immediately respond "Of course not."
But what should I call my sinful actions that are repeated time and time again? Is that not a type of ridicule, a mockery of Jesus' final hours on this earth? When I fail to live the Commandments, when I decide how to live my life contrary to the teachings of Jesus and my Church? Gossip that truly hurts another person's reputation? Living a life with immorality or unethical practices in a way that I want to?
Yes, I know I would not want to ridicule the Son of God. I would not do anything to make a mockery of Jesus' death and resurrection for me. Yet, as we know well, falling into the same sinful pattern in my life is, if we can face ourselves with honesty, we would have to say that we have allowed ourselves to ridicule Jesus Christ's effort to bring us salvation.
The Lenten season is rising on our horizons. Maybe we can use these pre-Lent days to examine how we live our lives with regard to what our Church calls "habitual sin." The season of Lent offers us the opportunity to end those habits that harm us, those sins that deprive us of true freedom that offers us genuine joy.
Oremus pro invicem!
Fr. Milt
