Cut Off the Obstacles!

Rev. Marcel Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

September 27, 2015

Most active Christians have certain passages of the Bible that they regard as favorites. It’s not as if other parts of the Bible do not appeal to them, but they consider those passages favorites because they inspire, motivate and touch them specially and profoundly. They particularly address their situation in a more significant manner. Many Christians consider John 3:16, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life” as one of their favorite verses and quote in the Bible. But if we have the time to ask each person to recite his or her favorite verses in the Bible, it is likely none of us will mention the following text we read from today’s Gospel as a favorite verse: “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 it 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” (Mark 9:43-48). 

What exactly is the Lord saying to us in those words? Certainly, he is not talking about physical amputation of hands, legs and eyes. Jesus spoke metaphorically. That time in Palestine, it was common to speak in such an exaggerated manner just to make a point. In literature, it is called hyperbole. Everyone in this church can agree that Jesus was not asking us to literary get rid of certain parts of our body just to avoid sin and Gehenna and to merit everlasting life in heaven. Coming to this agreement leaves us with the questions: “What is Jesus saying in that passage and what does he expect from us?”

Human life is a life of battle. Within each of us there’s a battle going on. It is a battle for the life of each of us. It is a battle between good and evil. It is a battle between sin and grace. At the end of this battle, we will either hear Jesus say, “You are mine!” or hear Satan say, “You are mine!” The Mass is always a thanksgiving celebration to the Father for giving us his Son, Jesus Christ. He’s the Best and the Greatest Gift of all. Through his death and resurrection, the battle has been won for us. When Jesus said on the cross, “It’s finished,” he meant the dominion of Satan over us is finished. He meant the battle between good and evil is won. Good won. Evil lost. Jesus won. Satan lost. Because of Jesus, the overbearing influence of Satan is over. Because of Jesus, his control over our lives is over. Because of Jesus, we have a new life of grace. Because of him, salvation is won. Jesus’ death on the cross is God’s way of saying to each of us, “You are mine!” Now, it is up to each of us to grab the hands of Jesus and say to him, “Lord, I am yours,” and to accept his grace and live like people redeemed by him. If you are given a check of $1 million, the money can only be available for your spending after you have taken your time to go to the bank and deposit it into your account. Salvation is free but not cheap. It must cost us something—self-denial. 

Beloved, Jesus is asking us to avoid the things that lead to temptation and sin. He’s asking us to run away from anything, anyone, any event, any place that makes it easier for us to yield to sin. We call it occasion of sin. For some of us, consumption of alcohol is the occasion of sin. For others, it is the TV, internet, magazine etc. For some, it is the friends they keep and the places they go to. Whatever and whoever it is that will deny us heaven, Jesus says, cut if off. Disengage and discontinue that friendship or membership that is leading you away from God. Walk out now! It’s better to go to heaven friendless than with a host of friends end up in Gehenna. If an endless pursuit of wealth is going to exclude you from the Great Banquet of the Lamb of God, Jesus say, it’s time to stop. If membership of social networks like Facebook, Twitter etc is exposing you and making you prone to do certain things you ordinarily wouldn’t do, the Lord says, end the membership now. It’s better to go to heaven with few people knowing you, than with multitude of followers end up in hell. 

Today, there are two realities that are rarely talked about. A good number of preachers, including Catholic priests hardly preach about them. They are sin and hell. I would be failing in my duty if I do not talk about them. It would be a gross negligent of duty if I finish this preaching without talking about sin and hell. Sin is rarely mentioned today because it is an ugly topic; but it is too important to ignore. Jesus never ignored it. Sin is any act that violates the commandments of God. 1 John 3:4 tells us that, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.” Sin is disobedience to the good God. In these modern times, we have rightly emphasized the loving mercy of God because more people can be attracted to a spoon of honey than a huge container of vinegar. God’s mercy is more appealing than his wrath. But in the process of emphasizing his mercy, we have overlooked and underestimated the destructive and deadly reality of sin. We have also deemphasized the reality of hell. Some of us believe that everyone will go to heaven. We convince ourselves that it is not real. Some argue that a loving Father cannot let his own child suffer in eternal hell. But they forget that a loving and obedient son or daughter would not walk away from his or her Father. Some even believe that the teaching about hell was injected by the Church to make everyone comply. But look at it this way. Every human society has laws that must be obeyed. Anyone who wants to live free in America must be law-abiding. How come we now think that God does not have any? Is God lawless? In the first place, who is the origin of human beings’ ability to discover the need for laws? 

My dear friends, God is not lawless. God has laws. Just like in human society, any disobedience of his laws has consequences. Romans 6:23 tells us that “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” To avoid the unpleasant wages of sin, avoid sin and everything that leads to it. We need to stop treating sin and hell with levity. We don’t have to wait till the last minute to give up the things that drag us away from God. The longer one lives a life of sin and selfishness, the farther and farther one travels from the light. While it is possible to convert on deathbeds, the chances of doing that become slim. Those who progressively plunge themselves into evil would become accustomed and addicted to it. They may no longer want to taste the good things of God. Even if Jesus should appear to them, they may not recognize him. Jesus was standing before Pilate, yet he couldn't recognize him as the Truth. The choices we constantly make can gradually turn us into persons full of light or persons full of darkness. If we become full of darkness, the road back to full light can be very long and sometimes impossible. 

The summary of today’s Gospel is this: Run away from sin and be horrified at the mere thought of it. No good comes from sin. It’s not a little thing and its effects and consequences are hard to erase. Even though the modern world and its godless media are telling us that “Sin is fun,” we need to listen to the Good Shepherd. In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Living a virtuous life is not unpleasant, as some people believe. The pleasures of sin may appear enticing and may be offered to us as a source of happiness. It is a big lie! It’s a big deception! Although sin can excite one’s passions, but it is only a matter of time before one discovers how miserable and unhappy his or her life has become. The wages of sin does not have to take place in the afterlife. An unrepentant sinner begins to earn his or her salary from here. As virtue is its own reward, sin is its own punishment. Sin is never fun. Do you think for a second that drug addicts, sexual perverts, child molesters, criminals, rapists, serial killers, drug peddlers, kidnappers, etc enjoy their lives? Do you think they are living in a world of real peace and joy? Do you think that alcoholics are happy and having a great fun? Do you think that abortionists are happy? Sin’s only companions are sadness and destruction. 

Our Redeemer wants us to avoid every occasions of sin so as to avoid the temptation that makes us yields to it. Sin hurts. It hurts us. It hurts our Church. It hurts our family. It hurts our society. It hurts our community. It hurts our world. If we stay in it without seeking repentance and healing, it would hurt us eternally and deprive us the wonderful opportunity of hearing Jesus say to us, “You are mine!”