THE PRODIGAL (4) AM I REALLY TO BLAME?

OK, I KNOW YOU CAN BE PRESECUTED FOR WHAT I DID.

BUT WAS IT REALLY THAT BAD? DIDN'T I HAVE THE RIGHT TO DEFEND MYSELF? SURVIVE? PROVIDE FOR THE NEEDS OF MY LOVED ONES? DID I HAVE ANY CHOICE OTHER THAN TO TAKE REVENGE? TEACH THAT SOCIOPATH A LESSON? DO WHAT IT TAKES TO GET BY? WHATEVER? I KNOW I'M NOT AS GUILTY AS SOME WHO'VE NEVER SEEN THE INSIDE OF A CELL. AND OF COURSE THERE'S INSURANCE AND VICTIM COMPENSATION.
But I know that I've done wrong. I feel really bad about that, even if I didn't mean any harm.
And even if I'm not so bad, the stuff I do keeps catching up with me. I'd really like things to be different, but I don't know how. I  keep finding myself back there.  Am I jinxed? Will I ever be able to live life differently?
How is it that one single act changed my whole life in a split second? Did I do that? Was I in my mind? Will I be carrying that around for the rest of my days?
How can I regain control of my life?

I WAS AFRAID BECAUSE I WAS NAKED... ( Genesis 2)
God created man and woman and gave all the fruit of the trees in the Garden of Eden for food. Only the fruit of one of the trees was forbidden - the tree with the power to reveal the difference  between right and wrong.
Think: Do you ever feel vulnerable, defenceless and 'naked'? In what circumstances?
How can we face up to our own limits and weaknesses? How can we accept them, or overcome them?
What do you think about the man blaming the woman?
Who made the trees in the garden, and the snake? Who's really to blame? God, the man or the woman?
How can we acknowledge and accept responsibility for our mistakes and faults? How could that change things?

WHAT DID THEY DO TO DESERVE THAT? ( Luke 13:1).
This is one of the few texts where Jesus talkds about the news. The Roman governor, Pilate, slaughtered some Galileans.
Jesus reminds them of a recent disaster: a tower that collapsed, killing 18 people.
Who's to blame for thesse terrible events? Were the victims being punished for something bad they'd done?
Jesus rejects this simplistic explanation. Using a parable that speaks about God's patience, he invites his listeners to make the most of the time they have. He wants them to change the way they see themselves and the world - as well as the way they live.
Think: What  different views do people have of God when a disaster happens?
What links can we draw between suffering and sin? Are these links  always the  same?
Jesus talks about a gardener. What does this caracter show us about God? What does the gardener do about the fig tree that doesn't  seem to be producing fruit?
What changes are we invited to make in how we see God and how we live?
How can we make the most of God's patience with us?

I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY I ACT THE WAY I DO (Romans 7:14).
In his letter to the Chritians in the city of Rome, the apostle Paul explains that God's law is there to define what is evil. The law makes Paul aware of his weakness and sin; without it, he wasn't  aware of doing anything wrong. But the law can't stop people doing wrong things. In fact Paul even starts wondering whether the law actually forces him to do wrong.
Think:  How do you experience the conflict of being confronted with evil when you want to do good?
Paul doesn't think the body is evil in and of itself, but that evil takes root in the weakness of the body.  How do you deal with your weakness?
How is it that our weaknesses oftern seem to get the upper hand over our mind? (Vincent Leclair, chaplain general).

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