Do small 'sins' really matter?

In the various apocalyptic teachings of Jesus there is a theme that comes up frequently - and which also comes in today’s Gospel readings, - namely that judgement day will come upon us suddenly, like a thief in the night (2 Peter 3:10), and that therefore we need to be always ready.  We find this theme even in other teachings and parables of Jesus, as for example in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins who are waiting for the wedding party to come, and in which parable the foolish virgins do not keep awake with their lamps ready and so were left out of the wedding feast (Mathew 25:1-13).

And we can ask ourselves, what exactly is Jesus warning his disciples about?  Why does he offer this repeated warning about being always alert and ready, because judgement time may come at any point?

In the light of what I have said earlier about sin (Is there a Heaven and Hell?), I would further suggest that Individual acts of sins are like milestones that only reflect the direction of our journey.  Assume we are travelling from Mumbai to Delhi, or from New York to Los Angeles, and all the milestones on the road keep telling us that we are going further and further away from where we are supposed to go, then it would be pointless for us to wait for the end of that wrongly directed journey before we decided to turn back.   Similarly we are on this llife journey of ours, and so every day each small step we take, each small compromise with what we think is good/right that we make, - each of which may be very very small in themselves, - is pushing us in a particular direction.   And while initially it is easy enough to turn back, gradually these small steps take us such a long way ahead in the ‘wrong’ direction, that then turning back and going in the opposite direction becomes increasingly more strenuous, difficult and even at a certain point, almost impossible, or at least very painful.  Think of paying a tiny bribe one day, and then over time paying other small bribes, till one day the giving of bribes become part of our normal way of functioning. And then if we want to change our way of functioning, and not bribe anymore, we may have reached a point, as many of us do, that we begin to believe that in the real world it is just not possible to get things done, even legitimate things, without paying a bribe. And when someone says we should try to get our work done without paying bribes, then we laugh at their naivette.  Or the first time a person uses violence to solve a problem, it may give them ‘good’ results, but yet it is not really part of that person’s regular way of functioning, and so in subsequent situations it may be only marginally difficult to control the violence. But if the person continues down this road for a long time, and keeps using violence (in various forms and to varying degrees) every time they are upset by something , it gradually becomes almost a reflex action, so much so that they can’t even control themselves. In the case of domestic violence, for instance, it becomes so much part of that person’s character, that as one person told me: “Well they have to accept, that I do get angry.  That is my nature. They should just make sure they don’t make me angry.  This after all is who I am.”  Is that who he is, is that who he has allowed himself to  become?  

The term ‘repentance’ is the English translation of the Hebrew ‘teshuva’ and the Greek ‘metanoia’, and both these terms refer to a turning around, or a turning in a different direction).  And so, if sin or virtue, is a journey, then everything we do now, (even the small inappropriate things) influences that road on which we have chosen to travel, and choosing to turn around is not something that can be postponed.  As somebody said wisely, corruption always begins in microscopic proportions.  And isn’t it a delusion to believe that however long we walk down the road in the wrong direction,  we can always, and at will, change back later., - and we really don’t have to stress ourselves from thinking we have to begin NOW.  Added to this is the fact that since we do not really know when this life of ours will end,  we really do not know how much time we have left to turn back,  and so such procrastination would seem quite foolhardy.

I believe that Jesus too understood sin in this manner which is why even though Peter denies him, he still makes him head of his apostles, because he knew that Peter’s denial was an aberration from the general direction of his journey,  And so too with all the other Apostles - they too fell away at times (like James and John wanting to be given the highest positions of honour in Jesus’ kingdom, or all of them abandoning him when he was arrested) - but Jesus could see that beyond these individual aberrations they were generally walking in the direction he wanted them to walk on.  On the other hand, in the case of Judas, Jesus may have believed that Judas had already started walking in a different direction, and so, at the Last Supper, despite his suspicion that Judas would  betray him, he gives him freedom by telling him: “What you are about to do, do quickly.”  (John 13:27).  And so Judas just cannot repent or turn back from his chosen way to act. After all, one cannot just turn towards the kingdom of heaven at the end of our lives, because our entire lives consist of a long journey of choices, and these choices that we make transform us), and become embedded deeply in our hearts. And so when Zachaeus (Luke 19:1-10), announces a significant change of direction in his own life, which Jesus welcomes, it is quite unlikely that this was a sudden miraculous change.  It was most likely the result of a series of earlier reflections and change of life decisions which pushed a rich man like himself to climb up a tree like a child in order to have a glimpse of the Master.  Which rich man would expose himself to such ridicule just to see an itinerant preacher?  And Jesus recognising this long drawn out inner struggle that must have taken place in this rich young man, (unlike the other rich young man in the Gospel (Mathew 19:16-30) who could not give up his wealth, invites himself to Zachaeus’ home for a meal even BEFORE Zachaeus announces his intention to share his wealth.

In our own case, perhaps many of us prefer to live our lives focussed primarily on what will give us the greatest advantage currently, in every aspect of our lives - career, family, social standing, etc. There would be nothing wrong with that, if this desire did not mean very often that we are tempted (and often give in to such temptations) to make not so admirable choices, compromises, engage in manipulations, and, in short, make choices that cannot exactly be called ‘loving’ ones. Because as long as we do not think about death, or about the overall direction of our lives, then we don’t need to see all these choices as very important - and so it is OK to be not as good as we might think we ought to be.  But then when we grow old, or fall very sick, and death seems near, suddenly many of us turn to religion and acts of piety, hoping to correct the kind of person we have become through our earlier ‘convenient’ choices.  But that may not be possible, not only because we don’t really know when exactly death will come to rob us of the chance to change our life direction, but also because we may have walked too far down the wrong road. So, irrespective of when we will die, if we want to ‘turn around’ we need to start NOW, as the end, for many of us, will come like a thief in the night.

This is why, I would suggest that Jesus warned his disciples to be always ready, - for a journey towards the kingdom of heaven (or any journey for that matter), is not based on the last few steps one takes, but on all the millions of smaller steps we took all through our lives. This is perhaps a message that is apt for us today on the first Sunday of Advent, as we start our journey to welcome Jesus on Christmas day.  Don’t wait for the right time.  Or to adapt the words of Jesus: We need to start changing our lives right now, for the right time is already here. (Mark 1:15)

First Reading: Jeremiah 33: 14-16

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.

“‘In those days and at that time
    I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
    he will do what is just and right in the land.
In those days Judah will be saved
    and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
    The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’

 

Second Reading: First Thessalonians 3: 12 – 4: 2

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

 

As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

 

Gospel: Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36

“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

“Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”