Jesus said to his disciples: “Anyone who gives you a
cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will
surely not lose his reward.
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe
in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around
his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 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. And if your foot causes you to
sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two
feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it
out. Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two
eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where their worm does not die, and the fire is
not quenched.
“Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good,
but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt
in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.”
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Reflection:
What does sin bring to our lives? Sin wounds our
life and our relationships. Sin also dims the light of Jesus in our life and it
pervades the influence of the evil one in our lives.
When Jesus told the disciples the severe punishments
to sin. He was in effect telling them that they must avoid sin at all cost
because there’s always a price to pay for someone who sins. It served also as a
warning and guide for the disciples as they face the many temptations of
their mission.
But why do we sin? Why do we allow sin to overcome
us? We sin because we love this world more than we love Jesus. We sin because
we purposely reserve a dwelling place for the devil in our lives. We sin
because we love a problematic life more than a peaceful life with Jesus.
However, come to think of it; what if we try to
avoid sin? There would be peace in our lives, we would have less human created
problems and we would surely be closer to Jesus. Just try to avoid sin even for
only a day and see the blessing that it would bring into your life. Then, try
to avoid sin for a week, for a month and for the rest of your life.
If we avoid sin we inoculate our life from the Satan’s influence and if we avoid sin we always invite Jesus to come into our lives. – Marino J. Dasmarinas