Jesus assures us that He is here for all of us when we seek the mercy of God in confession
We often hear stories from the Scriptures about Jesus not doing exactly what the law called for, but His actions demonstrate true mercy and forgiveness. Why is that lesson from Jesus so simple, clear and direct, yet we continue to refuse to live it out?
I ask myself these questions, especially during Lent. I claim to be a disciple of Jesus and a public witness to the truth of His love, and still I am often the one to throw the first stone. I am surely not the only one who struggles with this? If we continue to struggle, might it be important for us to understand why we don’t do what He told us to do?
Sometimes it doesn’t seem fair that a person who chooses to act in ways that are against the will of God should be treated with mercy. Somehow, we continue to believe that punishment, pain and suffering is what a person really needs to learn a lesson. Or maybe we can’t stand to face our own failures, so we stone the failures of others. Maybe we’ve never had the guts to turn to Jesus face-to-face and tell Him we don’t agree with the way He asks us to live. Maybe we are arrogant enough that we believe we know better than Jesus does.
It seems like almost every choice we make that isn’t good for us is based on some fear. Maybe we’re afraid to be the odd one out in a vengeful crowd. Maybe we don’t want to be associated with sinners. Maybe we still live in a fantasy world where we believe we don’t sin as much as someone else. Maybe we believe that we have earned God’s mercy and forgiveness and these other people haven’t. Maybe we’re afraid that God isn’t really as good and forgiving and compassionate as we have been shown in Jesus.
We won’t really ever have a true change of heart, or metanoia, without facing the truth in ourselves and the truth that Jesus proclaims. If we still believe that we’re going to end up face-to-face with God and be completely pure of mind and heart, we are mistaken. It doesn’t matter if there’s a person caught in adultery, a Samaritan woman at the well, a man born blind, an unappreciative and spoiled son or any of the other stories that Jesus showed us. Each of us belongs in the same category as any of those examples. We are sinners who don’t earn His love and mercy but are given it as pure gift.
I’m hoping that at some point before Lent is over, each of us has had the opportunity to go to confession, the sacrament of forgiveness and mercy. Regardless of how long it’s been or the list of sins we have committed, it doesn’t matter when it comes to this sacrament. Jesus assures us that He is here for sinners — all of us. Take some time to remember how long it has been since we last participated in this sacrament. It might be six months, a year or 50 years. It doesn’t matter. The number of sins or what’s involved are not a condition of God’s mercy. What matters is that we admit that we need Jesus in our lives and we need to be close to Him. We need to recognize what is separating us from Him and admit that. We need to be humble and hopeful and open to being forgiven.
I know that as people come out of the confessional, there is often a deep breath of relief and a grateful heart that the penitent trusted the mercy of Jesus enough to be honest. Do not be afraid. The Kingdom of God is at hand.
Father Donald Wester is retired and serves as lecturer of homiletics at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.
