[stephenkhoo]

23 October 2013, Wednesday, 29th Week, Ordinary Time
FIGHTING AGAINST SIN
SCRIPTURE READINGS: RM 6:12-18; LK 12:39-48
http://www.universalis.com/20131023/mass.htm

Who is the greatest enemy of life? It is sin. Why? Because St Paul tells us that the wages of sin is death. (Rom 6:23) The death that St Paul refers to is not just physical death but the death of the soul and the heart to love. Secondly, sin is our greatest enemy because it is unlike battling with an enemy from without; this enemy is within our hearts. Sin lives in our mortal bodies. Accordingly, St Paul urges us, “You must not let sin reign in your mortal bodies or command your obedience to bodily passions, you must not let any part of your body turn into an unholy weapon fighting on the side of sin.” Because of original sin, we share in the fallen nature like the rest of humanity. It is difficult to resist sin because sin is so attractive, especially the sin of lust, greed and gluttony. Indeed, we appear powerless in the face of sin, succumbing so easily.

So how can we overcome the power of sin? In the first place, since this battle is not just against earthly forces but against the Evil One, as St Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:12) So against sin and the temptations of the Evil One, we need to solicit the help of the Lord. Hence, he continued, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Eph 6:13) We can fight the battle with God on our side, trusting that He will deliver us from the Evil One. Indeed, it is with this confidence that we struggle with sin, for we know with the psalmist that “our help is in the name of the Lord. We were rescued like a bird from the fowlers’ snare; broken was the snare, and we were freed. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

But He can fight for and with us only if we offer ourselves to Him. If we want God to be on our side, St Paul says, “You should, instead, offer yourselves to God, and consider yourselves dead men brought back to life.” We need to surrender our body, mind and spirit to the Lord so that He can work in and through us. Baptism is to put on Christ. This is symbolized in the Baptismal garment that we wear. Through sanctifying grace, we are now given the strength for the battle to fight against sin and overcome our concupiscence. No longer do we struggle alone by our own strength but with the grace of the Holy Spirit given to us. In our hearts, we are disposed to put away sin and not allow sin to muster us. No longer can we continue to be slaves to sin. St Paul reminds us, “Does the fact that we are living by grace and not by law mean that we are free to sin? Of course not! You know that if you agree to serve and obey a master you become his slaves. You were once slaves of sin, but thank God you submitted without reservation to the creed you were taught. You may have been freed from the slavery of sin, but only to become ‘slaves’ of righteousness.” Only when we live a righteous life, can we find true freedom and peace. How can we fight against sin and evil if we allow sin to dwell in us? We cannot be servants of God and mammon. (cf Lk 16:13)

In our warfare against sin, we can adopt the strategy of self-defence. In the gospel, Jesus told His listeners, “You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house.” Clearly in fighting against sin, we must be alert, especially to the temptation of the Evil One. He comes to tempt us to sin in many ways, especially when we are weak and vulnerable. Those moments when we fall into sin happen when we are lonely, depressed, discouraged and lax in our spiritual life. In such a situation, we must not allow ourselves to be near the occasion for sin.

But it is not enough to defend ourselves from the wiles of the Evil One. We must also be on the offensive as well. In order to fight against the Evil One, we must be strong in faith. We need to bolster our spiritual life and live a virtuous life. St Paul says to us, “You should make every part of your body into a weapon fighting on the side of God, and then sin will no longer dominate your life, since you are living by grace and not by law.” There is no surer way of winning our struggle against sin than to live a life of grace, a life of holiness. Without a life of prayer, regular confession and frequent reception of the Eucharist and a deep love for the Word of God, we will be like soldiers going to a battle without food and weapons to fight or defend ourselves.

Indeed, Jesus in the gospel exhorts us to faithfulness and watchfulness. He said, “You too must stand ready, because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” We must welcome the Lord by living consciously in His presence as if He is watching us in every step. This watchfulness is not just being faithful in our spiritual life, but we must also be attentive and responsible to our vocation and our responsibilities in life. Jesus said, “What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?” It is in our daily fidelity to whatever the Lord has delegated to us that we build ourselves in character and discipline. Yes, when we overcome one sin, we find ourselves stronger in overcoming another; and gradually, we become stronger and stronger in fending off the temptations of the evil one.

Conversely, we must remember the idiom that “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” Our minds fantasize and plan evil things because we are lazy. That was the attitude of the lazy servant. He said to himself, “My master is taking his time coming”, and sets about beating the menservants and the maids and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know.” When we are irresponsible, we open ourselves to all sorts of temptations and sins. To keep the devil at bay, we must be up and about doing the Lord’s work, recognizing that we are His servants.

We must realize that the punishment for sin is sin itself. This is what Jesus warns us when He said, “The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.” Often in life we punish ourselves by the very sins we commit. Many of our woes in life are the consequences of our misconduct, irresponsibility and failures in the past. In most instances, we are merely reaping what we have sown. Instead of blaming our woes on others, we should use such occasions to repent and do penance for our sins, and use those moments of suffering for our purification. Sin punishes us with more sins; not merely the consequences of our sins. When we realize this truth, it behooves us not to destroy ourselves, and worse still, our loved ones and our future because of our callous attitude towards our spiritual life and the responsibilities accorded to our state of life. The pleasure of sin is for a moment but the misery that comes from sin can last for years. Be aware of the trick of the devil.

Finally, there is a warning to those of us who delay conversion, especially when we know the way but are not living it. Christians have no excuse, especially those who have received baptism and had conversion experiences in their lives. God has given us the grace but when we take His grace for granted, we will be punished doubly as the parable warns us, “The servant who knows what he wants, but has not even started to carry out those wishes, will receive very many strokes of the lash.” Non-Christians can claim ignorance but for us Christians, we have a grave responsibility for the gift of Faith given to us at our baptism. For that reason, they will be treated lightly since “the one who did not know, but deserves to be beaten for what he has done, will receive fewer strokes.” Jesus asserts this obligation when He said that “when a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man had had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.” One should take note that Jesus told this parable to His disciples, which means all of us. We who are the servants of the Lord must take care that we are faithful and responsible in our tasks; otherwise, the guilt in us will condemn us when we face God and our fellowmen.

Holiness is not something we acquire overnight. We must first learn to resist temptation, overcome sin, before we can even eradicate the imperfections in our lives. If we cannot even overcome grave and mortal sins, we cannot expect to purge ourselves of venial sins; the former grieves God tremendously, and the latter makes God sad. Only when we live a life of holiness and a life of grace, can God live in us and entrust everything to us as the Father did to Jesus. Truly, as Jesus promised us, “Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns.“ So let us surrender every part of our body and will to the Lord so that He can use us as His instruments to establish the reign of God in the world.