November 29, the only conscience cleanser.

How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself

without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Hebrews 914.

Here we are in the modern age, the age of the internet, smartphones, space travel, and heart transplants.

And our problem is fundamentally the same as always.

Our consciences condemn us and make us feel unacceptable to God.

We are alienated from God, and our conscience is bear witness. We can cut ourselves or throw our children into the sacred river,

or give a million dollars to charity, or serve in a soup kitchen,

or a hundred other forms of penance or self-injury.

And the result will be the same.

The stain remains and death terrifies.

We know that our conscience is defiled,

not with external things like touching a corpse or a dirty diaper or a piece of pork.

Jesus said it is what comes out of a man that defiled, not what goes in, Mark 7, 15 to 23.

We are defiled by attitudes like pride and self-pity and bitterness and lust and envy and jealousy and covetousness and apathy and fear.

The only answer in this modern age, as in every other age, is the blood of Christ.

When your conscience rises up and condemns you, where will you turn?

Hebrews 914 gives you the answer.

How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered himself

without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The answer is, turn to the blood of Christ.

...