Every once in a while, a person would come for confession and start blaming everyone else for causing him or her to sin. For example, the person may say that his or her elderly mother or elderly father is too slow or takes too much time to eat, and because of that the person gets quite annoyed or angry. Some even blame other drivers on the road for driving too slow, even though the road may be quite congested, there is a speed limit and there is a speed camera present. At the bank, some blame the bank tellers for being too slow in attending to their needs, even though in reality, the amount being banked in is quite small, and could have easily been banked in using the Cash Deposit Machine (or CDM). It seems easy for some to put the blame on others for one's sins.
However, today's reading admonishes us, saying: "Never, when you have been tempted, say, ‘God sent the temptation’; God cannot be tempted to do anything wrong, and he does not tempt anybody. Everyone who is tempted is attracted and seduced by his own wrong desire. Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it too has a child, and the child is death." The reading makes it clear that we sin because we allow ourselves to be seduced and we allow ourselves to give in to sin, and not because of others. This means that we should take responsibility for the sins we have committed, and seek forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, instead of just conveniently trying to past the buck to others. Would we be willing to admit our fault, and make more effort to remain in the Lord's ways?
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