Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
I never cease to marvel about how we constantly commit sins, even though we hate them. As I look at my own sins, and as I hear the sins of others, there is a profound lack of desire to do them. We are disgusted by our sins, and yet we carry them out. Our sins compel us to act, and we are ashamed of ourselves as we obey. Truly, as Jesus says, “everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin” (Jn. 8:34).
What can end our slavery? Pain is often one of life’s great teachers. Pain and shock spur us to change our ways. This is the experience of the alcoholic who hits rock bottom, of the addict who wishes to overcome his addiction. We must be shocked out of our obedience to sin, and shown a new kind of obedience. Ultimately, it is only the Cross which can do this, as we see the depths of God’s love, and are shocked. Lent has shown us the depths of our sin, the nature of our slavery. Now, we must prepare ourselves to see the Cross, that we might have freedom.