Chúng ta hãy thử tưởng tượng nếu chúng ta là người đã phạm những lỗi lầm với một người nào đó trong gia đình hay với Giáo Hội bảy lần một ngày. Chúng ta có lời xin lỗi mỗi khi chúng ta nhận ra rằng chúng ta đã làm sai. Mỗi khi chúng ta xin lỗi, chúng ta lại được sự tha thứ một cách vô điều kiện. Chúng ta sẽ có cảm giác như thế nào? khi chúng ta là người đã nhiều lần phạm lỗi và xúc phạm đến anh chị em của chúng ta. Chúng ta đã liên tục được sự tha thứ của Thiên Chúa. Bây giờ Thiên Chúa, qua Chúa Giêsu, đã mời gọi chúng ta hãy rộng lượng để tha thứ cho những người khác, như Ngài đã tha thứ cho chúng ta. Để tha thứ là để thiết lập một gương sáng về tình yêu thương trong cộng đồng. Một gương sáng tốt dễ ảnh hưởng đến người khác một cách tích cực và gắn bó cộng đồng, cũng giống như những gương mù gương xấu ảnh hưởng đến những người khác một cách tiêu cực và phân chia cộng đồng. Chúa Giêsu thú nhận rằng điều đó chắc chắn sẽ gây ra tội lỗi. Tội lỗi ảnh hưởng đến người khác cũng như chính mình. Không những chúng ta phải biết chăm lo chính chúng ta đẻ đừnf phạm tội, nhưng điều quan trọng hơn, là chúng ta đừng bao giờ làm gương mù gương xấu đễ đưa anh chị em của chúng ta bắt chước và lâm vào con đường tội lỗi. Hơn nữa, Chúa Giêsu dạy chúng ta phải chủ động và phải biết nêu gương tốt về tình yêu thương, và sự tha thư. Chúng ta có dám tỏ vẻ như một “kẻ Ngốc” mỗi khi chúng ta tha thứ cho những người phạm lỗi hay xúc phạm đến chúng ta rất nhiều lần và chúng ta cứ tiếp tha thứ cho họ mãi mãi? Tuyệt đối là không! Nhưng đây là cách của loài người chúng ta. Lạy Chúa, xin cho chúng con biết rộng lượng và sẵn sàng tha thứ. Xin giúp chúng con Chúa ơi, để chúng con biết tha thứ theo như cách của Chúa, và xin Chúa hãy gia tăng tình yêu thương trong chúng con..
Imagine you are that brother or sister who has sinned against someone in the family or the Church seven times a day. You apologies every time that you realize that you have been wrong. Every time you apologies, unconditional pardon is given you. How do you feel? We are that person who has repeatedly sinned against our brothers and sisters. We are repeatedly pardoned by God. Now God, through Jesus, is asking us to forgive others, as He has forgiven us.
To forgive is to set an example of love in the community. Good examples affect others positively and bond the community, just as bad examples affect others negatively and divide the community. Jesus admits that things which cause sin will inevitably occur. Sin affects others as well as oneself. Not only should we take care not to sin, but more importantly, we should never lead our brothers and sisters into sinning. Furthermore, Jesus teaches us to be pro-active and set examples of love, by forgiving. Would I appear to be a fool in forgiving serial sinners? Absolutely! But this is the Pascal way. Lord, give me the desire to forgive. Help me to forgive in Your way, and increase the scope of my love.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur. It 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.” Luke 17:1–2
Having a millstone placed around your neck and thrown into the sea is very descriptive. Jesus is using very evocative language. A millstone was a large round stone with a hole in the center. If it were placed around someone’s neck and they were thrown into the sea, they would obviously sink to the bottom and die. Thus, Jesus is clearly stating that this awful fate is actually better than the fate of those who cause “one of these little ones to sin.”
First of all, it should be clarified that no one can actually cause us to sin. Sin is our own free choice, and we, and we alone, will be held accountable for our own sin. One thing that Jesus is pointing out here is that even though every person must take responsibility for their own actions and their own sins, we must also take responsibility for the ways that we act as tempters of others. We are all sinners. Therefore, by our sin, we will all tempt others to sin also. Sometimes we will tempt people to sin by provoking them to anger. At other times we will tempt others to sin by setting a poor example. And on the contrary, we also have the ability to “tempt” people to virtue. Or more properly speaking, to inspire and encourage them.
With that said, Jesus explains that the fate of those who act as tempters of others, especially the “little ones,” will suffer consequences graver than an untimely death. The little ones of which Jesus speaks should be understood as those who are weak in faith, overly sensitive, particularly vulnerable at that time in their life, and susceptible to outside influence. This could be a child, or it could be someone who is currently teetering on the edge of despair, confusion, anger, or any serious sin. When you encounter people like this, how do you treat them? Jesus has a deep heart of compassion for these people and wants us to have the same depth of compassion. But sometimes we fail. We may be negligent in our duty to reach out to them. Even this negligence could be a form of causing “one of these little ones to sin.” Of course, it is even far worse if we were to actively agitate them, harshly judge them, provoke their anger, draw them into some sin of weakness and false consolation by our temptation, etc. The simple truth is that Jesus loves those who are weak, vulnerable and sinful, and He wants us to love them with His heart. When we fail to do so, Jesus will hold us accountable for their further fall from grace.
Reflect, today, upon the person or persons in your life that appear especially vulnerable, sinful, confused and lost at this time. Who is it that struggles with anger, or an addiction or some sinful lifestyle? Ponder your attitude toward them. Are you judgmental, condemning, belittling and the like? Do you tempt them to fall further into any sins of weakness they commit in a vulnerable state, thus leading them into further sin? Or, when you encounter someone who is greatly struggling, do you turn to them with the deepest compassion and mercy, forgiving any ways that they may sin against you, and work hard only to be there for them in their need, no matter how hard it is on you? Commit yourself to a profound love of all of God’s “little ones” and seek to serve them with the heart of Christ so that one day they will eternally rejoice with you in Heaven.
My most compassionate Lord, You love the sinner and deeply desire that they turn to You in their need. Please give me Your heart of compassion so that I will be free to love them as You love them. May I never become an instrument of temptation for them to fall further away from You but, instead, become an instrument of Your unfailing mercy. Jesus, I trust in You.
Tuesday of the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus said to the Apostles: “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table?’ Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished?’ Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?” Luke 17:7–9
In most cultures today, the idea of having a servant whom you command to wait on you is far from ideal. Jesus uses this image because the people to whom He was speaking would have easily related. He used it as a way of humbling them because when the illustration is properly understood, He was identifying each one of them as the servant, not the master. Only God is the Master.
When it comes to our service of God, there is no limit to the commands that God will give. At first, that might seem harsh, but it’s not because the commands that God gives to us are dictates of perfect love. We need His commands. We need the order He provides. We need to enter into perfect obedience to Him. We need to listen to everything He tells us and obey it to perfection. Seeing God as our Master and ourselves as His servants will only appear harsh when we fail to understand what sort of Master He is.
Recall the beautiful words of our Blessed Mother when she was given the command from the Archangel Gabriel. The angel said to her, “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” This was not a question posed to her; it was a command of love. Mary did not hesitate and did not refuse. She said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
At the conclusion of today’s Gospel, Jesus went on to say, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’” In many ways, this is exactly what our Blessed Mother did. She was a servant of God’s perfect commands, and she knew that her love for God obliged her to follow His will.
When you think about your service of the will of God, do you see it as you doing God a favor? Do you see obedience to God’s dictates as an act of generosity on your part and your cooperation with those dictates as above and beyond your natural duties? Hopefully not. Hopefully you understand that you, like our Blessed Mother, are a servant of the one true Master of all. Hopefully you also see the commands of God as the roadmap toward a life of complete fulfillment. When we understand Who the Master is, we will never hesitate in being a servant, or even a slave. We will not hesitate in freely surrendering ourselves over to His will in complete and unwavering obedience. God alone knows what is best for us, and we need to give Him complete control over our lives.
Reflect, today, upon the image of a master and a slave. As you do, try to shed every preconceived image you have that includes harshness, cruelty, dominance and control. Instead, try to see the image of a divine Master Whose only concern is for the servant. Try to see a Master Who perfectly loves the servant. Reflect upon your own need for such a Master in your life. Pray that you will be able to surrender complete control over to God in all things so that He can direct your life into the glorious things He has in store for you.
My Lord and Master, You have commanded me and all Your servants to obey Your commands of perfect love. Your will alone is what is best for our lives and Your dictates bring fulfillment and purpose to our lives. May I, with Your Blessed Mother, always obey You in everything, for I am a servant of You, dear Lord. May I joyfully do what I am obliged to do. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Sin and Forgiveness: The Gospel of Luke today contains three lessons drawn from the parables and teachings Jesus has just given. The first lesson is about scandal. Scandals or “things that cause sin” are “moral stumbling blocks that lead others to do evil” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 290). Scandalous behavior, Jesus teaches, will inevitably occur throughout the centuries. Earlier, Jesus pronounced a woe on the Pharisees and the Scholars of the Law who, through their hypocrisy, were sinning and causing others to sin (Luke 11:37-54). Here, he pronounces a woe on the one through whom scandals occur. Jesus is warning his disciples not to behave like the Pharisees. The second lesson is about the need to forgive without limits. This is a lesson drawn from the parables about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son (15:1-32). When the lost coin is found, when the lost sheep is brought back into the fold, when the prodigal son returns, when the person who has sinned against us encounters us, forgiveness, merciful love, and restoration are what they need from us.
Opening Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for the opportunity to come before you in prayer. I particularly ask you to increase my faith. I understand that challenges and temptations will come my way. Without a strongly rooted faith, I will stumble. However, Lord, teach me that even in my stumbles and struggles, I may learn to rely ever more on you.
The Inevitability of Temptation: “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur.” God in his Providence has not removed evil from the world. Rather, he has given us the strength to overcome it. During the Last Supper Jesus prayed to the Father regarding his Apostles, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). Now we must “discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, and temptation, which leads to sin and death” (CCC 2847). However, even temptations can reveal to us our own weaknesses and thereby be useful (CCC 2847). Nevertheless, we want to avoid temptation when possible, and most certainly avoid becoming the cause of temptation for others.
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