Corpus Christi Blog

How to root sin out of our lives

03-08-2015HomiliesFr. Chad King

This Sunday we are about half way through Lent.   On this 3rd Sunday, the Church gives us such powerful readings from our Lord in order to intentionally focus our hearts on what this season of Lent is all about.  The focus of Lent should be to root sin out of our lives.  By reflecting on and applying our readings today we can do just that. 

One definition of sin is missing the mark, missing the purpose and way we should live our lives.  Missing the mark- we can think of a bull’s-eye as in darts or archery- the goal or purpose is to hit the bull’s-eye- the smack- dab center of the target.  In this analogy, the bull’s-eye is knowing and loving God with our whole heart and conforming every aspect of our lives to Him.  To hit the bull’s-eye means putting Christ in the center of our life, worshipping and showing God due honor and reverence.  And so sin is anything that is off of the exact center.  And like in darts or archery there are varying degrees of being off center, and so comparably there are various degrees of sin--venial and mortal.  Mortal sin is certainly more distant from the target.  However, no matter how far off center, it is still not in the center, and so it is not good enough.  When using this analogy for sin, it is important to think of the target as having a small bull’s-eye, one that doesn’t give a lot of margin for error, for as Christ says- narrow is the gate to Heaven.  In fact, the only way to get to Heaven is by hitting the bull’s-eye--the exact center of being conformed to Christ.  And unlike in darts or archery, there are not certain points we get that can add up for missing the mark--there is only one chance to hit the bull’s-eye-- we only get one life.  In fact, one of the greatest tragedies in life, besides not knowing there even is a target or bull’s-eye, is not doing everything we can to hit the center and instead think that we are close or good enough.  According to God’s standard, there is no margin for error, in order to go to Heaven there will be no stain of sin in anyone.  But thanks be to God, he provides us the tools we need to be successful, to hit the target.   We have the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist in order to cleanse us, to start over again and again in our attempt to hit the center in life.  One can think of each Sacrament we receive as instruction to improve our form and likeliness of hitting the mark.  In fact, this and every season of Lent is another opportunity to help us improve our aim.   Likewise, our first reading gives us exact instructions to teach us how to hit the center.

The 10 Commandments are laws given by God after humanity had lost the ability to be without sin and go to Heaven.  And they are valid just as much today as they were back then when the Israelites had just been worshipping the Golden Calf.  In fact, all the rules and laws God gives us are for our good, to teach us how to be happy and go to heaven.  So let us briefly look at the 10 commandments.  We notice they can be broken into two parts: the first part is the first 3 commandments which teach us how to get be in right relationship with God, and the next 7 help to keep our relationship with others right.  I will briefly only touch on the first 3 because they are the foundation of all the others.  If we don’t love God as we should, then neither will we be able to love those whom God loves.  Being a little off-center with our worship and living in God, then our relationships with others will also not be ordered rightly. 

So, the first commandment God gives us:  “You shall not have any other gods before me.”  Keep in mind that before the Lord God revealed Himself to the Israelites and took them out of their slavery, they had many gods whom they worshipped and called upon.  And remember that God gave these 10 commandments to Moses as God’s people had resorted to their old way of life of having other gods.  And because of this tendency, the Jews prayed every day--twice a day: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone!  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with your whole being, and all your strength.  Take these words to heart and drill them into your children’.  Oh my brothers and sisters, if only we would heed this prayer and heed the 1st commandment God gives us--to make God the center and love Him above all else.

The 2nd commandment:  Do you know it?  You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”  This commandment calls us to speak and act as if God is the center of our lives.  If we do not have the love of God deep within our hearts and always in our minds, then it is easier for us to treat Him and his name without the proper reverence. 

The 3rd commandment: “Keep holy the Sabbath day.”  This implies that God made the Sabbath holy, that is God made the Sabbath set apart from all the others himself in the first place, as Scripture says God created all there was in 6 days, and on the 7th day God rested.  But for us Christians, the Sabbath--Saturday--is replaced by the Lord’s Day--Sunday.  Because our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on Friday, He ‘rested’ in the tomb on Saturday, and rose from the dead on Sunday. Therefore, we are to keep the Lord’s Day holy. We keep it holy through our worship and rest on that day.  We are called to prepare all week in anticipation for the Lord’s Day, and besides our worship we are to not do any unnecessary work on Sundays.  My brothers and sisters, if we don’t physically and actively practice our faith, and just keep our faith an interior attitude, if our actions don’t show that the Lord’s Day is set apart from any other day, then the Lord’s Day simply becomes irrelevant.  Will you make this Lord’s Day holy through worshipping with all your heart and leisurely enjoying the remainder of the day--in the Lord?      
So I invite and challenge you to look at your week--and reflect on where you are spending most of your attention and focus?  What are you preparing for each day, each week?  Is it work, hobbies, or family--all may be good things but the wrong primary focus.  If it isn’t God, and if what we are doing throughout the week isn’t done in God, then that is proof we are worshipping a false god and we need to prayerfully make Christ the center of every aspect of our lives.

Finally, let me say a few words about our Gospel, as it too teaches an important lesson about sin and how we are to be diligent in rooting sin out of our lives.  Jesus was not angry that there were people selling sheep, doves, and oxen in the Temple area.  After all, the Temple was the center of town, and God himself commanded the Jews to come to the Temple and offer their worship by offering sheep or doves to be sacrificed.  And so naturally there was a marketplace in the Temple area in order for people to buy or sell the sheep or doves.  But what Jesus was rightly angry about is that the Marketplace expanded and moved into the space dedicated for the Lord.  So you see, and listen to this, just as it was for the Israelites who had already bought their offering, as it can be for us, for those who are just going through the motions in their worship, it is easy to not notice how much sin--how much of that which is not holy--has crept into that which should belong to God, and the holiness becomes less and less. However, for Jesus who loved and worshipped the Father perfectly, He was aware of the lukewarm and compromised hearts. And so rightly, “zeal for the Father’s house consumed Jesus” and he cleansed the Temple.   My brothers and sisters, in just a few minutes, you and I will consume the Body and Blood of Christ, you and I will become a living temple, a place where God dwells.  And so the question is: Will zeal for the Father’s house consume you and will it consume you until you have made Christ the center of your life and are with Him in Heaven?

BACK TO LIST