Friday, June 12, 2020
Bible Text: “When your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out... when your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off, it is better for you to enter heaven with one eye and hand than with whole body to go to hell” Matthew 5. 27- 32
Our health matters most. We have to be fully aware and cautious about our body rhythm and temperature. Serious illness always starts with symptoms. Shortness of breath can be a manifestation of heart decease. Neck pain can be a signal of high blood pressure. Back and stomach pains tell us that we might have problems in our internal vital organs. When we disregard these symptoms, we might be in serious trouble. That is why when symptom persists; consult your doctor or else we are putting ours becomes life threatening.
Jesus is teaching His disciples with entirely different from the teachings of the Pharisees. First, he is telling us that there are two kinds of sins which are called internal and external sins. Internal sin is something that is invisible to the naked eye which is the sin of impurity. Nobody will ever notice it, only our utmost honesty and sincerity will detect this kind of sin. When we are fully aware of it, we can courageously admit that it is indeed a sin. Lust is making our opposite sex an object of desire and pleasure but persons should be treated as humans to be loved and respected. It is a form of habitual disorder that is why Jesus calls it adultery in the heart. It is a symptom of a serious sin of the flesh that we have to be aware of or else it will lead us to serious offenses such as adultery and other carnal crimes.
Second transformation requires radical change. It is the very meaning of Jesus words, when your right eye or hand causes you to sin, cut it off. Obviously, it should not be literally interpreted. The word “radical” came the latin word “radix” which means root. The kind of change that Jesus challenges us to begin with is not from the external but it should be from within. It is not this way... before I was lazy but now I will try to make up my mind to be active and industrious. Before I am a drunkard and now I will stop drinking. The change must start from the heart because the heart of conversion is the conversion of the heart. Radical change needs more than just human effort; it requires the power of God to bring us such kind of transformation. This is the importance of the sacrament of reconciliation which is giving us the opportunity to consult our spiritual doctor because spiritual and psychological healing is beyond our control. In this particular sacrament, we are begging God to take over our lives because we are powerless to wash away our sinfulness.
When we pray the Our Father, every time you mention the line “deliver us from temptation” always humbly ask the Lord to increase His grace in you!