Watch Yourselves

 Luke 17: 1-6

Sin, Faith, Duty

17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. ² It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. ³ So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. ⁴ Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

⁶ He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

These few verses present a daily, lifetime challenge. How can we avoid causing other people to stumble by our less than perfect actions or by our indifference or outright ignoring their needs or sufferings?  We get so taken up with our own small worlds, our own lives, that we ignore others. Indeed, we can and must ask for an increase of faith, as did the apostles, for that is the basis for counteracting our self-centeredness and indifference to the needs of others or of our uncharitable behavior toward them. A daily examination of our behaviors will help us keep an eye on ourselves and uncover the weaknesses and failures we need to work on and eliminate.

Bro Rene

Gracious and forgiving God, grant me the wisdom to recognize and rebuke the sin I may cause and often do not see. And may your loving forgiveness which has been repeated so many times in my life, inspire me to treat with enduring patience and kindness those whose actions provoke the same. Amen.

Rev. Don Fetters, C.S.C.