We are all parts of one body...one community...one society.
Every one of us belongs, there is not one single life set at a higher or lesser scale in the bare facts of human life. I don't care who says otherwise....it's not so.
Just think about this:
"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."
We are all baptized in to one body...one society...one world. ONE
"But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it."
Do you see this? "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it." Do you see that if one member sins and lives under many sins, the entire body suffers under the same many sins. Sin is a hurt, a pain, and it truly is damaging to self and others around.
Like throwing a pebble in a still pond.....the ripples spread out far and wide causing tension in the quiet pond. Disturbing the calm and beauty which is desirous and best.
When we go against natural law, against the Ten Commandments, or the two greatest commandments of love, we sin. Sin is an act, a choice to go against good and kindness in a hurtful manner. It does effect others, even to those whom we have not thought of. We never know who is looking, watching, being effected by our own personal life choices....we will never know completely. God made us this way, relationships are what we are made for. Relational people, constantly interacting and reacting to each other. That is who we are.
So when one lies about another, it is not just between these who people, which is the first ripple in the pond, but it effects those nearest to them as well....the second ripple, and so forth.
If you have seen the classic movie, "It's a Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart, you will remember how many lives were affected by his not being born. This is a perfect example of how one person can and does affect the society. So do their sins.
Look through the New Testament and see that every single page consists of Christ forgiving and or talking about sin and our being saved from the effects of sin. He came down and joined us for this precise thing, to free us from sin and save us from Satan. Nothing has changed, the war is still being waged against sin, sin is still what we need to be cured of.
So, now do you know where your sins go? Like the pebble in the pond, your sins go out into the community and causes tension, disturbing the body. This is why in every parish, the priests strive to be available for confession. Call your pastor today and make an appointment if you can't make it on Saturday.
Do it for you, but do it for the Body.
Copyright 2013 Ebeth Weidner
About the Author
Ebeth Weidner
Ebeth Weidner, a Master Catechist and cradle Catholic who considers herself a Catholic information junkie, writes from her heart about the faith and hope she finds in the Catholic Church. She is the author of “A Catholic Mom Climbing the Pillars” blog. She is the wife of a research science Professor and mom to 3 great young adults people living on the coastal side of North Carolina.
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