Thursday, XXII Week of Ordinary Time
(Colossians 1 and Luke 5)
The Scripture readings today use two powerful images for sin. In the Letter to the Colossians sin is darkness which blurs life’s goal. In the Gospel of Luke sin is the depths of the sea which entrap us from proceeding to that goal. In our parish sin keeps two sons from working to assist their mother at home and to support the children that they have engendered.
Jesus has come to deliver us from sin. He is the light to dispel the darkness like an enormous lantern in a lighthouse that guides ships to ports. He is also the director of fishermen who cast nets deep into the sea to bring home food for humans.
Often, however, we have difficulty leaving sinful ways. Peter in the gospel tells the Lord to depart from him. He may just feel unworthy but also he may not want to accept quite yet the grace that will make him worthy. Sinners’ taking responsibility for past actions often means making uncomfortable adjustments in their lives. Imagine the burden of paying child support because of selfish sexual activity that parts of society foolishly see as fun. But such needless worry itself approaches sin. Repenting sin means receiving Christ as our soul companion – a gift worth all the gold and silver submerged at the bottom of the seas.
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