Sharing the Word, April 18, 2021, Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle B.

Readings:
1st Reading; Acts 3:13-15,17-19.
Responsorial Psalm; Psalm 4:2,4,7,9.
2nd Reading;1 John 2:1-5.
Gospel; Luke 24:35-48.

The Gospel shows the apostles listening to the two who physically encountered the Risen Jesus on their way to Emmaus. Just then, Jesus stands in their midst and shows them His wounds in hands and feet and makes them feel His flesh and bones to assure them that He is not a ghost. Jesus even eats what they offer. He clarifies to them all what the prophets had foretold about Him and sends them to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to the whole world. In the same light, in the letter of John, the writer advises his audience not to sin , but if they do, they should turn to the advocate, Jesus Christ, who takes away the sins of the world

Our readings these Sundays after Easter, have continued to insist that we allow the grace of the joy of Easter to get in and flow in and around us. Today’s readings are full of excitement. Peter and John have just cured a man who has been suffering from paralysis and Peter is addressing the excited crowd. Peter and John lacked money to give the hitherto beggar but cured him with the power of the Holy Spirit. In his speech, Peter tactfully blames his listeners for their complicity in Jesus’ death, but ends his talk with a comforting call to repentance. He advises them to take advantage of Jesus’ forgiveness. It is this forgiveness that will give them back the life they lost by their waywardness.

Sometimes, I have felt embarrassed by the tendency of some religious spokespersons to play on my vulnerability to sin, guilt and shame. We all feel guilt and shame when someone exposes our misbehaviour. Guilt and shame arise because we realise a gap between what we are expected to be and what we really are. The question of religion is not that we should never make mistakes. No! We will always make them given our human nature. As humans, we will get some important things right as well as others wrong. Anyone who takes the moral demands of human life seriously will make his/her own share of mistakes or misjudgements. I am not talking about psychopaths who have no moral consciences and will never feel guilt or shame for any of their actions. As normal human beings, we will all feel terrible from time to time about things we should not have said, thought of, done or failed to do.

As Christians, to be measured against some standards of perfection or acceptability is a crucial distinction for our actions as it should make us atone for things we have not been able to do right. Such wrongdoings should not define us as Christians but our capability to repentance and atonement should do. If we let our worst moments define what or who we are, we will see ourselves as failures, people who never and will never get it right, than people who make occasional thoroughly human mistakes. When we see these moments of failure as sporadic during our lives of doing good most of the time, we find it easy to mend our souls. This is what the letter of John tells us to do when we fail to attain the standards Jesus demands of us.

From our readings of today, the question is not that we should never fail, but rather, how we deal with our human imperfections, our sense of inadequacy. How do we have to relieve our shame and guilt for our misdeeds? What do we do when we have disappointed God? If I understand the readings properly, then we are called to use the recommended tools; repentance and forgiveness given to us by a loving and caring God to cure our guilt and shame. All Christians, because we have all sinned, are called to bring their broken souls to God to be mended.

So it is not wrong when religion sets standards for us and makes us feel guilty when we fail to attain them, but it should most of all welcome us in our imperfection. I believe God prefers the broken and contrite heart that knows its failures, over the complacent and arrogant one that claims never to have erred. No matter how much we have messed up our relationships with one another and with God, what God demands of us is repentance, and forgiveness is granted. This, on the other hand does not encourage us to settle for mediocrity. We are going to fail sometimes, but we must try all the time not to fail intentionally. We may never be perfect but we will not be far from that when we try hard enough.

The Bible teaches that God loves the wounded soul, the chastised soul that has learned something from its own fallibility and its own limitations. It teaches us that being human is such a complicated challenge that all of us will make mistakes in the process of learning how to do it right. At that, we come to see our mistakes not as emblems of our unworthiness but as experiences we can learn from to move closer to a caring and forgiving God. This gives us courage to move forward, to learn something new without being afraid of getting it wrong. Our sense of guilt and shame is then only a sign of our humility, our learning about our limits, rather than our hiding from scrutiny because we have done badly. Guilt and shame will only rule us when we fail to learn from our shortcomings. We remain like one who falls and remains lying, instead of struggling to get up and move forward with more caution.

As followers of Jesus, we like to be perfect, but should know that we are not perfect and accept our failures. Sometimes, we are weak and thoughtless, but most of the time we should be strong and generous and self disciplined as well. Our ability to repent and be forgiven should therefore, define us as Christians.

A Little Prayer.

Lord Jesus, thank You for suffering to death and rising to life. Lord when I suffer and fall in sin, help me to rise through repentance and forgiveness. Help me to be able not only to preach, but practice repentance and penance in your name to all around me and to all nations. Amen.

Have a Blessed Week!
Bobe Talla Toh.