Tuesday, March 3, 2020


Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

(Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15)

Certainly the most confessed sin among men is viewing pornography.  Many cannot control themselves even though the sin involves a manual action.  Some say pornography is a victimless crime, but that is patently false.  It involves numerous people in the smut industry.  It also affects the relationship of a man with his wife or future wife.  Most of all it distorts the man’s brain which will seek ever more outrageous satisfaction.  The readings today suggest what might be done to overcome this vice.

Isaiah tells of the effectiveness of God’s word.  Dabar, Hebrew for word, created the universe.  It certainly can liberate those who feel bound up by a particular sin.  In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus shows his disciples how to ask directly on behalf of their needs.  Troubled by the sin of lust, men will ask to be delivered from the evil.  They will pray it often especially when handling their telephone or computer.

We would like an egalitarian society where all people live together in peace.  If that is ever to become even a near reality, we must tame our covetous impulses.  We will accomplish this only by beseeching God’s life-giving word in prayer.