Things that cause sin
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2019 06:17:16 +0000
Gospel: Lk 17:1-6
JESUS said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.”
And the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
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The Gospel is a guide on community relationship similar to Matthew’s collection of Jesus’ sayings often called “Community Discourse” (Mt 18). Here, the disciples are warned against giving the little ones “things that cause [them to] sin” (Greek skandala). The “little ones” probably refer to the believers whose faith is not yet strong. To “scandalize” them, that is, to lead them to fall and lose their faith in Jesus, merits a severe punishment.
The second instruction is on the readiness to forgive an erring but repentant member of
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