Gospel of Luke 20:27-38
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
– Luke 20:27-38
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them,
“The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called out ‘Lord, ‘
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive.”
Reflection: The Importance Of The Sacrament Of Reconciliation
In this week’s second reading, St. Paul tells us that nothing will separate us from the love of Christ. Although our sin may cut us off temporarily from sanctifying grace, it can always be regained through an honest and authentic reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Often, I hear people say that they are not deserving of God’s love because of their sinfulness. While none of us deserve God’s love, it is granted to all of us as a gift. I often meet people who believe that their sin is “different” and “worse” than the sins of their neighbor and thus feel worthless, inferior, and despairing. While there are different levels of sin and some are worse than others, we cannot get trapped in the mindset that our sins cannot be forgiven or that we are somehow special or unique in our sinfulness. If we do this, we are really doubting the amount of God’s love, which we know to be infinite and without limit. This is simply pride revisited in a different form and is the opposite of humility since we are implying that our sins are so grand and severe that even God cannot forgive us.
Sins of any kind are a drop in the ocean compared to God’s love, mercy, and grace. If you believe you are a sinner, you are correct. However, take heart in God’s love and receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation whenever you feel as if you have sinned. After you do, commit to being better, pray more, forget about your sins, and move on. If you do this regularly, I wager that your mental health will improve!
This reflection originally appeared HERE.
Image: Photo by Natalie Grainger on Unsplash
