Word to the Wise
Monday, November 8, 2010 - Monday in the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
[Titus 1:1-9 and Luke 17:1-6]Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one thorugh 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.
One of the traditional terms that I can recall from my religious fornation as a child and teen is "occasion of sin" or "near occasion of sin." Remember those? My memory also recalls those same terms as meaning tempting circumstances that inevitably result in wrong conduct. What my memory does not include is the question about personally being an occasion of sin. That came under the title of "bad example." We were told not to be a "bad example" to others. We were exhorted to be a "good example." I even saw a sign once that said, "No one is completely worthless. They can always serve as a bad example!" Jesus seems only to be realistic in noting that bad example is an inevitable part of life. Most of us would nod, and say, "AMEN!" But when Jesus speaks about that millstone being tied around the neck of someone whose bad example causes others to go astray, we then begin to gulp hard and see some "flashbacks" in our memories. It is rare for me to hear anyone confess that they have ever, through their bad example, have led someone else to imitate that bad example, or that by daring someone to do something, they led that person astray. How many of us, at least in our youth, have "dared" someone to do something we knew to be at least naughty or dangerous? All of us, as baptized Christians, are committed to being "good examples" of that commitment. That we fail many times, we know. The sacrament of reconciliation, along with our willingness to personally forgive and seek forgiveness, helps us to overcome those "occasions of sin." But even more seriously we should be aware of the impact of our actions on others as "occasions of sin" to those others. Every millstone I've ever seen was very large and very heavy! AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
95 ms
4
