Jesus said to
them, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty
deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago
have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more
tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you,
Capernaum, ‘Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the
netherworld.’ Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects
me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
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Reflection:
Why is Jesus
angry with the people of Chozarin and Bethsaida? Because they did not hear His
call of repentance, they refused His offer of love and renewal for them.
It’s
sometimes puzzling why we refuse to heed this call of Jesus when we have
nothing to lose but everything to gain. For example, if we are living in sin
right now and we decide to hear this call for renewal of Jesus. A big burden
would be taken off from us but so many of us still refuse to walk away from
sin, why?
What
does sin offer us that we can’t walk away from it? Does sin offer us heaven?
Does sin offer us a quiet and contentment filled life? Why do many of us cling
to sin when it doesn’t offer us anything good? Should we wait until something unfortunate
happens to us before we listen?
Let us all
have a fresh start in our lives by refusing to commit any form of sin even for
a few weeks or a month. And we compare our lives previously lived in sin and a
life lived already lived away from sin and with the guiding light of Jesus. We
surely would love this new life with Jesus than the old life with the burden
of sin. - Marino J. Dasmarinas