16 OCTOBER 2021 LUKE 12: 8-12
SATURDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
BLASPHEMOUS OBSTINACY
Jesus warns about two spiritual offenses namely, ‘Speaking against the Son of Man’ and ‘Blasphemy against Holy Spirit’.
If the first one speaking against the Son of Man refers to a specific act of rejection of Jesus, the latter, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit refers to permanent refusal of God’s invitation to salvation.
A world that extols radical individualism, an individual’s feelings are the new canon of what is right or wrong, and so we are not prevented from questioning our own faith. But someone continually resisting the promptings of the Holy Spirit will end up hardening one’s heart to an extent that is closed even to receive forgiveness.
Four possible examples of blasphemy against Holy Spirit to be picked up from Gospel are: (1) claiming that Jesus has come from Satan (Lk 11:14-20), (2) Apostasy or renouncing Jesus on moments of persecution, (3) Rejecting the preaching of apostles (Acts: 3:21-26, 13:38-41) and (4) Persistently rejecting the message of Gospel.
A true example of someone who spoke against the Son of Man is Saul. But he did not commit the sin of blasphemy by rejecting the spirit’s call to believe in Jesus. He came to faith and received forgiveness from God. Amen.