“Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

Insincerity and selfishness spoil things for us, so that we may not be able to come before God.  James explains to us that temptations and failures are part of life. So also, remedying things by coming before God is a must, to continue in God’s presence. Yes God does not look at our sin, to announce that He loves us. But Confessing and coming clean before Him is important to our own self awareness. Sin when not handled becomes guilt, and guilt is like a stone tied around our necks, which drowns us.

Today’s Alleluia says, ‘Whoever loves me will keep my word; and my Father will love him and we will come to him.’ These are words of encouragement to us. They tell us, if we Love God, then we will not be disheartened or dragged down by  our failures, we will get up and again come before God in all contriteness. And Jesus and the Father will offer us the crowning moment of our lives, in that they will reveal themselves to us and dwell in us.

So watch out for the leaven of insincerity and selfishness and self-righteousness, don’t let these find an inch in your life. If you give them space in your life, they will seek to takeover your life and control you, making you blind to the Truth.

Come then, let us gather around Jesus, and bow our heads in contriteness. Jesus is our Lord; the Truth and fulfillment of our lives.