26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 9/26
If I could summarize today’s gospel reading in one sentence it’d be, “No sin is worth it!!!” In this famous reading, Jesus lists numerous body parts it’d be better to cut off than to go to hell because of. A superficial reading of this would make anyone go, “Yikes, cut off my hand?!” But really, Christ is saying that no sin is worth eternal fire. Of course, the advice to pluck out your eyes sounds unrealistic, but Christ is trying to make a point that whatever is causing you to sin and is keeping you from eternal life in heaven needs to be cut out. He says, “Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna.” A.k.a., it’s not worth it! These extreme examples of cutting off limbs might be a stumbling block, but let’s reflect on the things in our lives that keep us away from God. Think about forms of entertainment we watch, music we listen to, the words that come out of our mouths, the way we treat those around us, our behavior, our choices, etc. What are the things in your life that block God’s grace? What are the things in your life that keep you from growing closer to Him?
No, you don’t need to literally cut your hand off --- but let’s go to confession and start anew. Let’s commit to cutting out those things that cause us to sin. Although it’s intense, this gospel reading isn’t meant to scare people -- it’s meant to show just how great God’s mercy and love is for us and how much He desires to be with us in heaven.
When I was in college at Ave University, there was a plaque in the wall right before the confessional. It said, “No sin is greater than God’s love.” To this day, that quote fills me with the courage to trust in God’s mercy. That no one would come to earth and die the most heinous death for me if He wouldn’t or couldn’t forgive me. Christ literally died to forgive us. No sin is too great for forgiveness, too shameful, or too complex to be wiped away. No one dies for someone they won’t forgive. “No sin is greater than God’s love.” No sin is greater than God’s love for you and no sin is worth losing eternal life with Him.