REFLECTION:

When I was serving on Maui, I was once invited to be part of a panel with spiritual leaders for new hospice workers. One nurse from the mainland asked a very honest question: “I’ve noticed that many of the local people here — especially men — really don’t like going to the doctor. Why is that?” I smiled, because it was true. My own dad was the same way. And more than once, I’ve been called to the emergency room to anoint someone who was dying, only to hear the family say, “He was sick for a long time, but he refused to go to the doctor.” That question has stayed with me, because it points to something very human: the real danger is often not the illness, but refusing to be helped.

There is a big difference between falling and walking away.

In today’s reading from the First Letter of John, we hear: “There is sin that leads to death.” John is not talking about ordinary weakness. He is talking about something deeper — not falling, but refusing to get back up; not struggling, but slowly closing our hearts to God.

Most of our sins are more like spiritual illnesses: impatience, pride, gossip, neglect of prayer, choosing comfort over commitment. They are real, and they hurt us and others. But they are not the end of the story, as long as we are still willing to say, “Lord, I need help.” That is why John says we should pray for one another — because God gives life to those who are still open to being healed.

We already see this in our families and communities. Parents pray quietly for their children. Spouses pray for one another during difficult seasons. Friends carry one another in prayer when words are no longer enough. Sometimes that prayer is the only thing keeping a door open, the only thing keeping hope alive.

But John also warns us about another danger — the danger of slowly deciding that we do not need God anymore. It rarely happens all at once. It usually begins with small steps: missing Mass, neglecting prayer, making excuses, drifting away. Over time, the heart can become closed. This is what John calls the sin that “leads to death” — not because God stops loving, but because the person stops wanting to receive that love. It is the spiritual version of refusing to go to the doctor even when something is seriously wrong.

This is why this reading is not meant to scare us, but to wake us up. It reminds us to be honest about our own need for mercy, and gentle and patient with others who are struggling. It invites us to keep choosing humility over pride, trust over stubbornness.

Because the truth is simple: Falling is not the end. Failing is not the end. Even sin is not the end. The real danger is refusing to be healed. And our God is always ready to give life again to anyone who is willing to come home.