26th Sunday in Ordinary Time – B
When a Priest mentioned to one of his parishioners that he was preaching on “Sin” that weekend, she said: “Oh, I wonder what time St. Joseph is having Mass this weekend?”
But this is what our Scripture is giving us this weekend, and so I too am preaching on Sin.
Dr. Karl Menninger, the world-famous psychiatrist who died a few years ago, at the age of 97, wrote a book entitled Whatever became of sin? The thesis of Dr. Menninger’s book is that society has lost its sense of sin. Dr. Menninger is not trying to tell us that sin has gone out of existence, but to the contrary, he is telling us it has become a greater problem in society simply because many today are indifferent to the reality of sin. Basically, no one today wants to be held accountable for their sins. People can give all sorts of excuses for why they are doing what they do.
Yet, this is what our readings are about today. Sin is what St. James is speaking of when he talks about social injustice and our lack of concern for those in need. Sin is what our Lord is talking about too, when he tells us to cut off our hand, our foot or tear out our eye if it is going to keep us from spending eternity with God. This is a metaphor of course.
The definition of sin in the teaching of the Catholic Church is simply, “knowing that what I am doing is wrong and choosing to do it anyway.” Sin is a decision to do something God has forbidden or to not do something God has commanded. In telling us this Jesus is sharing a vision with us that he can see more clearly than any of us can. His vision is that if we want lasting happiness, we must hold our relationship with God as the most precious gift than anything that we possess.
Truly, it hurts my heart that people do not celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation anymore. Our society has told us that we can do what we want, when we want, and that we should be allowed to do it because its our freedom, our right, our privilege. But what society has forgotten is that almost every single action that we take as individuals affects someone else; for the good or for bad. And yet, we have moved to this space of not caring about anyone but ourselves.
Just remember the biblical story of Adam and Eve; we are still suffering the consequences of their actions. The greatest sin of Adam and Eve was their choice not to trust in God. And when they made that choice, they moved from a state of happiness, peace and union with God and nature, to a state of discord, unhappiness, and lack of unity with one another, God, and nature. We are so much like Adam and Eve still. When we fail to trust God and pursue the happiness, we think God is hiding from us, then that failure ends the peace and harmony and unity that we have with one another, with God and with nature.
This sermon is not intended to make everyone feel guilty, even though we have all sinned. But rather to make us aware of God’s unconditional love and mercy. Remember, when God forgives, God also forgets. And the best part of reconciling with God is that we don’t have to carry the burden of unhappiness and guilt around with us any longer.
If we ignore the reality of sin in our lives, we will also be ignoring the words of Jesus, the gentle Shepherd Jesus, who tells us in a most emphatic way that it is something we must take seriously, because it can destroy for us the eternal happiness, he wants for us and died to make possible for us.