Among the Jews, there was a belief that those who were doing well in life (the Rich, those with many kids, many animals, a lot of land etc.) well blessed by God for doing what is pleasing in his sight and those who were poor, those born with some sicknesses, the barren etc., were being punished by God for not following what God wants. But this Traditional Theology was put to a halt by Biblical Books like that of Job, a righteous man who suffered a lot and in his suffering never stopped doing what was good in the eyes of his Creator.
In today’s Gospel, those who come to report to Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices, had the same belief on the back of their minds. They thought those who perished, did so because they were sinners but Jesus corrects them saying that those who died (the ones whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices, those 18 people upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed) were not worse sinners than those who came to report to him (Jesus). And if they don’t repent, they would end up perishing like those others who died.
My dear brothers and sisters, the time of Lent is the time of repentance. The same repentance Jesus repeats twice in the Gospel of today. It is a forty day journey in which each one of us has to look into his or herself and start taking away from our lives, those things that hinder our good relationship with our God and our brothers and sisters. Jesus is telling us today (through those who came to report to him) that if we don’t repent, we will perish, (“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.” Rm 6:23). So let us change our bad ways of life and embrace the Christ like life.
Repentance is not just doing some Almsgiving, Fasting and Prayers, repentance goes much deeper than that. It means the change of mind (Metanoia) and heart (Teshuva). It means correcting the wrong things in our minds and hearts and that’s what we are called to do in this forty day journey as Fr. Jean Gailhac would say, “Lent is a call to conversion, to turn away from sin and to turn towards God. It is a time to simplify our lives, to detach ourselves from worldly things and attach ourselves to God.”
Let us take advantage of the moment of Grace the Lord is giving us through the Church to repent from our sins so that when Easter comes, we may celebrate our own Passover, from sin to righteous people.
May God bless each one of us. A fruitful Lenten Season to all, Amen
Sr. Precious Pyeela
Image Credt: Unsplash
