We think we are so smart, hiding the bad things that we do.
But they never stay hidden.
From the little things … like telling a lie, cheating at a game of cards, spreading harmful gossip at work. To the big things … like adultery, corrupting the innocence of a child, or murder.
Somebody always finds out. Somebody knows. E-mails and text messages tend to become public.
Many times, the hidden sins of our hearts are exposed by those we know, those we love, those we harm … other times, it can be complete strangers.
Tabloid newspapers and websites relish the news when a celebrity or a politician takes a hard fall – when a lie is revealed, a marriage is crushed, a life is ruined.
Cheered on by the judgmental mob of public opinion, the end result often ends in a bad way.
But let us be honest. It’s not always so cut and dried. There are times when bad things are done to good people – and nobody knows the culprit. Diabolical men and women can sometimes appear to get away with their crimes, their sins.
But do they truly get away with anything? Can we really hide the evil that lurks in our hearts?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus seems to indicate the contrary.
“Jesus said to the crowd: “No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.
“For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.”
Read this line again …
“For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.”
Try as we might, we simply cannot hide the evil things we do.
We may be able to deceive those around us … for a time.
But at some point, usually when we least expect it, our “dirt” is exposed.
Maybe it does not happen in our lifetime. Maybe it does not make the media. Maybe … it doesn’t even come to the light of the public at all.
But it is never hidden from the eyes of God.
And no matter what you believe, we will have to answer for our sins when we pass away to the next life. This is the price we pay for enjoying the gift of free will. We’re not robots.
There is a better way.
Stop the sinful things you are doing today … TODAY … and seek God’s mercy and forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Come out of that confessional with a fresh start and a new freedom – the freedom to live without fear that your sins will be revealed.
Make peace with God. And then begin to reshape your life and your habits. Take control of your passions and inclinations to sin. They may not go away at first, or ever, … but they don’t have the power to control your actions. Only you have that.
Impossible, you say? With God, nothing is impossible. And with Him, there is eternal life to be gained.
Take to heart the words of our first reading today from Proverbs:
Envy not the lawless man and choose none of his ways: To the LORD the perverse one is an abomination, but with the upright is his friendship.
The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but the dwelling of the just he blesses; When dealing with the arrogant, he is stern, but to the humble he shows kindness.
Amen?
