The story about Jonah and the
Ninevites is a story about repentance. The
gospel for today repeats that theme. In
the same way that Jonah preached repentance to the Ninevites, Jesus likewise
came to call sinners to repentance (Lk 5:32).
He calls us to repentance so that we may have life to the full (Jn
10:10). Jesus points out that there is
more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine who need
no repentance (Lk 15:7). Since by
definition repentance is the renunciation of sin, repentance is a process of
transformation that seeks healing through forgiveness. A scriptural understanding of repentance
therefore begins with an understanding of sin.
Scripture introduces the concept of
sin with the story of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit. From this Old Testament story, we get the
basic idea that sin is about breaking rules.
In the New Testament, however, the Greek word for sin is amartia, which means “to miss the mark.”
In this New Testament sense, sin is not about breaking rules. Rather, sin is an
orientation in one direction as opposed to another. Sin is an orientation away from God.
The story of Adam and Eve,
therefore, shows that we miss the mark when we turn away from the way we know
God wants us to follow. The story
further illustrates that this departure constitutes a breach in our
relationship with God because we no longer follow the true way. That is, we are no longer with God, and Jesus
makes it clear that whoever is not with God is against God (Lk 11:23). But, follow a god we must. So, when we do not follow the true God, we
follow a false God. Sin is nothing less
than reliance on a false god.
Repentance is the very
opposite. Repentance is a reorientation,
a turning away from a false god and turning back to the true God. Repentance is a process of transformation
that seeks forgiveness as its goal. Forgiveness
is confirmation that the relationship damaged through sin has been
restored. Forgiveness confirms for us
that we are healed. This is true on a
spiritual level as much as on a human level.
On a spiritual level, repentance is
a two-step process. The first step is
to turn away from our false god, and the second step is to turn back to the
True God. Because the goal of repentance
is forgiveness, however, it is not enough to say, “I’m sorry.” Most of us tend to think of repentance and
forgiveness as a moment in time, rather than as a process. We experience sorrow for the wrong we have
done, and then act as though feeling sorry is enough. But, repentance is not just about feeling
sorry. The essence of repentance is
transformation. To repent means to turn
away from sin and turn back to God. On a
spiritual level, if our sorrow reflects true repentance, we can be sure that
God’s forgiveness is sure to follow and we are healed.
On a human level, however, forgiveness and
healing can take time for both the one who does wrong and for the one who has
been wronged. This can take time because forgiveness on the part of the one who
has been wronged often requires genuine sorrow on the part of the one who did
the wrong, along with a track record that shows such sorrow is in fact genuine.
Sometimes we must demonstrate that our repentance is indeed genuine
transformation. For this reason,
forgiveness does not necessarily happen all at once as an automatic response to
an expression of sorrow and request for forgiveness. Rather, forgiveness on a human level is a
mutual process that more often happens over time.
The readings for today do not
provide the details of how transformation and healing that comes from
repentance and forgiveness takes place.
The lack of such details illustrates that Scripture is not a narrative
about rules and formulas, but a story that invites participation in the mission
of Jesus. The good news of Jesus is that
our lives can be an expression of his love.
Our real humanity—the person we are called to be—comes to fruition
through a spiritual transformation that enables and inspires us to express the
love of Christ in our daily lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment