SERMON/HOMILY FOR TUESDAY 6TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II 13TH FEBRUARY 2024

SERMON/HOMILY FOR TUESDAY 6TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II 13TH FEBRUARY 2024

James 1:12-18; Ps.94; Mark 8:14-21

Refrain from Adamic Attitude

God has not given anyone permission to sin. Under no circumstances is sin permissible or understandably tolerated by God. In the first reading of today, St. James reiterates this fact when he said that God cannot tempt us to sin; that is, God is not to be blamed whenever we sin.

St. James begins by saying that the man who endures trial is blessed. This is because it is usually out of inability to endure trials that people resort to blaming God for the temptations they face in life. It has often been argued that since God is the creator of heaven and earth, he created the tree at the middle of the garden. So, he is to be blamed for whatever calamity that befell Adam and Eve for eating of the tree. The basic assumption here is that if God had not created the tree, there would have been no possibility for our first parents to fall away. This argument takes for granted the fact that God gave man freedom and cautioned him on the evil he must avoid.

This mentality of trying to avoid taking responsibility for our actions lingers on till date. Some persons have resigned to committing all forms of sexual sins with the excuse that it is in the nature of man to do so. So many evils are perpetuated on the platform of “everyone does it”. St. James clarifies that what is in our nature is the inclination to sin; we are not determined to sin. Each time we sin, it is because we decided to give in to our sinful inclination; the option to endure was forgone.

Understanding our sinfulness in this manner will mean no good if it only fills us with a guilty conscience. The understanding is profitable, because, having seen that we sinned out of our own volition, we will then find it necessary to approach the Mercy of God. The Adamic attitude of not accusing oneself, fills one with the pride of life which invariably constitutes a barrier for accessing God’s mercy. We cannot truly say: “Bless me Father for I have sinned”, when we put the blame on another.

To endure temptations and to sincerely submit oneself to the Mercy of God are ways of choosing God. If we do not freely choose God, we cannot confidently say that we love him. Choosing God means that we prefer him to other options (evil). In the gospel acclamation, Jesus said “if a man loves me, he will keep my word". Therefore, the existence of evil becomes a litmus test for us to proof our love for God.