AWAY FROM THE SLAVERY OF SIN

Once there were two monks on their way to a neighboring monastery. At one point in their journey, they had to cross a river with a strong current. As they were preparing to cross, they noticed a beautiful lady sitting by the riverbank. It was evident in her face that she desires to cross the river too. But due to the strong current, she could not do so. The lady eventual approached the two monks and asked them if one of them could help her cross the river. The two monks looked at one another, recalling that both of them had taken a promise that they would never touch a woman in their lives. After a few moments, without any words, the elder monk carried the woman to the other side of the river and continued on their journey. The younger monk was in disbelief on what the elder monk did. An hour passed, the younger monk was still indignant on how the elder monk broke their vows by carrying a woman, though he did not confront him. When they were at the gates of the neighboring monastery, the younger monk mustered all his courage and confronted the elder monk about his transgression to their promise not to touch any woman. The elder monk replied, "My brother, I set the lady down on that riverbank, why are you still carrying her in you?"       

How many times have we been slaves of the past? We commit mistakes and sins in our life and they carry with them burdens and punishments. But these mistakes can burden us only for as long as we carry them in us. These sins and burdens cannot enslave us as soon as we learn from our mistakes, move on to the present and not dwell on the past. This is what God wants for us; not to be enslaved by the sins of the past, but to be liberated by living in his grace in the present.

God said through the prophet Isaiah: “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (cf. Is 43:16-21). If we keep on living in the past, we shall surely miss the present and the blessings it brings to us from God. Consequently, we shall fill ourselves not with joy, but resentments and regrets. The Lord has done great things for us; we should be filled with joy. The coming of Christ in our lives is the greatest possible moment in our life when a new life dawns upon us. 

Through Christ, everything can be considered loss (cf. Phil 3:8-14). As St. Paul said: “For [Christ's] sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him…” But the new life Christ offers us may not find a space in our hearts if we keep on holding to the past and remain enslaved by sin and death. St. Paul continues: “…Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.” Moving on from our past means moving towards the new life Christ gives to us. Would you rather be liberated from sin and live life anew, or continue to be haunted by your past and be enslaved by your sins?

How shall we move on from the slavery of sin and move toward the liberation brought about by the new life Christ offers us? In the gospel, Christ allowed the Pharisees and the accusers of the adulterous woman to examine themselves. “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground (cf. Jn 8:1-11). As he posed that challenge to them, He fell in silence. And one by one, the accusers left the adulterous woman and moved on with their lives. Examination of conscience is the key for us to weigh the important things in our life; those things that are worth holding on to. And self-examination should be accompanied by silence, not just in ourselves, but even that of God in our life. Silence allows us to listen to ourselves, to the words we utter, and the activities with which we commit ourselves to.   

In this prayerful self-examination, we can finally liberate ourselves from our painful past and stop punishing ourselves by repeating a thousand times our sins and mistakes. God will not condemn us in our recognition of our shortcomings. As he said to the adulterous woman: “Neither do I condemn you."

Though Christ could have cast a hundred stones at her since he was righteous and without sin, he did not. He showed mercy and charity. And lastly, He encouraged her: "Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” As if he was saying, “move on with your life, move into a new life, and be no slave of sin anymore.”

Look at what is in front of you; look at what Jesus offers you today. With God by our side, everything else becomes a loss and rubbish. Don't embrace nonsense. Choose God instead. It will not be easy. You will be drawn to enter your old life again. You may be tempted to commit mistakes and sin and be enslaved again. Enslavement in sin starts with something good. Satan will not tempt us to sin through an ugly and terrifying way. No one will be allured by such manner. Temptations and sins begin with something beautiful until Satan corrupts and manipulate these beautiful things we seem to enjoy and leads us into slavery. This is the trap of Satan.

Forgive yourself. Don’t carry the burdens which Christ has already lifted up for you. Do not be stuck in the past. Learn from it and move on. That's it.

Continue to pursue God in our life. Be free and liberated from your sinful, sad, past towards a new life where Christ is leading us. You will be surprised, for God will lead us to that new life, away from the slavery of sin.