1. Facing the Reality of Sin
2. Sin Is the Enemy
Introduction by the Celebrant
1. Facing the Reality of Sin
When we see the evil rampant in the world, do we also look at the evil in ourselves, take the responsibility for it without excuses, and ask the Lord to forgive us? Do we also recognize the share we may have in the evil of the world? Once we admit this, there is much hope that with the Lord’s help we may contribute our share toward doing away with evil in ourselves and around us, and making the world a bit better. In this Eucharist let us ask the Lord for this insight and this strength.
2. Sin is the Enemy
We are often perplexed by the mystery of evil. Why did I hurt this person who is dear to me? That was not my intention. Why are families quarrelling and nations fighting wars? Why do people refuse to forgive? Why all this evil in us and around us? As the sacred writers reflect, evil has been present as long as people remember. But we Christians know that Jesus has overcome all evil, all the powers that cause evil, even death. In him we find forgiveness, life and peace. In this Eucharist we join Jesus in his victory.
First Reading: Sin, the Enemy since the Beginning
From the beginning the experience of humanity has been that the forces of evil are God’s adversary and our strong enemy.
1 Reading Genesis 3:9-15
After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,
the LORD God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”
Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”
The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”
The LORD God then asked the woman,
“Why did you do such a thing?”
The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel.”
Responsorial Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. (7bc) With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the Lord.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption
and he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Second Reading: Faith in the Risen Lord
The Lord Jesus is risen. That is why we believe in him, become new in him and proclaim him.
2 Reading 2 Corinthians 4:13—5:1
Brothers and sisters:
Since we have the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,
we too believe and therefore we speak,
knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us with you in his presence.
Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God
Therefore, we are not discouraged;
rather, although our outer self is wasting away,
our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this momentary light affliction
is producing for us an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison,
as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen;
for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.
For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent,
should be destroyed,
we have a building from God,
a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.
Alleluia John 12:31b-32
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Now the ruler of the world will be driven out, says the Lord;
and when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Satan Is Overcome by the Power of Jesus
Jesus drives out devils by his own power as Son of God. That will be the end of the reign of Satan.
Gospel Mark 3:20-35
Jesus came home with his disciples.
Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said,
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,”
and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself
and is divided, he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder the house.
Amen, I say to you,
all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be
forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
His mother and his brothers arrived.
Standing outside they sent word to him and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
“Who are my mother and my brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”
Commentary:
For his relatives Jesus is crazy, beside himself. He has lost his head and must go back to his house to make him come to his senses, for that, they take his mother with them. And for the lawyers of Jerusalem, Jesus is possessed by a demon. Crazy and demoniac. Deranged and dominated by a bad spirit. Poor Jesus! It took a lot of courage and conviction to overcome such negative opinions of his own family and the teachers of his people. Let’s imagine how the disciples would be confused after hearing comments of such calibre about the Master that they were just beginning to follow! Jesus does not lose serenity. He confronts his adversaries with prophetic firmness. He unmasks the scribes by placing them before their own contradictions. And to his family, who considers him crazy and deranged, Jesus adds a new insanity: he declares that this small group of men and women from Galilee, sitting around him, who listens to his Word, are more his family that the ones who have come to look for him – ‘still outsiders’.
Before this brave and free Jesus, we must ask ourselves how many times we ourselves, who call ourselves Christians, that we call ourselves his community, we mask our cowardice before the newness of God and we take refuge in labelling and disqualifying what we do not want to admit: that where there is liberation, more health, more life and dignity the Spirit of God is acting.
Blessing
We should learn to appreciate very much
how we are people
who received forgiveness from God
at the cost of his own Son’s death.
God has forgiven us all our weakness, mistakes, sins,
all the evil we have done.
Through the Eucharist and penance
may God continue giving us the strength
to keep striving toward love and peace.
May God keep us in that peace and bless us:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us walk with one another
the road of reconciliation.
R/ Thanks be to God.