The Miracle of Repentance

 

Last Sunday's first reading is from the book of the prophet Jonah. God had called him to

preach repentance to the city of Nineveh. Nineveh was the oldest and greatest city in the Assyrian empire. They were a particularly wicked and brutal people. Yet God wanted to offer them the opportunity to repent and to change. Our Heavenly Father’s love and mercy are so great because He knows the misery and despair that sin causes. He knows how evil-doing breaks hearts and ruins lives. In His love he cannot help but take pity on those who fail to recognize and live in His presence. So He never fails to offer again and again his gift of forgiveness and healing. 

The same is true for us today. We have all fallen short of the ideals that Jesus preached. We have all failed to love. And yet we are called by God here to experience His mercy and forgiveness. No matter what we may have done in our past, God can help us overcome it and change us. We should never let guilt and shame over our past mistakes keep us from embracing the love of God today. We cannot change the past, but we can go forward into a future of hope by welcoming the mercy of God into our hearts and allowing it to change us. 

Though we can always count on God to forgive us, we should be careful never to abuse His love. How would we feel if the people we loved kept on hurting us because they thought we would always forgive them? Though God is always willing to forgive us, He is offended when we take His love and mercy for granted. That is why Saint Paul warns us in the second reading that our time is running out. Because of His mercy God gives us time to repent, but that time is not as long as we think. We will eventually stand before the judgment seat of God to give an account of our lives and how we have taken advantage of the opportunities to change that He has given us. If we have been putting it off, it will not go well with us. But if we accept the message with joy, we will witness miracles in our lives and stand before God with confidence. 

With God there is always hope. He never abandons anyone He has created and redeemed in Christ. There is no heart He cannot touch, no mind He cannot enlighten and no life He cannot change. All we have to do is invite Him in, give Him our lives and let Him take care of the rest. If we trust Him with our lives, not only will we change but He will use us to touch the hearts of others. It is His promise to us in Christ. It can really happen if we repent, believe in the good news and follow Christ who calls us to a new and more abundant life. 

(image from Moody Publishing USA)

The Call To Change

A young man’s marriage was headed for divorce, so he turned to his pastor for some counseling and advice.

The first time they met, all the young man could do was complain about his wife. She was never home. When she was home, all she did was talk on the phone. Because of her commute, she had to leave early in the morning so he was left packing the children’s lunches and bringing them to school. None of his needs were being met.

The pastor listened patiently to the young man’s laundry list of grievances. When he was finished, the pastor opened his desk drawer and took out an index card. Handing it to the young man, he said, “The next time we meet, I want you to write ten good qualities your wife has on this index card and read them to me.”

The young man joked that it would not be easy, but he agreed to do it.

All that week, the young man made the effort to find something good about his wife to write on the card. He began to notice the care she took in cleaning the house. When something was broken, she always took the initiative in fixing it without asking his help. Despite the issues they were dealing with as a couple, she was genuinely happy to see him when she  got home. Because he was so focused on the negative, he had been oblivious to all that was good in his marriage.

The young man learned something else through the exercise. He learned how selfish he was. He was so focused on himself and his needs that he did not notice how hard his wife was working to keep their marriage together. He was so wrapped up in himself that he never noticed how his wife would try to talk to him but he ignored her so that he could watch TV.

It became very clear to him that the problem with their marriage was not her but him. If his marriage was going to survive, he was the one who would have to change.

We can probably all relate to the young man in the story. There have been times in our lives when we blamed everyone else for our difficulties and struggles. We were so focused on our own needs that we ignored the love and concern of those around us. In the end we learned that they were not the problem, we were. We discovered that the only way the negative circumstances in our lives would change would be if we changed.

Today’s gospel reading introduces one of the major figures of the Advent season, John the Baptist. As Saint Luke tells us, John is sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus. Why does God need someone to prepare the way for Jesus? Why couldn’t God just sent His Son without preparing the people first? Because He was about to do something radically new. It would be an act of salvation which Israel and the world had never seen before. To be aware of this gift and be able to accept it, the people would have to change their attitudes and behaviour. Like the young man whose marriage was close to breaking up, they would have to take their focus off themselves and turn it toward God. They would need to experience repentance. They would need to change.

As we read the Bible, we can sometimes wonder how so many people rejected Jesus despite the beauty of His teaching and all the miracles He performed. For many people, however, Jesus did not fit the description of what a Messiah or holy man should be. For example, the Pharisees did not believe He could be a prophet because He ate and drank with public sinners. The Zealots, like Judas Iscariot, did not believe He could be the Messiah because He did not work to overthrow the Roman occupation. Many others could not embrace His teachings on forgiveness and compassion for the poor. However, the problem was not with Jesus. The problem was with so many people who refused to change and so could not embrace the gift of salvation being offered them.

If we are going to experience all the blessings of this Advent Season - indeed, all the blessings of this life - we will need to change. We will need to change our outlook, our attitudes and our behaviour. There is much that is good all around us that we are oblivious to because of our selfishness. God is calling us to heed the words of John the Baptist to change our lives so that we can prepare a way for His Son.

A good place to start is every evening making a good examination of conscience. To make sure that our reflection is fruitful, we should try to look for one either online at a Catholic website or in a book. That will challenge us to see where in our hearts and minds the compassion of Christ is lacking. It will help us to understand exactly what inclinations and actions we will need to correct so that we can reflect the love of Jesus. Then going to confession to unburden our conscience and experience the healing power of this beautiful sacrament will give us even more strength and insight.

As Saint Paul tells us in the second reading, God has begun a good work in us and by His grace He will see it through. He wants us to take off our robes of mourning and misery to don the cloak of glory and joy from the Lord. It is all there for us if we will only heed John the Baptist’s call to repentance and conversion. It is within our grasp if we only have the courage to take a good hard look at ourselves and change.

Smeared With Ashes

Every day, each of us, before going to school or to work, makes an effort to look our best. We shower, shave, put on make-up and fix our hair so that others will see us at our best. We want to make a good first impression. We want people to think the best of us and to like us.

So what sense does it make for us to come hear today and put ashes on our forehead?

What we are telling our God and ourselves by this gesture of smearing ashes on our foreheads is that we recognize that despite all our efforts to look our best, we are at our core sinners. Despite our best efforts, we lie and gossip. We are sometimes jealous and petty. Though we try to keep all that hidden from others so that they will think we are "nice", we recognize that we cannot keep it hidden from God. He sees us as we really are. 

There is something more to this gesture, however, than feeling badly about ourselves. Rather we are expressing faith in the God who loves us despite our sins and failings. We live our lives with a suspicion that if people knew what we really thought and how we really felt, they would stop liking us. And so, we are always hiding behind a mask of polite talk and good manners. But God knows who we really are. He reads the thoughts that we keep hidden from others. He sees what we do behind closed doors. And he loves us anyway. He sees our sins and offers to forgive us nonetheless. 

Throughout his life, Jesus was keenly aware that people were not always what they seemed. He was able to see hypocrisy in the hearts of those who seemed to be good and goodness in the hearts of tax collectors and prostitutes. All of them needed to change. All of us need to change. 

That is why Jesus insists that we are to do our good works in secret. He knows how much we need the approval of others. He knows how easy it is for us to use religion and good works as a way of making ourselves look good rather than as a way of growing closer to our heavenly Father.

Today we are beginning the season of Lent - forty days of penance in preparation for the great feast of Easter. Along with not eating meat on Friday, we will each make some sacrifice during this time. It has been an ancient tradition of the Church that we give something up during Lent as a sign of our desire to change. Our sacrifice, however, has to be something more than an exercise of will power if it is to be pleasing to God. Otherwise, it can have the effect not of humbling us before our heavenly Father but of making us even more proud so that we say to God, "Look what I was able to do!" Instead, our sacrifice must have the effect of helping us to recognize that we are sinners in the eyes of God and yet loved just the same.  Our sacrifice must have the effect of helping us to say "no" to our tendencies to lie, to gossip and to hurt others and "yes" to our desire to love others, to serve others and to forgive others.

Today is a new beginning for us. As Saint Paul tells us in the second reading, "This is the acceptable time. This is the day of salvation."  No matter how we may have sinned in the past, God is giving us yet another opportunity to turn to him and renew our friendship with him.

When we receive ashes on our foreheads today, let us keep this in mind. God knows us as we really are and loves us just the same. We can only please him by humbly accepting his love and pledging to do whatever it takes to live as he commands. If we do this in the secret of our heart, then the God who sees what is hidden will shower us with his grace and love as we journey to the feast of the resurrection of Jesus.

Boundless Mercy

Mother Angelica, the foundress of the EWTN network, tells the story of a woman who for years prayed that her husband would be converted. When he became sick, she prayed even more fervently. Eventually they were told that he did not have long to live. Realizing that his days on earth were about to come to an end, he turned to his wife and said, “I think it’s time for you to call the priest.” Within minutes, the hospital chaplain came by, heard his confession and gave him the sacrament of the sick. He died peacefully several days later.

When Mother Angelica spoke to the woman shortly after the funeral, she could tell that she was angry. Assuming she was angry about losing her husband, she asked her if she wanted to talk about it. The woman told Mother Angelica about how she had prayed for her husband to be converted so that he would be easier to live with. But it didn’t happen until he was close to death. As she put it, “For years that man put me through hell. Now, because he went to confession, he gets to go to heaven. It just doesn’t seem fair.”

Doesn’t this woman sound like the workers in today’s gospel? She was angry because she had spent her life patiently putting up with a husband who was cranky and showed her little affection. Though he rarely went to church and never had a good thing to say about anyone, he could go to confession and have some assurance of going to heaven.

To most of us, this can seem unfair. However, it goes to show just how merciful our Heavenly Father is. No matter what sins we may have committed, God will always forgive us if we are truly sorry and confess them. And it is never too late for us to turn to Him and invite His love into our hearts. Even if we are on our death bed, Jesus still holds out the offer of forgiveness to us as He did to the good thief who was crucified beside Him. Like the vineyard owner who kept looking for workers even up to the last hour of the day, Jesus is always reaching out to sinners in hopes of breaking through their hardened hearts with the gift of His love.

If it is the case that we can get into heaven even if we convert on our death bed, then should all of us just wait until we are near death to receive Jesus’ offer of forgiveness? If it worked for the good thief, would it not also work for us?

I would suggest that it is not a good idea to wait until we are near death to convert for this simple reason. None of us knows when we will die. Some of us may be blessed with the awareness that we are close to death and with time to call a priest. However, many of us will die suddenly without warning in an accident or perhaps of a heart attack. There will be no time to call a priest and we may not be conscious enough to even say an Act of Contrition. Since none of us knows the hour when our life on earth will end, we should always be prepared to meet our Maker. That means, at a minimum, going to Mass every Sunday, practicing charity and mercy with our neighbors, praying every day and going to confession regularly.

There is another important reason why  we should not put off the decision to change our hearts and follow Jesus. By waiting, we will be missing out on all the good things God wants to give us. Those of us who give our hearts to Jesus experience great joy. Knowing that we are loved personally by an Almighty God gives us confidence as we face the challenges of life. We know that our Heavenly Father will always provide for us. Also, the hope of eternal life gives this present life tremendous meaning. We don’t ask ourselves if this is all there is. We don’t wonder why we are here or agonize over what it is all about. Rather, we rejoice knowing that Jesus is preparing a place for us in heaven and that nothing we suffer in this life can compare to the glory we will experience for all eternity.

As one who has been called to serve in God’s vineyard, I know this first hand. Though I am not always confident in my own abilities, I can rely on God to work through me. Though there are times I grow tired and feel frustrated, the Holy Spirit comes to encourage and console me. Nothing I have given up compares to all that I have received. Maybe in some ways I have been asked to give more than others have like the workers in the parable who were called early in the day. However, I have received so much back in return. God is never outdone in generosity. We never give Him more than He gives us in return. No matter how much we are asked to give or how long we are called to work, our Heavenly Father makes it joyful and fulfilling.

And so, I encourage you to say “yes” when Jesus comes to invite you to join Him in His work in the Father’s vineyard. Go willingly whenever He calls you, even if it seems as though you are being asked to give more than others. If you have been putting off saying “yes”, go with Him now and do not waste any more time. No longer deprive yourself of all the blessings God has prepared for you. And do not be embarrassed to say “yes” late in the day if you are called to do less than others. It is our love that gives value to our work, not how hard it is nor how long it takes. As in today’s gospel, God prefers someone who works an hour out of love to someone who works all day and ends up feeling bitter, resentful and envious. Go now, no matter what it costs, no matter how little you have to give and be happy no matter how God chooses to reward you.