Reflection for 10/6/17

In today's Gospel, our Lord has some pretty severe condemnations to speak on the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum.  "Why would our Lord condemn these cities so severely?  Just becasue they refused to repent from their sins?  Doesn't God have mercy for everyone?"  Of course the Lord's mercy is beyond our comprehension.  The Lord loves us more than wqe can possibly imagine, but sometimes we need to be startled or shaken out of our complacency in order to make the necessary changes to our lives that need to be made.  Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum were important cities--several of the Apostles were from those towns and Jesus performed many miracles in those towns.  hese cities were near and dear to the mission of the Lord, and because the Lord held thim in such esteem, it also pained him deeply that they refused to repent.  Thus, our Lord makes an attempt to startle them out of their complacency.

In what areas are we complacent with the Lord?  Jesus is calling us to truly reflect on our lives and to make the necessary changes that we need to make in order to begin living the life of holiness he is calling us to live.  Over time, sin becomes comfortable, and when people point out our sins, we don't like to hear it because it means that we need to change--we need to change that which is comfortable.  This process is called conversion and it can indeed be very UN-comfortable.  BUT, let us never forget that the Lord will always be with us if we are willing to put our trust in him.  A little time of discomfort is negligible when we stand the possible of gaining an eternity of beatitude.  Repent, and be complacent no more!