Sunday School: Repentance

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” – Matthew 5:8

“Every Christian feels a natural yearning of the heart towards God, a true desire to taste the sweetness of communion, of being with Him as He created us to be: but the impurity of our hearts – full of passions conflicts, and fear bars the way. Yet, there is a cure for the weight of sin which burdens the heart and soul of each of us and afflicts the conscience, keeping us from inner peace and from peace with our neighbors and loved ones.”

In the Holy season of Great Lent we contemplate the mystery of repentance. But what does it mean to be repentant? In the overly intellectual modern age we tend to focus on how we have violated moral laws either through action or inaction. Repentance is much more than a passing feeling of sorrow for wrongs done which, upon reflection can easily overwhelm us and lead to despair. It is a turning away from focusing on worldly matters to those of God. It is a new outlook, a new, correct spiritual direction which we should strive to live at all times, not just during this special season.

According to Saint Gregory Palamas, “Repentance, is to hate sin and love virtue, to reject evil and to do good.” But how do we reach this state? Why should we even strive for repentance? Should we as some modern people say, let go of the guilt and just do good? It may be helpful to reflect on our fallen state as humans to light the way.

Our Holy Byzantine Catholic and Orthodox Faith teaches us that sin is a sickness, a fatal, crippling disease that can only be healed through the healing touch of Christ. It should not surprise us that upon studying the Holy Scriptures we see Christ healing people afflicted by chronic disease, blindness, and other bodily disabilities. We also see Christ ministering to prostitutes, tax collectors (publicans), the poor and downtrodden. Christ understands we are fallen and ill with the sickness that comes from sin.

How can we be healed, both in body and spirit? Are we not a mysterious union of the spiritual and physical? Can we do anything of our own power to save ourselves through good works? No, for as St. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:23, “All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.” To steal a saying by Winston Churchill, to say we can save ourselves would be like standing in a bucket and attempting to lift ourselves up by the handle.

We should not despair, however, of our predicament, for Christ has come to save us and has in fact united himself with us and is eager to transform us and heal us. To do so we must work to reform our perspective from one of “self orbiting”- willfully focusing on ourselves and on immediate fulfilment of selfish desires and wants (aka the passions).

The opening of the way of repentance is to humbly acknowledge our brokenness and lay it before Christ. To assist us in this change of perspective, Our Holy Faith created the season of Great Lent, an intense period of sacrifice and reflection where we are encouraged to turn our focus toward our need for healing.

Fasting is a discipline of self-sacrifice where we can learn how to control our bodies and passions by restricting our diet. ”Man does live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth from the mouth of God.” Prostrations also help us to train our bodies orienting them toward humility and worship. In many Asian cultures it is proper to bow to others when greeting and to bow profoundly when expressing sorrow for wrongs committed.

We must be careful, however, when beginning the journey to pace oneself. It is helpful to reflect upon our failings, but also to acknowledge our inability to rise above them without Christ. Now is the time to humbly ask for healing and to strive with Christ to reform our lives. This should not be one of crushing guilt for wrongs done, but a bright sorrow that we are beloved of God, and although we fall short, we can with Him achieve healing and conversion.

This is the repentant nature the Fathers speak of and God desires for us; a humble acknowledgement of our limitations and helplessness as we pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me a sinner.” We should cast ourselves upon the sea of His mercy and become like the Prodigal Son returning home to the embrace of the loving Father. Only then, can we can we begin upon the healing path.

From the Saints and Others

“Just as the Lord is concerned about our salvation, so does the devil, the slayer of men, concern himself about bringing the soul of man to despair. Judas the betrayer was faint-hearted and inexperienced in struggle, which is why the devil, seeing him in a state of despair, attacked and persuaded him to hang himself. Peter, the formidable rock, falling into great sin and experienced in struggle, did not despair and did not lose the presence of the spirit, rather he shed bitter tears from a warm heart and, seeing that, the devil fled from him as though burned by fire.” St. Seraphim of Sarov

“‘The Shepherd’ (A.D. 140) says, ‘Repentance is great understanding.’ Repentance is not blubbering and self-loathing. It is insight. – Frederica Matthewes-Green

On Disputes

Leading up to Great Lent, we celebrate the Sunday of the Pharisee and the Publican. It is helpful to recall some of the nuggets of truth in this parable as a guide for developing a proper perspective on sin and repentance.

Outwardly, the Pharisee was a man of God. He conformed to the dictates (laws)of his religion, he fasted, gave alms, avoided sinful actions and was likely a pillar of his community. But his faith was a dry, moralistic one. Worse yet, his prayers, if you could call them that, were full of self-righteous pride at his being better than others through his moral acts. His heart was far from God.

Publicans, however, were reviled in their day by the common people. Bluntly put, they were oppressive, greedy, tax collectors that often abused their privileged positions to enrich themselves at the expense of others. The publican was a sinner first class, a total mess, yet he practices repentance. He stood to the side, bowed his head and humbly begged for mercy from God acknowledging his sinfulness. His heart was focused entirely on God.

The spiritually vain and arrogant mindset of the Pharisee is the trap we can easily fall into if we focus on doing “good” as the way of reform or to make ourselves “worthy” of God. So we can see in this parable the humility of the sinful publican a pattern for our own lives. Be like the publican in our worship. Humbly, with bowed head, acknowledge your sinfulness, and rest in the mercy of God for as Christ said, “…all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”