In the gospel of Mark, the message Jesus preached, is quoted. “This is the time of fulfillment. The reign of God is at hand! Reform your lives and believe in the gospel!” In the next paragraph he calls his first apostles, Peter and Andrew, and James and John. “Come follow after me. I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 15) A few things are clear. All people need to reform their lives, none of us is perfect. A second item is that we are called to act and believe differently than we do. Thirdly to act and believe in the gospel. Perhaps, a most important aspect of Jesus’ teaching is to do it now.
In my own life I became lax on always going to mass on Sunday, keeping the Lord’s Day holy, especially when on vacation. Then I would go to communion the next week. Missing mass is a grave sin, yet I ignored that. It seems like a little thing, but it was wrong. That sin and others I had tucked away in the back of my mind, making excuses like, “It’s no big thing. I’ll confess it someday. I’ll make the change later. Who need communion more than me?” I went to confession, before going to communion again. I also made a promise to never miss mass on Sunday, unless there was just no way to get there, even on vacation. Some people think missing mass and going to communion is a little thing, but reform must start somewhere and sometime. That somewhere is here and that sometime is now.
I wonder how many of us don’t believe Jesus is present in the Eucharist and still go to communion. How many of us deliberately miss mass and don’t confess? How many of us co-habitate? How many of us use contraception? How many of us view pornography or are addicted to drugs, gambling, or have a sexual lifestyle labelled as sin by the Bible? How many of us voted for abortion? When was the last time you didn’t confess your sinfulness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, yet went to communion? Perhaps now is the time to “reform and believe in the gospel?
I sometimes get scared for myself and others, because contrary to common belief, the Bible and Church teach that there is a hell with eternal separation from God and that heaven is not assured for those who do not repent and try to live the gospel. Thank God for the Sacrament of Reconciliation! While our ability to celebrate the Eucharist is in danger with the lack of priests, so is our ability to confess. I don’t want to lose either.
Some people say they cannot discern what God’s will is for them; how they should act and believe. In general, he has already told us. Read the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount. Once we live by them, perhaps God will reveal his will more specifically. Why would he reveal a specific will for us, if we are not listening to and obeying what he has already revealed? Jesus says, “The reign of God is at hand! Reform your lives and believe in the gospel!” The place is here, and the time is now.
“May the Lord bless and keep you. May he let his face shine upon you, be gracious to you, and give you his peace.”
