(Listen to this homily here).
There’s a lot of cool stuff going on in this long reading
from Daniel. This morning I’d
simply point out why I think it is placed in Lent—it is a poignant reflection
about sin.
First,
the elders fall to the sin of lust.
As they did so the sacred author notes, “They suppressed their consciences; they
would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just
judgments.” Isn’t
this what happens with any sin?
When we chose something immoral—be it through lust, gossip, greed—we
suppress our conscience, don’t look to heaven and don’t keep in mind good
judgment. That’s precisely what
sin is.
Second,
Susanna had a heroic response in the face of sin. “‘I am completely
trapped,’ Susanna groaned. ‘If
I yield, it will be my death; if I refuse, I cannot escape your
power. Yet it is better for me to fall
into your power without guilt than to sin before the Lord.’” Susanna chose to die before
sinning. Would you die before
sinning again?
Finally,
for when we fall short of such heroism, we turn to the antithesis of
Susanna—the woman caught in adultery.
Jesus utters that famous line: “Let
the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” So too, if we approach Jesus humbly after
sinning we receive his mercy and are told to “…go and sin no more.”
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