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Repent and believe
By Fr. Matt Rudzik
As a kid I thought that repentance was about being sad and gloomy, drinking only water, eating only bread and not being able to have any joy in life.
Luckily I was wrong as on many other things in life!
I now see repentance as a complete constant and kind invitation from our Savior to honestlu do my best every day in aligning my ways with His, my desires with His, my plans with His.
It's a life-giving invitation to give to God what belongs to God and not to give to Caesar what belongs to God.
On the fundamental level of our existence as immortal beings, my attitude of repentance releases me from trying to be my own savior.
The most painful part of repentance is acknowledging that yes, I may be wrong. Some of my habits may not be helpful for my salvation or well-being of my family or community. Perhaps behavior that I'm supporting, or finding excuses for, may be wrong, harmful, immoral or degrading.
That may be why so many of us don't even bother with any serious repentance.
We don't want to be wrong, we don't want to be told what's good and what's not, we don't want the yoke of faith and obedience to Christ to rule our lives.
We easily settle for the fake and feel-good Christianity, where we decide what's true, right, good, moral etc. In short, we pretend that we are God.
Too easily we give ourselves tons of excuses for behaviors that are not good.
What are the results of this life choice?
We are still unhappy, unrested, buried in worries, anxieties, burdens and darkness that won't go away until we seriously give it all to Christ and honestly accept this beautiful call: repent and believe in the Gospel, for the Kingdom is truly at the reach of your hand!
Father Matt Rudzik is the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Tallassee and St. Joseph Church in Tuskegee. |
