Radical Action

A Refection on the Gospel of Matthew 5:27-32 for Friday – 14 June 2024

                                                                                                                                          

     What we hear Jesus say in the Gospel today is so radical that many write off His words as extreme and move on. The Lord does not mean that we should physically mutilate ourselves. However, He is telling us that drastic action to fortify our will is needed to remove any obstacle that gets in the way of our relationship with God and an eternity with Him in heaven.

     In discussing our need to eliminate sin in our lives, Jesus uses both the eye and the right hand purposely. For the eye is the gateway through which we are tempted toward sinful acts, the darkness that Jesus describes in Luke 11:34–36. It is after our decision to physically act on that sin, the right hand, that we consummate it. Better to pluck out the eye or cut off the right hand, the possibility to sin, than lose your eternal life. St James writes:

…each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death. (James 1:14–15 NABRE)

     Temptation is hard to overcome at the last moment, when the sin is within our reach, and it is deadly (mortal), when the object is grave matter, committed with full knowledge, and deliberate consent. (CCC 1857) Mastering our will to resist sin is paramount if we are to live. It is within our will that sin begins, and it is here where we can, with God’s help, stop it, “pluck it out” or “cut it off.” The Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen writes,

“The reason why we are not better than we are is that we do not will to be better: the sinner and the saint are set apart only by a series of tiny decisions within our hearts. Opposites are never so close as in the realm of the spirit…” (Sheen, 57)

     The removal of sin from our lives begins with a deep-rooted desire to change. Mastering the inclination of our will toward sin demands a determined effort and sacrifice. Introspection, Avoidance of Sin, and Committed Love are powerful tools to help master our will and grow in holiness.

• Introspection: We often dupe ourselves into imagining that we have “willed” to be better. Yet, at the same time reserve radical action, that plucking out and cutting off, because we still cling to habitual sin. Our will becomes an empty wish. Introspection, the daily examination of our consciousness of God’s presence in our lives is critical. In this we review our day and ask; Where is God in each situation and who am I? What and how must I change? The examination is never one of intermittent anxious hurry but instead is done with calm and dispassionate prayer. Then, through routine celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God fortifies our will with His grace and our own clear and decisive rejection of the sin.

• Avoiding Sin: The Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen writes that the way to keep out of trouble is to keep out of the situations that lead to trouble. The man who gets burned whenever he is near a fire had better plan to stay away from fires. “Temptation is hard to overcome at the last moment, when the sin is within our reach; it is easy to overcome if we act decisively to avoid a situation in which we might be tempted.” (Sheen 54) So the second step in mastering our will to sin is to actively avoid those situations that lead us to sin.

• A Committed Love: Our will alone cannot pluck out or cut off a habit of sin. Love of God and love-driven conversion must underpin our will. No sin is renounced until the sinner finds some positive “good” that he or she prizes above his or her sin. Love of God must come first. We must live a love driven vice merely a purpose-driven life. As you approach sin ask; “Is this how it betray the one I love?” St Augustine preached,

Once for all, then, a brief precept is given to you: Love, and do what you want. If you are silent, be silent with love; if you cry out, cry out with love; if you chastise, chastise with love; if you spare, spare with love. The root of love must be within; nothing but good can come forth from this root.
(St Augustine, Tract. In ep. Joan. 7.8)

     Many desire holiness, but do we have the will to pluck out and cut off sin in our lives? Jesus tells us to that it takes radical action on our part. He has done the rest.

Endnotes

Augustine. Homilies on the First Epistle of John (Tractatus in Epistolam Joannis Ad Parthos). Ed. Daniel E. Doyle, Thomas Martin, and Boniface Ramsey. Trans. Boniface Ramsey. Vol. 14. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2008. Print. The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century.

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). 2nd Ed. Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 2000. Print.

New American Bible. Revised Edition. Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. Print.

Sheen, Fulton J. Way to Happiness. Ashland, OH: TAN Books, 2022. Print.