Scripture:
Reflection:
In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus uses some startling, even harsh, words warning against sin: “Whoever causes one of these little ones … to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone was put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off…And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off…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…”
As I was reflecting on these words, I thought about those harrowing stories about people being caught in avalanches or something, and having to cut or gnaw off a hand or something in order to get free from whatever was trapping them. Very extreme, right? Maybe Jesus wants us to be as extreme for our spiritual survival as we can be for our physical survival.
Can we be that extreme in avoiding sin, and following Jesus? I don’t think Jesus is asking us to mutilate ourselves, but there are things we may need to cut off, which can sometimes feel as precious to us as a part of our body, such as a resentment we’ve been nurturing for a long time, or a prejudice we simply can’t find the will to let go of. Is there something we need to cut off, or, perhaps more accurately, let Jesus cut off, from our hearts?
How can we be extreme in letting go of what leads us to sin, and taking up what leads us to Jesus? At the end of our Gospel reading, Jesus says, “Everyone will be salted with fire…Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.” In the light of Pentecost which we celebrated this past Sunday, perhaps we can see Jesus’ words referring to the Holy Spirit. If we keep salted in the fire of the Holy Spirit, we will have what we need to be extreme in following Jesus, and finding peace.
Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama.