The first reading from Sirach has such a compelling and strange reminder: before us are life and death, good and evil, whichever we choose will be given to us. It’s strange, isn’t it, to think that when offered these choices anyone would freely choose evil and death? But we do, and the Gospel reading tells us why, albeit in a strange way if we read it literally! When Jesus says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away,” He isn’t suggesting literal mutilation of the parts of our bodies or souls that give into temptation. He is reminding us that sin takes root in our habits and attitudes, and often death and evil come to feel more comfortable than life and goodness. We become blind to what is good when sin gets familiar and we cling to the things that hurt us. How often do we regret a vindictive or angry word but seem unable to choose silence or kindness? Yet what we choose is in fact what we get. When we find this happening to us and we are given the grace to see where we have been choosing death, we get to choose again. Get to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, see a counsellor, apologize to those you’ve hurt, and do the work that will support God’s rooting out your attachment to sin. Choose life!
Prayer: For the courage to choose life when it means letting go of our attachment to sin and death, we pray to the Lord.
Baptised Jesus, you whisper over each of us the words your Father spoke over you: “This is my Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” May we be people who hear you speaking this over us, who believe it, and who proclaim it over all your people wherever we find them. Amen
Taken from the Facebook page of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary
