Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
When trouble strikes, the one thing we can count on is there will be plenty of excuses and finger pointing. It is part our very nature. We see it at the very beginning of the creation story. The reading from Genesis today reminds us that God set out one simple rule for life in the garden and it didn’t take long for that rule to be violated. Don’t eat from this one tree! Simple enough but it was still too much to ask and too difficult for our first parents to follow. Admittedly, they had some help in breaking the rule. Yet, when all was said and done, the man blamed the woman and the woman blamed the serpent. Denying the responsibility for their misdeeds and placing it on someone else didn’t change the punishment they incurred. But it did form a pattern of behavior that would be passed on to all future generations. We call this behavior “Original Sin.” And we, like our parents, have become good at passing the buck.
We put much of our energy into blaming others, looking for excuses for our shortcomings, our failures, and our sins. Our egos have developed ‘thick skins’ in order for us not to feel the guilt that is the natural consequence of our wrongdoing. Our conscience is what moves us to feel sorry for our transgressions but if our conscience becomes disordered, one’s life becomes totally out of control. Sadly, history documents far too many examples of the suffering and havoc done to innocent victims by those whose consciences have dulled.
What reason could there be for such a pathetic condition as living with a warped conscience? Could it be the same influence that was present in the garden that tripped up our first parents? In the gospel Jesus recognized the influence Beelzebul had and continues to have on the lives of all who have ever lived and that is perhaps why He points to the power Satan has over the world: the power to deceive and distort the “Truth.”
Satan is always in attack mode: destroying the truth, conflicting the truth, blurring the line between what is true and what is untrue, changing the name of what are “lies” to “alternate facts”. The father of lies is very effective at what he does. After all, our first parents fell for his deception hook, line and sinker! And human history has recorded the painful consequences humanity has suffered throughout its pages.
It’s time to choose sides, Jesus tells us today. Choose to be a part of Jesus’ extended family: mothers, brother, fathers, and sisters living in harmony with Jesus who is the “Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
Enjoy the day,
Deacon Tom
Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacs engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those thinking of coming into or leaving it.
OTHER RESOURCE
Recommended Reading: Becoming Eucharistic People by Timothy O’Malley Ph.D.
We can’t just talk about Christ’s presence in the Eucharist; we have to believe it, celebrate it, and live it both individually and as a community of the faithful. And we must cultivate a culture in our parishes that treats Real Presence not only as an important Catholic doctrine, but also as the most important part of parish identity.
Recommended YouTube Video: Becoming Eucharistic People with Dr. O’Malley is a wonderful presentation on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist with ample food for thought and reflection. Enjoy!
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