Dear brothers and sisters, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).
The Sin of Disobedience
Sin makes the sinner ashamed and afraid. Of course, the common slogan is “the guilty are afraid.” The sin of Adam and Eve was a sin of disobedience to God’s word, will, and commandment. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree God forbade them to eat from, they became ashamed of themselves and afraid of God. Thus, when God called Adam and asked where are you? He answered, “I heard you in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.”
Unfortunately, Adam and Eve did not take responsibility, feel sorry, become contrite and repentant, nor ask for forgiveness. Instead, they resorted to a blame game and finger-pointing. For Adam, it was Eve’s fault. For Eve, it was the Serpent’s fault. They might say it was God’s fault if pressed further because He created the Serpent. Does this sound familiar? Sinners, including you and me, always play the blame game and point accusing fingers at others rather than taking responsibility for our actions. Sometimes, we also point accusing fingers at God and blame Him for our irresponsible actions. This, indeed, is a wrong attitude from a sinner. A sinner should be contrite at the realization of sins committed. It is contrition that leads to repentance and forgiveness.
The Consequences
The consequences of Adam and Eve’s action of disobedience were dire. They lost their innocence, their state of original happiness, and their friendship with God. They were banished from the Garden of Eden to till the ground. The pangs of childbirth, the curse on the ground, the toiling to eat, and death as the fate of humanity were among the consequences of disobedience to God by Adam and Eve. Thus, humanity became subject to suffering, struggle against sin, and mortality as his fate. However, there was a promise that their offspring would destroy the tempter, the devil, which Scholars call “Protoevangelium,” meaning “first good news.” The good news was fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s triumphant defeat of the devil and sin through His glorious death on the Cross of Calvary and eventual Resurrection.
When we sin, God searches for us and asks, where are you? Every sin alienates us from God. It makes us feel ashamed, become afraid, and ultimately lose our friendship with God. But unlike Adam and Eve, we should show remorse and contrition at the realization of our sins and, on a bended knee, ask God for forgiveness. That is the right attitude for every sinner.
Jesus Showed Compassion
In the Gospel, we read of the compassion of Jesus Christ that moved Him to perform the miracle of multiplying the seven loaves and feeding the crowd or multitude. We should appreciate Jesus Christ’s words that show his concern and love for the people (crowd) who had been with Him for three days and had nothing to eat. Jesus told His disciples that His heart was moved with pity for the crowd and that if He sent them away hungry to their homes, they would collapse on the way since some came from a great distance. Jesus is a good and compassionate shepherd. Every good shepherd takes care of their flock, and Jesus Christ was a perfect example.
We are children of God, and Christians, for that matter. As Christians, we are called and challenged to follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like Jesus Christ, let us show and act with compassion to those suffering around us from one hardship or the other — the hungry, the needy, the poor, the homeless, the sick, the unemployed, etc. Jesus Christ reached out to the hungry crowd and fed them. Let us reach out to people in their various needs and problems and be a part of the solution to their problems.
Always remember that Jesus loves you!
