Reading 1 Sir 5:1-8
Rely not on your wealth;
say not: “I have the power.”
Rely not on your strength
in following the desires of your heart.
Say not: “Who can prevail against me?”
or, “Who will subdue me for my deeds?”
for God will surely exact the punishment.
Say not: “I have sinned, yet what has befallen me?”
for the Most High bides his time.
Of forgiveness be not overconfident,
adding sin upon sin.
Say not: “Great is his mercy;
my many sins he will forgive.”
For mercy and anger alike are with him;
upon the wicked alights his wrath.
Delay not your conversion to the LORD,
put it not off from day to day.
For suddenly his wrath flames forth;
at the time of vengeance you will be destroyed.
Rely not upon deceitful wealth,
for it will be no help on the day of wrath.
Gospel Mk 9:41-50
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
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.“Everyone will be salted with fire.
Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid,
with what will you restore its flavor?
Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.”
The first reading of today contains so many counsels. At least five different counsels.
- Do not rely or base your happiness on money.
- Do not be governed by appetite or passion.
- Do not presume you are unquestionable.
- Do not take God’s mercy for granted.
- Do not set your heart on ill-gotten gains.
Today, let us reflect on what it means to take God’s mercy for granted.
Our God is very merciful, He delights in showing mercy. However, the mercy of God must not be taken for granted. In this reflection, I will talk about three ways that people often take God’s mercy for granted;
- Presumption: This is when we know something is wrong and we still choose to do it assuring ourselves that God is merciful, He will understand and He will forgive.
The first reading says, “Do not be so sure of forgiveness that you add sin to sin.”
- Postponing repentance: Do not postpone your repentance or delay your confession. Don’t be comfortable with unconfessed sin. When we procrastinate in matters of repentance, the benefit goes to the devil.
The first reading says, “Do not delay your return to the Lord…”
- Concealing sins: To hide our sins from Jesus at confession is an abuse of mercy, to refrain from confessing our sins out of shame is to exclude ourselves from mercy. Prov 28:13 whoever confesses and forsakes his sins will obtain mercy.
This is also the message in today’s gospel, we must carefully battle against sin in our lives and we must also be careful not to be a temptation to others. If however, we notice any trace of sin, let us not presume on Gods mercy, let us not justify or conceal our sins but approach Jesus as quickly as possible for mercy and sanctification.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Okami on February 28, 2019.