DAILY GOSPEL AND REFLECTION, NOV. 10, 2014 ( MONDAY ) Temptations to Sin Lk 17:1-6 1[Jesus] said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur. 2It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.” 5And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” 6The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to [this] mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” REFLECTION THINGS THAT CAUSE SIN. This Gospel phrase is more familiarly known as “scandals.” Scandal comes from the Greek word skandalon, a stumbling block or snare that makes a person fall or get caught in a trap. Webster defines it as “a circumstance or action that offends propriety or established moral conceptions or disgraces those associated with it.” In relation to Jesus, a scandal is something that causes a believer, especially a little one, to lose faith in him, thus bringing ruin to that person. The scandal that concerns Luke is not only what comes from the outside and is inevitable, of which Matthew speaks (18:6-7) as does Mark (9:42), but also what arises from within the community of believers. In such situations, Jesus first prescribes fraternal correction. Then, the community must learn to forgive always—seven times in one day if needed—and together ask for an increase of faith. In fact, faith the size of a mustard seed is capable of producing unimaginable wonders. In the face of scandal that burdens the heart, forgiveness may be difficult, but as John declares, “This is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything” (1 Jn 3:19-20). The most common reactions to scandal are sadness, shock, discouragement, despair, and cynicism. What is the Christian response?
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:13:36 +0000
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