WE'RE ALL DRAMATIC SOMETIMES

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me see when I'm being dramatic, and stop myself! Amen.

"If your hand makes you sin, cut it off," Jesus said. "It's better to go to heaven with one hand than to have two hands and not get into heaven. If your eye makes you sin, take it out. It's better to enter heaven with one eye than to have two and not go to heaven."

People on TV are always being dramatic. A cartoon character hears bad news, goes stiff as a board and faints; a person gets angry and pushes everything off a desk onto the floor, smashing it all.

Hopefully, that doesn't happen much in real life! But even if people aren't taking dramatic actions, most people say dramatic things sometimes. Even Jesus did that, In this week's Gospel (Mark 9:38-48).

Imagine Jesus, who was so loving and kind, talking about people cutting off parts of their bodies! It must have been hard for His listeners to understand what He meant.

When a TV character does something dramatic, it's usually a response to bad news. The person is so upset, it comes out in a big way — often, a way that most people in real life would not act.

When you say something dramatic, it may also be because you're having a big reaction. Jesus was being dramatic when He said if your hand or eye is making you sin, cut it off! Jesus was saddened at the negative way He saw some people acting, and He wanted them to do whatever it took to stop.

Jesus meant that, if you're looking at people with hate in your heart, hurting them with your hands or doing something else that's hurtful, don't just feel guilty and keep doing it. Do whatever you have to order to change for the better.

Jesus didn't really want people chopping off body parts. He wanted them — and us — to think about the way we act, and make big changes if we need to. He was speaking in a dramatic way, but it sure got people's attention!