The readings of today present to us several paired terms that are completely opposites: sin and goodness, repeated sacrifices and a single sacrifice, the Jewish high priests and Christ our high priest, the power of Satan and the power of God, and the confusion of the scribes and Christ’s lucidity and rationality. While the references to sin, Satan, and sacrifice may not be central in today’s repertoire of Christian concepts, these terms are nevertheless part of our human experience.
We struggle with our inability to live according to our values and norms rooted in our faith experience. We hurt others, we offend God, and we violate the creation. We experience evil in our world constraining the life of many of our contemporaries, making it impossible for them to reach their individual, social, societal, and spiritual potential. We are often complicit in creating unimaginable suffering on large scales. We often have to ask for forgiveness and “sacrifice” time, energy, and valued items to express our sincere desire to be forgiven by others and our loving God. We often realize that good intentions and sound reasoning are discredited by others assuming the worst and voicing accusations of malice and evil. All of us can think of various examples from our personal lives, our relationships, our workplace, and national and international economics and politics.
The Good News reflected in today’s readings is that such experiences are not the end! The letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 9:15, 24-28) reminds us that the power of evil and sin and the constant need to make up for our failures came to an end with Christ who sacrificed his life for us and the whole creation. The power of evil and sin is broken. “[O]nce for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice.” He will come again “bringing salvation to those who eagerly await him.” Christ says in today’s Gospel (Mark 3:22-30) that “all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven.” Only one sin cannot be forgiven: blaspheming “against the Holy Spirit,” which basically refers to rejecting God, fully understanding God’s reality and plan. What a powerful message! We can now use all our energy, talents, and skills to move forward working towards a society, that increasingly resembles the life God envisioned for humanity, a reflection of the heavenly Kingdom.
I deliberately leave my thoughts today general without giving specific examples of what this could mean for us. Instead, I invite everyone to meditate and pray over it.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!