FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR C

First Reading: Deuteronomy 30:10-14.

The word is very near to you: you have only to carry it out.

Moses said to the people: “If only you would heed the voice of the Lord, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this book of the law, when you return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul.

“For this command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you. It is not up in the sky, that you should say, ‘Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’ Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’ No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.”

REPENTANCE

--Rev. Linh N. Nguyen

Once upon the time, there were two brothers. One was an outstanding citizen and the other was a scoundrel. The criminal brother killed a man. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. His high-profile brother went to his friend, who was the governor of the state, and pleaded for a pardon for his brother. Since the governor respected the murderer’s brother, he granted the pardon and gave to his friend. The brother went to the prison to visit his sibling.      

He asked him, “What would you do if you were to escape or get released?” His brother replied from his cell, “First, I would kill the judge, then I’d mow down the chief witness against me.” Upon hearing this, his brother ended the conversation. He walked out of the prison with the pardon in his pocket and gave it back to the governor. He did that, because his brother did not truly repent of his transgression.

The message in today’s first reading is Moses’ calling upon the Israelites to repent of their sins before they entered the Promised Land. Israel had not yet entered the land, but it failed to obey God many times. The people disobeyed God, because they failed to believe godly matters in their heart. God indicated that without a new heart, Israel would fail to continue a covenant relationship with him.

Previously, Moses had outlined the blessings and the curses which would fall on the nation for their obedience or disobedience. Following the list, Moses began the description of the “returning Israelites.” In the former day of Israel’s exile, Israel would reflect upon the blessings and curses of the covenant. They would then take them to heart, return to the Lord, and obey him in every respect.

When the exile came to pass, Israel was supposed to persistently keep up these acts of repentance and restoration. Israel would think upon their plight in captivity and would return to the Lord and obey him. It was because Yahweh would bring about a spirit of repentance and obedience among them. It was that prompting that would cause Israel to think upon their evil ways, to repent, and to enter once more upon faithful covenant observance.

Then Moses continued with an explanation of means of the return. If the Israelites would heed God’s voice with all their heart and all their soul, God would bring them back from captivity to the Promised Land and restore their fruitfulness. Moses stated that when they returned, God would “circumcise” their heart. The phrase “the Lord, your God, will circumcise your heart” introduced the New Covenant.

Here, Moses meant that not only were his people to return to God, but also to covenant relationship in particular. How were they to return? The Deuteronomy text indicated this in real terms. They were to believe from their own hearts. Moses wanted the Israelites to realize that obedience and the covenant relationship came from the heart, not from superficial acts. Specifically in 30:10, Moses explained how they were to turn to God, “If only you heed the voice of the Lord … with all your heart and all your soul.”

Moses’ final sermon to the nation prophesied a time when Israel would return to covenant relationship, and God would change their hearts. It was one of the earliest references to the New Covenant. It is this return that is called “repentance.”

As indicated by Moses, repentance means to change mind or heart. In a physical sense, it means a change of direction. Forgiveness comes when we confess and repent, turning from our sin. Second Corinthians 7:10 contains a formula about this: “For godly sorrow produces a salutary repentance without regret, but worldly sorrow produces death.”

According to Saint Paul, there are two kinds of sorrow over sin: Godly and Worldly. Godly sorrow is a sense of brokenness over sin that leads to a change of life and brings deliverance. On the other hand, worldly sorrow may not lead to heartfelt repentance. It doesn’t lead to deliverance, but to destruction, as stated by Saint Paul. It is not enough to say, “I’m sorry.” People feel sorry for what they got caught; sorry for their embarrassments; sorry because of consequences. That’s not godly sorrow.

Specifically, second Corinthians 7:11 identifies several characteristics of godly sorrow. He says, “For behold what earnestness this godly sorrow has produced for you, as well as readiness for a defense, and indignation, and fear, and yearning, and zeal, and punishment.”

In Saint Paul’s opinion, godly sorrow implies taking a matter seriously. It wants to do the right thing, while worldly sorrow wants to avoid further consequences. Godly sorrow not only carries the idea of shame for what we have done, but also a desire to rectify the situation. Frankly, we become genuinely upset at ourselves for what we have done. The idea is that it is not easily forgotten. We don’t close the door too quickly and go on. But we expect to see justice done, which includes accepting consequences and punishment for our sins. As a result, we possess an eagerness to turn things around in our lives. This implies a readiness to set things right.

Here is a story that can demonstrate the distinctiveness between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow:

The mother of a little girl was preparing to attend a very special social event she had been looking forward to with pleasure for a long time. The new dress she had bought for the occasion was carefully laid out on her bed.

But the little girl didn’t want her parents to go out that night and she put up quite a fuss about it. When the mother was out of the bedroom, the little girl thought she had found a way to keep her mother home. She took a pair of sewing shears and she slashed the new party dress. Ruined it completely!

When the mother came back into the room, she just couldn’t believe her eyes. She was almost petrified of what she saw. Instead of exploding and becoming very angry, she just fell across the bed crying bitterly, completely oblivious to her daughter’s presence in the room.

When the little girl saw her mother’s reaction, she realized the seriousness of what she had done, and she started to tug at her mother’s skirts, calling out, “Mommy, mommy.” But her mother continued to ignore her, acting as though she were not even in the room.

The little girl, more and more desperate, cried out louder, “Mommy, please!” At last, the mother responded: “Yes? What is it you want?” And the little girl answered, “Mommy, please take me back.”

That little girl had seen through to the heart of the matter. She didn’t say, “I’m sorry.” She didn’t say, “I won’t do it again!” She didn’t say a lot of things that might need to be said later. She had sensed, somehow, that the problem at that moment was the broken relationship between herself and her mother. And so she cried out, “Mommy, please take me back.”

And so, true repentance includes more than saying “I’m sorry” or “I won’t do it again.” It is a state of determined mind and resolute heart to turn away from sin, disobedience, or rebellion, and to immediately turn back to God. Repentance is also a feeling of remorse or regret for past conduct. True repentance includes all elements contained in a “godly sorrow for sin”, an act of turning around and going in the opposite direction. This type of repentance leads to a fundamental change in a person’s relationship to God.

But is it enough for us to have godly sorrow in repentance? John the Baptist told the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance” (Luke 3:7-8). The man with two tunics should share with someone having none. The tax collectors must stop extorting money.

Therefore, unless we demonstrate good fruits accompanying repentance, we are still a “brood of vipers” – that was John’s message! To really welcome the Messiah, we must confess our sin, agreeing with God about our condition, turning from sin to receive his forgiveness. The result will be fruit suited to repentance.

May God give us godly sorrow leading to sincere repentance and may our good fruits accompany to it. That like the repentant Israelites, we are allowed to get into the eternal Promised Land in heaven.