“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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