Reading 1
Rom 7:18-25a
Brothers and sisters:I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh.The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand. For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Gospel
Lk 12:54-59
Jesus said to the crowds,“When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”
Meditation: Romans 7:18-25
Here is a truth we can never hear too many times: In Jesus Christ, we are set free.
He died, rose, ascended into heaven, and poured out his Spirit so that we could live free from sin and death. But there is another truth that is just as important, but which we find a little harder to hear: There is another one at work, a liar from the beginning, whose only plan is to bring us into slavery and keep us there forever.
We call that liar the devil, or Satan. Unlike God, he is not all-present, all-knowing, or even all-powerful. He is just a liar. From the beginning, he has delighted in deceiving us. God commanded Adam: “From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die” (Genesis 2:17). And almost immediately, Satan told a huge lie: “You certainly will not die” (3:4). God just doesn’t want you to be like him.
With that one lie, when our first parents believed it, the power of sin was unleashed, and the human race became enslaved. Satan continues this same strategy today, conning us into accepting his lies, and using them as a tool to keep us ensnared. This is the “law of sin” that St. Paul cites in Romans 7:23. And some days, it’s more real to us, and easier to see in operation, than the finished work of Jesus on the cross. But Jesus has redeemed us! That is truth, no matter what other thoughts are whispered into our minds.
We have a way out of our entanglement in sin: the Sacrament of Reconciliation. There, sin must bow to the truth of freedom in Christ, to the truth that Jesus has restored us to a right relationship with the Father. It’s there, in Confession, that truth triumphs, and we taste our freedom once more. So when you see sin in your life, don’t accept it as immutable fact. Cry out: “Jesus, I want to be free!” Receive the sacrament. And embrace the liberation, the life, the peace, and the joy that Jesus died to give you.
“Jesus, I want to be free! Show me how the law of sin is at work in my life, so that I may turn and receive the reconciliation you died for.”
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