Reading 1
Gn 3:1-8
Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
“Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?”
The woman answered the serpent:
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’”
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.
When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden
at the breezy time of the day,
the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God
among the trees of the garden.
Ps 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
Responsorial PsalmR. (1a)
Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, “I confess my faults to the LORD,”
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
For this shall every faithful man pray to you
in time of stress.
Though deep waters overflow,
they shall not reach him.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me;
with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
Gospel
Mk 7:31-37
Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
“He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Meditation: Genesis 3:1-8
“The man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord.” (Genesis 3:8)
What a revealing statement! This one act of disobedience by the man and the woman had such a devastating effect that they felt the need to hide from God. They knew that something had gone terribly wrong, and they couldn’t bear to show themselves to God in their new condition.
This sad story gives us a dramatic illustration of the effects of sin. We all know that something is out of order deep down in our hearts, and we try to hide it, both from God and from the people around us. Rather than turn to God for help, we keep it secret out of an unhealthy combination of pride and shame. Of course, we know that hiding our sin doesn’t make it go away. Who among us has not at some point felt bound by the envy, lust, pride, rage, or greed that lurks in our hearts? Who among us has not experienced the results of our sin&mdashthe guilt, fear, alienation, and division that are the sad legacy of our first parents’ sin?
It’s a good thing, once in a while, to recall the core of the gospel message: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” And it is just as good to join St. Paul in identifying personally with that fact: “Of these [sinners] I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15). It is a simple fact: We are all sinners. We are all in desperate need of the redemption that only Jesus can give. And all he asks is that we confess our sin and ask him to set us free.
Don’t be afraid of Confession! After all, Jesus came not to condemn you but to save you. By his cross, he has set you free from slavery to sin. And by his Holy Spirit, he has given you the grace to turn away from sin and the courage to keep saying “no” to temptations whenever they arise. Don’t be like Adam and Eve, trying to hide from God. Come into his light, and let that light give you his healing and warmth!
“Thank you, Lord, for dying on the cross to save me from sin. Thank you for giving me the Holy Spirit. Help me to turn from sin today so that I can draw closer to you.”
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