26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, year B | Mk 9:38-48
Some years ago, I was visiting a Church with my nephew, who was about four at the time. When he looked at the crucifix behind the altar, he became quite troubled. He started asking questions like “why is that man nailed to the wood?” and “why is he bleeding?” His response made me realize that it is a troubling and surprising thing to have a crucified man displayed so prominently in our Churches. I had seen the image so often, however, that I lost sight of this fact. We run into problems as Christians when we become overly comfortable with Jesus. His actions and words shocked and unsettled those who witnessed them. Because we have heard his words so often, we can forget how truly provocative they are. Today in the Gospel, we heard some shocking words from Jesus that help wake us up to the radical nature of his message.
Using some incredible strong and startling language, Jesus instructs us to get serious about rooting out sin in our lives. If your hand causes you to sin… cut it off! If your foot causes you to sin… cut it off! If your eye causes you to sin… tear it out! Although Jesus is certainly not commanding us to literally maim ourselves, through the use of this hyperbolic language, Jesus is conveying an urgent message about the severity of sin. Sin harms us. It prevents us from entering into the kingdom of God. It stops us from enjoying the fullness of life. Because sin is so harmful, Jesus commands us to take decisive and even radical action in order to root it out from our life. When we hear Jesus’ strong admonition in the Gospel today, it is impossible not to reflect on our own lives. What sin might Jesus be asking me to pay attention to rooting out? A tendency to speak badly about those around me? Greed that prevents me from sharing what I have with those in need? A habit of giving into lustful thoughts or actions?
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| By U.S. Air Force Photo by Josh Plueger [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
In order to root out sin in our lives, we need to have a strategy for fighting temptation. Over the years I have heard some tips for fighting temptation that I have found helpful.
- Tip 1: Counter temptation when you are first aware of it. Imagine that someone makes a small snowball and releases it at the top of a hill covered in snow. As the snowball moves down the hill, it gathers more and more snow to itself as it rolls down the hill. Eventually, it will become a great big ball. At the top of the hill, while the snowball is still small, it is easy to stop its progress. As the ball makes its way downhill and grows, however, it becomes harder and harder to stop. Temptation is like this. When it first arises in our mind it is easier to stop. The longer we entertain a temptation, the more it grows and the harder it becomes to stop until it can simply run us over like a large snowball plowing down a hill.
- Tip 2: When we take strong and decisive action in the face of temptation, it can be more easily overcome. As Jesus explains in the Gospel, when it comes to battling temptation, half measures will not do. St. Ignatius explains that in tempting us the Devil is like a barking dog. if you are firm and determined from the beginning, the dog will back off. When temptations come, we should not only resist them right away. We should resist them strongly.
- Tip 3: Move in the opposite direction that the temptation prompts. St. Ignatius called this strategy of going against what we are feeling agir contra. Are you tempted to say something negative about someone? Don’t just say nothing, compliment them instead. Feeling lazy and not wanting to spend 10 minutes to clean your room? Clean your room for 12 minutes instead. Frustrated with a particular individual? Go out of your way to be kind to them. By not simply resisting the temptation but actively going against the way that temptation prompts you helps to more completely defeat the temptation. If the devil realizes that you pray longer when you are tempted not to pray, then this temptation will probably not arise as often!
- Tip 4: Stay focused on the positive reasons for fighting the temptation. We want to stop sinning not only in order to avoid what Jesus calls the “unquenchable fire” of gehenna, but also so that we can have life and enter into the kingdom of God. We should want to fight temptation not only in order to avoid the ugliness of sin, but also because we are drawn by the beauty and goodness of virtue and holiness.
- Tip 5: Do not grow discouraged. Even when we are actively trying to overcome a particular sin, we will fall. What is important is that we trust in the love and mercy of Jesus and keep trying. In struggling against temptation, the expression “fall six times, stand up seven” certainly applies. When we fall, we need to get up, seek God’s mercy and keep trying.
It is good when Jesus’ words shock and disturb us because they can lead us to action. Jesus speaks strongly in the Gospel about the need to uproot sin from our lives. Without a strategy for fighting temptation, overcoming sin may remain wishful thinking. What practical step can you take to work towards battling temptation in your life?
