Sunday Meditation: Cutting Sin from Your Life

As they continue their journey with Jesus, the disciples continue to show how obtuse they are.  Someone not of their group is driving out demons, and they want to stop him.  This leads Jesus into a little sermon, first on doing the good, then on causing sin, and then on what to do if one sins repeatedly. 

 

At that time, John said to Jesus,

"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,

and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."

Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.

There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name

who can at the same time speak ill of me.

For whoever is not against us is for us.

Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink

because you belong to Christ,

amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

 

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone

were put around his neck

and he were thrown into the sea.

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.

It is better for you to enter into life maimed

than with two hands to go into Gehenna,

into the unquenchable fire.

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.

It is better for you to enter into life crippled

than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.

Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye

than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,

where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"

~Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

 

Jeff Cavins identifies just how important cutting sin is from your life.

As I look at Jesus’s sermon, there doesn’t seem to be a logical transition from not stopping outsiders from healing to radically cutting sin from one’s life.  For some reason the lectionary stops on verse 48, but perhaps verses 49 and 50 actually pulls all three elements of his sermon together: “Everyone will be salted with fire.  Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.” (Mk 9:49-50)  By cutting out sin, one is purified as being salted, and those that are salted are those that can go and drive out demons.  The final outcome of cutting out sin is peace! 

 

Sunday Meditation: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.”

 

Our hymn today will be “Go in Peace,” by John Michael Talbot

 

He just has beautiful song after beautiful song.

Sunday Meditation: The Holy One of God

Today we encounter Jesus’s in His first stages of ministry.  We see Him preaching with authority and being singled out by a demon as “the Holy One of God.” 

 

Then they came to Capernaum,
and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
Jesus rebuked him and said,
"Quiet! Come out of him!"
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
"What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

~Mk 1:21-28

This is a brilliant homily from Bishop Robert Barron.  Every sentence is incredibly enlightening. 

 

I agree the Deuteronomy quote projects Christ, but here's a devil's advocate question: couldn't it be projecting any of the prophets, especially Isaiah whose lips were purified?  But it is referring to Christ.

 

Meditation: "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?"

 

That question should not be taken only as coming from a demon.  I hope you are asking that yourself.