Good News Reflection FOR NEXT SUNDAY: June 13, 2010 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Good News Reflection
FOR NEXT SUNDAY: June 13, 2010
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Parish bulletins, faith-sharing groups, RCIA:
For professionally published, printable copies of this reflection,
please go to Catholic Digital Resources:
http://catholicdr.com/calendar/June/11thC.htm- Preview a sample
Next Sunday's Readings:
2 Sam 12:7-10, 13
Ps 32:1-2, 5, 7, 11
Gal 2:16, 19-21
Luke 7:36–8:3
http://www.usccb.org/nab/061310.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_06_13.mp3
Have you ever thought about how sins are forgiven? How do we go from sinful to justified?
Think of the word “justified” as “made to be just and fair”. Because we have sometimes been unjust in our dealings with others, Jesus, the Perfectly Just One, took our sins to the cross. The injustices died with him there.
Justice is a legal word. But as next Sunday's second reading points out, it's not the law that forgives us; we're not justified (i.e., we don't become fair, loving and just) by the law but through faith in Christ, "for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing."
Jesus explains it in next Sunday's Gospel reading. The sinful woman who bathed Jesus with her tears was forgiven, changed and justified through her great love for him. Love is what breaks us away from the power of sin. Love is what makes us behave justly.
Any of us who genuinely want to be loving but sin anyway are usually unaware, at that moment, that our behavior is hurting anyone. We don't sin out of deliberate malice, yet we have behaved unjustly.
We sin because we take our eyes off of Jesus. We're reacting to current or past stimuli that's tempting us to behave unjustly. But if we pause long enough to pray and reconnect to Jesus, we can take control. We can choose to act in love.
When we make love our highest priority, temptations lose their power. Caring about others distracts us from the stimuli that causes our sinful reactions. And as soon as we discover that we've caused pain through sin, we're motivated by love to undo the damage as best as we can. We enter into the justice of God.
When we love others as Jesus loves them, our faith has become our salvation. As it was for the woman in the Gospel, Jesus says to us: "Now you can go in peace."
Questions for Personal Reflection:
Recall an unloving behavior or attitude you had recently. What were you reacting to? Dig deeper. What's the root of that reaction? For example: Did anyone hurt you the same way? Forgive him/her. Are you afraid? Trust God instead. If necessary, talk to a spiritual director or psychological counselor to help you identify the root cause. The truth will set you free to love as Jesus loves!
Questions for Family & Community Faith Sharing:
Tell the story of a sin you overcame more than a year ago. What did you do to overcome its control of you? How did the love of Jesus empower you?
STARTING ON MONDAY, if you're a member of the "Emmaus Journey" e-group, share your answers by writing to EmmausJourney@gnm.org
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http://gogoodnews.net/GNMcommunities/EmmausJourney/
© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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