A Gushing Fountain

A mustard seed is so small - as big as this "o"

17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 2 It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister[a] sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.Luke17:1-6

Jesus is warning us all that things that cause us to sin and stumble are bound to come. The thing is, sometimes it would come without any preamble at all. Sometimes our dearest friend would cause us to sin. Perhaps, a little flower will cause us to sin. Even intangible things like loyalty can cause us to sin. Not only that, because we inherited Original Sin from Adam and Eve, we are also sin carriers. In other words, we can also influence or cause others to sin and stumble. Woe to each and every one who causes others to sin. Woe to me as well if I cause others to sin and stumble.

It is easy to be scandalized by others' sin. But to be scandalized, to evade or to stay away from people who sinned is not the answer or the antidote for it. To scare them about the price of sinfulness is not the remedy as well. Jesus is teaching us to be forgiving of those who sinned. If we know a person sinned, then we rebuke or point it out to them. If they ask forgiveness or repent, then we should forgive them, accept them and erase their sins so that "standing up" is an easy thing to do.

Some people would like others to stumble to tragedy for them to realize their faults. Others just watch their neighbor stumble to sin. Others don't correct their neighbor because "adults should not be treated like children who needed constant correction." But I say "No." Sin knows no age (except infancy to early childhood), race, status, religion, class, etc. We should always try and try reaching out to others and prevent them from committing sin. If they continue sinning, then we continue correcting. Our forgiveness and fraternal correction should not be limited. If Christ is a fountain of forgiveness that never stops gushing, we should strive to be one, too.

Image courtesy: various artists