REFLECTIONS TODAY
Jesus repeatedly speaks of his power to forgive sins: “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Lk 5:24; Mt 9:6-8). He has also entrusted the same power to his disciples/apostles: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (Jn 20:22-23). The Church continues this ministry of reconciliation.
Regarding the sin against the Holy Spirit, Bible scholar Fr. Joseph Fitzmyer explains: “The difference between the ‘forgivable’ blasphemy against the Son of Man (Jesus) and the ‘unforgivable’ blasphemy against the Holy Spirit seems to lie in the fact that those who reject the preaching of Jesus in his earthly life will get a ‘second chance’ through the preaching of the apostles after Pentecost (Acts 2:14-36; 3:12-26), but those who reject the Spirit at this later time choose their own (now irrevocable) fate; the time for further chances will have run out” (Luke X-XXIV, 964). Those who remain impenitent and obstinate in sin, who despair and reject God’s mercy/forgiveness, who continue in apostasy and deny the Christian faith—belong to this category.
GOSPEL • LUKE 12:8-12
Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. “Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”
SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2021,” ST. PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.