Self-Destruction

Today’s reading from Mark reads in part, “He summoned the crowd again and said to them,  ‘Hear me, all of you, and understand.   Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.  From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.  All these evils come from within and they defile.”

Mark’s list pretty much captures that which darkens our hearts.  All represent dark dragons and self-destruction.  We do it to ourselves even though we have the power to say “no” to each one of these typical human behaviors.  If not, we defile ourselves.

It’s not easy to keep our hearts “clean.”   I suppose that’s why we often refer to the heart of Jesus – the heart we call sacred and we wish to emulate.

Our hearts are sacred to us because they keep us alive with blood pumping throughout our veins.  But to truly be alive, the evils from within must be resisted and overcome.   Our faith in Jesus and our love of God provide the battle plan to contest that which comes out from within.   We have to follow that plan laid out in the Gospel and taught to us by our teacher, Jesus.

Deacon David Pierce