Prayer Prompt before reading JN 7:1-2, 10, 25-30: Come, Holy Spirit, teach me how to pray, interpret the Scriptures for me so that I may know the Truth about who God the Father and God the Son are so that I may know who I am.
“HAS NO ONE CONDEMNED YOU?” JN 8:1-11
Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
Today, Jesus teaches us that He does not condemn, we condemn ourselves. He came to save us not condemn us. Sin hurts our relationship with God. When we sin, God doesn’t move, we move ourselves away from God. God is love, so even when we sin He still loves us but we have to repair what we did when we sinned. God is just and “no sin will enter heaven” Rev. 27:21, so Jesus talks about heaven and hell more than anyone in the Bible.
Sin has serious consequences and always has to do with relationships. Grace restores what sin has damaged and through Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection now there is a bridge to cross the chasm that Adam and Eve caused. God gave us confession to restore and reconcile us when we admit our faults and ask for forgiveness.
Second, as the verse before the Gospel says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion, that he may live.” Third, we are all sinners. Which one of us does not need God’s love and mercy? We must have a big heart to convert hearts. The scribes and the Pharisees are stuck in the law and self-righteousness.
We often judge others quickly, I know I do. When I am at the grocery store, watching TV, at the park, or anywhere unfamiliar to me, it seems I judge those I do not know. I have learned over time to stop myself and reach out and say hello no matter what a person looks like or how they speak.
Instead of judging, I have learned to offer a quick hand or ask a complete stranger how their day is. We often do not know the people next to us in our pews at Church beyond a greeting and sign of peace. They are there almost every Sunday (we don’t like to move much). We like to be comfortable.
Today, Jesus teaches us to have a big heart, be compassionate, get out of your comfort zone, take healthy risks and be kind and generous to others. We all have one Father, we all have sinned many times, be not afraid, reach out to others and be kind whether you know someone or not. You will be amazed at their response! Reaching out to someone might just convert a heart and make a believer out of them.
Today’s challenge: Since Jesus forgives and does not condemn, “Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” Come to Jesus in confession again and again with full intent to not sin again. His grace and your will can conquer sin. It may take time, but never give up!
Be a servant, be a saint today!
#Christian YODO (You Only Die Once; We will live again!)
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