Today's reflection

We are surrounded by sin. We live in a world that seemingly embraces evil and forgoes a virtuous life in communion with God out of convenience or indolence. This is of course true in the environment we currently find ourselves, but it is just as true in every other part of the world.

Saint Paul reminds us today that the sin we encounter in our daily lives should be expected. As he says, a single offense brought condemnation to all men. That’s everyone that sits here today, everyone that we encounter today, and everyone we have no interaction with today. We, as human beings, are all subject to and destined for temptation and subsequent sin, and without repentance we are setting ourselves up for condemnation.

The degradation of moral and ethical values in our country is one way in which we see this manifest. Pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry. Faith and spirituality have been driven out of our daily and public lives by the decisions of politicians. Corporate corruption and scandals run rampant. Government organizations only seemingly go half the distance to battle illegal drugs and organized crime. And to quote a movie, one of the most dangerous things facing us is the indifference of good men. I can go on and on with this list, but that is precisely what we must not dwell on.

Saint Paul says, “despite the increase in sin, grace has far surpassed it.” We can spend hours describing the ways in which people fall into sin. We can get caught up in seeing the evil in our lives and the lives of others, but the salvation that has been granted to us is really what matters. How beautiful is this?
Just as one man’s actions condemned us all to eternal punishment in hell, another man’s actions brought each and every one of us eternal glory and salvation in heaven. That’s everyone that sits here today, everyone that we encounter today, and everyone that we have no interaction with today. We, as human beings, are all subject to and destined for deliverance and salvation and we must be sure to do all we can to be worthy of that salvation.

So the challenge we can get out of this is not to dwell on the sinful actions of man, but rather on the guarantee of salvation of man. Work toward that salvation in your own lives and help to bring others to the same.