Gospel Reflection 2021/2022
The reality of sin.
In this post-modern and post-truth world, ‘sin’ has become a taboo subject and a politically incorrect term. The word ‘sin’ is deemed discriminative, and to use such a word is regarded as an infringement of individual rights and human freedom. In the world of I-Me-Myself, I am my own master and I create my own rules according to my own whims and fancies – I can do whatever I want, however I want, wherever I want, and whenever I want.
Yet, faithful to the Teaching of Christ and the Teaching of the Apostles, the Catholic Church has consistently maintained that ‘sin’ is real: sin is a rejection of God’s order of things, God’s immutable truth and God’s love. God’s order and God’s truth are objective and immutable – they are not subject to popular vote or public opinion; neither are they subject to individual preference nor personal interpretation. A sin is a sin, be it called by any other name.
We are all sinners.
Yes, sin is real. None of us can claim that we are without sin – ‘for we all, like sheep, have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way’ [Is 53: 6]. Indeed, we have all sinned in one way or another: ‘in our thoughts and in our words, in what we have done (sin of commission) and in what we have failed to do (sin of omission)’ [cf. Penitential Act].
St John rightly warns us [1 John 1: 8, 10], “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us… If we say that we have no sin, we make Jesus a liar, and His word is not in us.” We are all sinners blinded by sin, wounded by sin, and corrupted by sin. We are not as holy as we think we are; and we are not holier than others as well. Very often, we are like crabs teaching others to walk straight:
We send our children to catechism class, but we ourselves refuse to attend Mass.
We expect our children to obey our instructions, but we ourselves do not bother to follow the COVID-19 SOP or obey even the simplest traffic rules.
We are actively evangelising, but we do not desire for a deep and personal relationship with God.
We do not walk the talk, and we do not practise what we preach.
We comment, complain and gossip about others’ mistakes, but we refuse to reflect and repent our own sins.
When our Lord Jesus tells us to ‘remove the wooden beam from our eyes first’, He is calling us to break away from sin, and to support each other in doing so. After all, the path to holiness is never a journey to be taken alone, but together – we are all companions on this journey.
Conversion and holiness begin with me.
It is jokingly said that: ‘Everyone wants to change the world, but nobody wants to change the toilet roll.’ It is satirical yet profoundly true: holiness starts small; conversion begins with me! Holiness means to change the toilet roll when nobody wants to and do it without broadcasting it!
As the Season of Lent is approaching, may we allow ourselves to be converted and transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the light of the Holy Spirit. We may not have the power to change the world, yet all of us can ‘be the change we want to see in the world’. Conversion and holiness begin with me. With God’s grace, let us break away from sin and change ourselves first before trying to change the world.
Let our fervent prayer be:
“Lord Jesus Christ, help me to be holy like You.”