26th Sunday of Ordinary Time

 Seeing, grasping and chasing. Mk. 9:46-48

Today Jesus is not talking about Heaven,

But about Hell. 

While Jesus does not say 

“Who is going to Hell,

Or if anyone is there;

He does describe it. 

It’s sort of a scary place 

“Where the worm does not die

And the fire is not quenched.”  Mk. 9:48

It does not sound like a very nice place. 

So Jesus gives some advice on how to avoid it. 

At first the advice sounds rather harsh,

Almost extreme. 

But if He had sugar coated it,

People may not have listened as closely.  

So Jesus pulled no punches. 

He said if your hand causes you to sin,

Cut it off. 

If your foot causes you to sin,

Cut it off. 

If your eye causes you to sin pluck it out. 

Now Jesus did not mean this literally. 

But He paints a vivid picture so as to get the seriousness of His point across. 

What are you reaching for?

Is it going to drag you down to Gehenna

Or lift you up to Heaven?

What is it that you are chasing after in life?

Is it the passing things of this world,

Or the glory of Heaven. 

What catches your eye?

Is it the glitter of gold,

Or the needs of the poor?

What are we grasping?

What are we chasing?

What are we looking for?

These are the things that will determine 

Where we end up.