Sunday, January 22, 2012

The unforgivable sin

Who among us has not shown contempt for the Holy Spirit? Oh, we didn’t think of it as contempt, but we didn’t do as we were called, nudged, or pushed. Have you ever sensed that the Spirit wanted you to love someone you found unlovable? Or felt the Spirit nudging you to go a direction that wasn’t the one you wanted to take? What did you do? And, me? I wish I could claim otherwise but…

Does that mean that you and I are beyond forgiveness? Is that what Jesus is saying in Mark 3:22-30? I think not. So, what sets our “contempt” apart from that of the Pharisees’ behavior? As I reflect on this gospel, I think contempt or irreverence becomes blasphemy when it is deliberate and public slander. To blaspheme the Holy Spirit—we are not “merely” disregarding the Holy Spirit, we are publicly and knowingly reviling the Holy Spirit, as when the Pharisees defined Jesus’ behavior as Satanic.

Whew! That was close…but wait, before you go…let me leave you with a question that keeps popping into my head. While we may not knowingly revile the Holy Spirit, do you and I always recognize the Holy Spirit among us? Can I hear the Spirit when He speaks to me in the voice of my enemy? Or, do I only “hear” evil? Can I feel the Spirit when He comes in the eyes of the homeless man I see every day when I drive to work? Or, do I only feel contempt? Hmmm…no, maybe not blasphemy…but certainly not worthy of one who knows the good news? I wonder….

Almighty Father, direct every thought and every effort that we make in our daily lives. May we draw ever so closely to You, that we may never give You offense. Amen

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"I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.

I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor:
the first — by deed, the second — by word, the third — by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy.

Many souls ... are often worried because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul.

If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy".