We celebrated the conversion of St. Paul this week and it gives us a chance to engage the notion of sin. Jesus always asks us to repent...which means to change our mind. We have been given the Law by God and we all know right from wrong to some degree. Repentance is us telling God that You are right and I am wrong when it comes to what I believe and how I act. The Apostle Paul came to repentance and conversion in a matter of a few seconds when He saw the light of Christ on the road to Damascus. We know that God does not coerce us to serve nor love Him. How did Paul change his mind so quickly?
My thought is that like so many conversions that happen quickly, God has been working behind the scenes for many, many years in the hearts of a person. Paul participated in the martyrdom of Stephen and ravaged the Church. God probably had Paul reflecting quite hard on his behavior for years in the silence of his heart. Is this how a committed person of God acts towards their fellow human being? At the right moment in time, God asked Paul to change his mind and he did. God opened Paul's mind and Paul changed it. Paul changed Paul's mind...not God. God's grace allowed Paul to contemplate, probably for years, his vision of God and he came to the conclusion that I am wrong and need a change.
We go to Mass weekly because we know we need God's mercy and forgiveness. We go to Mass to worship the God of patience who watches us sin. We go to Mass because we are the creature, not the creator. We go to Mass because it is our obligation to worship. Obligation is not always bad. We as humans do not always feel warm and fuzzy spiritually and can easily say to God no thanks this weekend. We have an obligation to pay our bills even though we would like to skip that occasionally. A sense of obligation can bring you into the door of Church and often, God takes it from there. As a priest, if I get a call to the hospital at night when I am resting comfortably at home, sometimes I go with a heart that is not so charitable to God for this untimely call. Out of obligation I go and I have never been disappointed yet with the blessing I receive for doing God's work. When we get involved with the worship and with the others who came, God blesses us with the notion that this is the place to be and I'm glad I came.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
You Didn't?!
We have just traveled through the Law which God gave to Moses for the past ten weeks. Many of the sins can fall under the category of sins of commission or the sins we commit. We can also be held accountable for the things we fail to do. We fail to worship God, we fail to see the humanness of another individual...etc. There is a lot of forgiveness from Jesus for our failings and human weakness. Our sexuality for instance is a part of how we were created and Jesus readily forgives the woman caught in Adultery. He says ..."neither do I judge you...now go and sin no more."
If we read Scripture closely, like Matthew and the judgement of the nations (25:31-46) or the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke (16: 19-31) we find Jesus giving condemnation for our sins of omission or the things we fail to do. You failed to feed the hungry, or give drink to the thirsty, or clothe the naked or visit the sick and lonely. Our sins of omission have little to do with the pull of human nature towards sin so there is a condemnation from Jesus. It does not go against human nature to feed someone who is starving or aid a person who has the same human dignity afforded each of us.
Sins of omission are high on Jesus' radar and just as important as the Law given to Moses. Failing to act out our Christian vocation is a sin as much as breaking any of the commandments. Failing to see another persons dignity as created in the image of God is failing to see God. Our common baptism gives us a lot to answer for and hopefully the awareness that we also have a great need to stay on our knees asking the forgiveness of God. We all have sins we cannot recall, that we are ignorant of, and many instances of failing to hear the voice of God. Thankfully, we also have the words of the Apostle Paul from Romans 5:20..."where sin abounds, grace abounds more." God increased sin on us so God could show us oceans of mercy.
If we read Scripture closely, like Matthew and the judgement of the nations (25:31-46) or the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke (16: 19-31) we find Jesus giving condemnation for our sins of omission or the things we fail to do. You failed to feed the hungry, or give drink to the thirsty, or clothe the naked or visit the sick and lonely. Our sins of omission have little to do with the pull of human nature towards sin so there is a condemnation from Jesus. It does not go against human nature to feed someone who is starving or aid a person who has the same human dignity afforded each of us.
Sins of omission are high on Jesus' radar and just as important as the Law given to Moses. Failing to act out our Christian vocation is a sin as much as breaking any of the commandments. Failing to see another persons dignity as created in the image of God is failing to see God. Our common baptism gives us a lot to answer for and hopefully the awareness that we also have a great need to stay on our knees asking the forgiveness of God. We all have sins we cannot recall, that we are ignorant of, and many instances of failing to hear the voice of God. Thankfully, we also have the words of the Apostle Paul from Romans 5:20..."where sin abounds, grace abounds more." God increased sin on us so God could show us oceans of mercy.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
You do not deserve that...
The tenth commandment finishes the thought of the ninth commandment. The commandment looks at our heart condition of watching a neighbor bask in the glow of something we have decided we are entitled to or could make better use of. At the heart of this commandment is envy. We are sad or angry to see another with property, relationships, and perhaps even spiritual gifts from God that we would like to have. We begrudge a person their fortunate circumstances and spend time and energy scheming or even to go so far as to act on these desires and commit the sin of theft.
These last commandments remind us of our thought life and why Jesus told us in the Gospel that if you even look on a woman with desire, you have committed adultery. Our human minds can be so dangerous when we let the desires of our hearts fuel them. Jesus understood what the human being is capable of. Sin is born in the heart when our eyes capture something. Sin is brought forth when the mind has decided that it needs something that used to only be a desire. Desires can be dismissed, but a desire that is not dismissed will eventually lead to an actual sin.
Covetousness has led to the majority of human suffering. War begins by coveting more land and resources...families break up when a spouse covets another...stealing is from the desires of the heart. Jesus summed up the ten commandments in the Luke's Gospel with two commands. Love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind...and love one another as yourself. If you follow these two commands, you cannot sin. Sometimes we do not think highly or love ourselves...but even in these moments, we always find a way to take care of #1. If everyone were as high of a priority as we are to ourselves, we are close to that beatific vision.
These last commandments remind us of our thought life and why Jesus told us in the Gospel that if you even look on a woman with desire, you have committed adultery. Our human minds can be so dangerous when we let the desires of our hearts fuel them. Jesus understood what the human being is capable of. Sin is born in the heart when our eyes capture something. Sin is brought forth when the mind has decided that it needs something that used to only be a desire. Desires can be dismissed, but a desire that is not dismissed will eventually lead to an actual sin.
Covetousness has led to the majority of human suffering. War begins by coveting more land and resources...families break up when a spouse covets another...stealing is from the desires of the heart. Jesus summed up the ten commandments in the Luke's Gospel with two commands. Love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind...and love one another as yourself. If you follow these two commands, you cannot sin. Sometimes we do not think highly or love ourselves...but even in these moments, we always find a way to take care of #1. If everyone were as high of a priority as we are to ourselves, we are close to that beatific vision.
Monday, January 4, 2010
The grass is greener by you...
The ninth commandment is against covetousness. We shall not covet any of our neighbors "things" that we believe should be ours. This is in principle a repeat of thou shall not commit adultery as we do not covet thy neighbors wife and thou shall not steal. To covet is the fostering of the thought life that can lead to the breaking of several commandments.
At the heart of this commandment, is the premise that we are unhappy with the gifts that God has provided for us. We become jealous of the fact that God has blessed someone else with bigger and better gifts. Cain killed Abel because He coveted God's attention and was angry Abel had the better gift to offer.
The ninth commandment is a call to eliminate all lusts of the heart and take command of our thought life. Actual sin manifests itself when the hearts desires can no longer be controlled. Jesus brought this commandment to a higher light when He told us that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery. As Christians, we are to be content with whatever it is that God blesses us with and not to show a lack of appreciation by coveting others gifts. Besides loving God with all our heart, mind and soul, I can think of no other commandment from God that is so difficult. It is a battle for the heart and it is where we truly can determine our love for God. Can we put away the temptations of the heart and be content. After all, we all might wish riches, but have you ever coveted the position of those suffering from famine and poverty. If we cannot covet the bad, we should not covet the good.
At the heart of this commandment, is the premise that we are unhappy with the gifts that God has provided for us. We become jealous of the fact that God has blessed someone else with bigger and better gifts. Cain killed Abel because He coveted God's attention and was angry Abel had the better gift to offer.
The ninth commandment is a call to eliminate all lusts of the heart and take command of our thought life. Actual sin manifests itself when the hearts desires can no longer be controlled. Jesus brought this commandment to a higher light when He told us that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery. As Christians, we are to be content with whatever it is that God blesses us with and not to show a lack of appreciation by coveting others gifts. Besides loving God with all our heart, mind and soul, I can think of no other commandment from God that is so difficult. It is a battle for the heart and it is where we truly can determine our love for God. Can we put away the temptations of the heart and be content. After all, we all might wish riches, but have you ever coveted the position of those suffering from famine and poverty. If we cannot covet the bad, we should not covet the good.
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