“When Jesus exaggerated” is a book title, and there are countless articles on how Jesus uses exaggeration and hyperbole for effect, like we hear this Sunday; to literally cut off your hand or foot or gouge-out your eyes because then you won’t sin with them.1
However, “it is not hyperbole to say that it is better to enter heaven maimed [one-armed, one-footed, and one-eyed] than to enter hell whole. That is literally true.”2
Jesus’ point is that drastic sins call for drastic measures.
Why did Jesus mention the hand, foot, and eye? In many biblical contexts, “the hand is the instrument for the commission of sin, the foot is the means of transport to the place of its commission, and the eye is which the temptation to commit it enters in.”2
To illustrate, lizards scatter when they perceive a threat, and they will self-amputate their tail if a predator seizes it. It will leave its tail behind and run but with modified locomotor performance and mechanics. The lizard says to itself: 'It's better to lose my tail than to lose my life!'
Gehenna is hell.
“Some people,” Lucia, one of the visionaries at Fatima, says, “even the most devout, refuse to speak to children about hell, because it might frighten them. Yet God did not hesitate to show hell to three children, one of whom was only six years old, knowing well that she would be horrified to the point of, I would almost dare to say, withering away in fear.”
Lucia said that Jacinta often sat thoughtfully on the ground or on a rock, and exclaimed,
“Oh Hell! Hell! How sorry I am for the souls who go to hell!! And the people down there, burning alive, like wood in the fire! Then, shuddering, she knelt down with her hands joined, and recited the prayer that Our Lady had taught us:
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy.”
But “what made the biggest impression on Jacinta was the idea of eternity. Even in the middle of a game, she would stop and ask:
“But listen! Doesn’t hell end after many, many years then?
The answer she knew, its “no, it doesn’t.” As we hear today in our Gospel, “into Gehenna, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"
In Greek mythology, Prometheus, was chained to a rock and had his liver eaten by an eagle. At night the liver would grow back again, and the next day the eagle would eat it all over again. Similarly, the worm is an aspect of hell that is a reaction of one’s own soul to the perceived disorder and that 'their worm does not die,” as Jesus says, which is not a marketing ploy, gentlemen, for a type of tequila!
As Mark Pestaña explains, “The will of a damned soul, similar to the will of a demon, cannot alter. Their subjectivism has succeeded, and they have made themselves oblivious to real goods and unmovable by them. Nothing can be done for them — they would not be attracted to real goods, even if they became fully aware of them. Nonetheless, in this life, human beings always retain the possibility of converting the course of their lives by God’s grace.4
A premise behind our Readings is that there is a moral order that exists independently of any human person’s consciousness of it, and that we can come to know that order, and know it as real.
Jacinta would say to people, “Don’t do that or you will go to hell.”
Some things must be cut out completely. In Latin, “In dubio, abstine.” The translation is “when in doubt, abstain.” Or, even better, “When in doubt, cut it out.”
Food: Fast for part of a day; each less; skip condiments, no sugar. At Fatima, Jacinta would gladly give her lunch away to poor children and then later be hungry and eat acorns from the oak trees or olives instead.
In posture: sit up straight, do not cross your legs.
In the bathroom- take a shorter shower; take a cold show, clean up; let others use the bathroom before you.
With the internet- skip it entirely except for work, eliminate completely going to any internet site unless and only if it is for a clear, useful purpose. At all times, divert your gaze at any opportunity for lust. “Half-measures availed us nothing,” as the saying goes. For some it means living without the internet on a permanent basis, and letting others download forms for you that have to fill out, etc.
As far as deliberately causing others to sin, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” The millstone here, in the Greek, is literally the “millstone of a donkey”—that is a large, heavy stone turned by donkey power.
If a person becomes an occasion of sin, this relationship must be cut out of one’s life completely. A clean break.
Offending little ones is a reference to Christians, or the vulnerable and offenses against them will have a consequence so terrible that a horrifying death would be better.
In shopping-- Do not buy things unless for definite purpose; give alms to the poor.
In being judgmental at home and away: Think about and bring up good topics for conversation; give others a chance to speak; consult with your spouse; do one nice thing each day and try and see the good in your spouse and compliment him or her each day. Obey traffic laws, or at least do not drive faster than the normal flow of traffic.
Now, we can talk about rewards.
Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.
“Tiny [good] actions in this present age…will have momentous consequences” in the next.5
Another reward is for those who acknowledge that God gives spiritual gifts to those outside his visible Body of the Church and if they use those gifts well, they are in a sense “for us” and they will hopefully eventually seek union with the visible Church.
The Good News is that, in Jesus, we have hope for new beginnings, new life, new innocence, and always new resurrections. For Jesus is the Lord of Resurrection.
A concluding illustration:
A farmer in need of a farmhand posted a notice in the village. Three promising youths responded, and the farmer met with each in turn. He asked the first young man about his background and concluded with a peculiar question. "Tell me, how long can you work with a stone in your shoe?"
"Half a day," answered the youth. The farmer thanked him and sent him on his way.
The farmer spoke with the second young man, again concluding with, "How long can you work with a stone in your shoe?"
"All day long!" boasted the boy. The farmer sent the second young man on his way.
The farmer met with the third youth. "How long can you work with a stone in your shoe?"
"Not a minute!" exclaimed the youth. "When I get a stone in my shoe, I take it out right away." The farmer hired the third young man on the spot.
If there is some stone in your shoe as you walk life's path,” some stone that is impeding your progress” get rid of it and do it now.6
1. In contrast, this Catholic scholar, holding a minority view, seems to imply that Jesus recommends keeping sharp implements around: “I have heard many a preached sermon where we were told that Christ’s command to cut off our hand or gouge out our eyes rather than sin is only exaggeration and hyperbole, obviously not to be taken literally. This is not all obvious. Given the content and tenor of Christ’s teaching about the Kingdom of God, the most obvious interpretation is the direct and literal one….”—Robert Barry, Ph.D., The Universal Call to Holiness, Teaching the Faith, Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, 09/26/2021.
Despite what Barry asserts, you won’t find any of the Apostles or Catholic saints who recommended cutting off body parts. What I would tell Barry: In actuality, the hand, the eye or the foot don’t cause sin, because these are guided by the heart, and out of the heart comes all sin, as Matthew 15:19-20 teaches.
2. John Bergsma, Reflections of the Sunday Mass Readings for Year B, Emmaus Road Publishing, Steubenville, Ohio
3. Anchor Bible Commentary
4. Mark Pestaña, How pride causes slavery to sin Part Two, Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care; January 1, 2015
5. Anchor Bible Commentary.
6. King Duncan, Cut Your Losses! Sermons.com
