JMJ
Did you ever notice this one?
“The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his Kingdom
all who cause others to sin”
Matthew 13:41
I read the Gospel for today and didn’t even notice it. Sitting at Mass tonight this verse lept up and punched me hard in the gut.
The Latin and the Greek both say “scandal” there, but the word σκάνδαλον, skadalon, means “bait in a trap” or “trigger of a trap”. It’s sometimes rendered as a “Stumbling Block”, but the NABRE, with “cause others to sin” catches the meaning full on, I think.
It came to me that at the heart of sexual sin is the desire to lead others astray. They may not be… but it is desired. No one sins alone, and many sins are triggers for other folks, or else bait. Politics, for example, or liturgics when doctoring up the readings to cover up uncomfortable parts.
The skandalon is inside the kingdom, not outside. They are children of the Evil One, but they are inside the kingdom.
The enemy is us.
We must remember to pray for our brother and sisters, our spiritual Fathers and Mothers, our leaders and fellow pew-sitters.
That we may be free of skandalon inside the Kingdom. And free from the interference of those who practice lawlessness outside the walls.
Doxos 