Finding Joy in God's Commandments




“It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.” Mk. 9: 43

Jesus gives His disciples some very harsh warnings in today’s Gospel reading, stating that it is preferable to be maimed, blinded, or crippled than to be in a state of sin. He warns that those who sin or cause others to sin will lose the Kingdom of God and risk being thrown into fiery Gehenna. In contrast, He also promises great rewards to those who ally themselves with Him, even in the smallest way. The exorcist who casts out demons in Christ’s name, or anyone who gives so much as a drink of water to a disciple because that disciple belongs to Christ, is to be considered an ally and will not lose their reward.

These statements are made just after Jesus revealed His glory to the disciples on the mountaintop, and has begun to predict His passion and death. The end of His time on earth is near, and He clearly calls His followers to a deeper understanding of the “precepts of the Law,” which today’s psalm calls perfect, true, and just (Ps 19). In these last days, Jesus continually calls His disciples to go beyond their predecessors in following God’s law in every way: in marriage, in charity, and in love.

Today, there is a temptation to believe that because Jesus came to save sinners, sinful behavior is somehow okay, and the Lord’s mercy causes Him to look the other way. Those who uphold the “precepts of the Lord,” especially in areas of marriage and family may be labelled as bigoted or intolerant or even “un-Christian.” But this is not the teaching of Christ.

Jesus calls us to stand with Him and reject sin completely. This can be hard to do, because evil is often disguised as good. Going often to Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation helps us to discern the right course. Following God’s law leads to eternal life, just as surely as sin leads to death. Examine everything in the light of God’s law, so that in the end, we may find ourselves “cleansed from unknown faults… blameless and innocent of serious sin” (Ps 19:12,14).



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