Word of the day

A reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Romans
ROM 7:18-25A

Brothers and sisters:
I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh.
The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not.
For I do not do the good I want,
but I do the evil I do not want.
Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it,
but sin that dwells in me.
So, then, I discover the principle
that when I want to do right, evil is at hand.
For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self,
but I see in my members another principle
at war with the law of my mind,
taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Miserable one that I am!
Who will deliver me from this mortal body?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

From the Gospel according to Luke
LK 12:54-59

Jesus said to the crowds,
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,
make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable,
and the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”

And this the struggle of Christians. It is our struggle every day. And we do not always have the courage to speak as Paul speaks about this struggle. We are always looking for justifications: “ Well, sure, we’re all sinners”. That’s haw we talk, right? This says it dramatically: it is our struggle. And if we do not recognize this, we can never have God’s forgiveness. But if it is a reality that makes us slaves, we need this inner liberation of the Lord, that strength. But what is more important here is that to find the way out, Paul confesses his sin to the community, his tendency to sin. He does not hide it. (Santa Marta, 25 october 2013)