Readings: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; Ps 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9: 1 Jn 2:1-5a; Lk 24:35-48

“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer 
and rise from the dead on the third day 
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, 
would be preached in his name 
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” 

We hear a lot about repentance during this time of year. Last week we were reminded on Divine Mercy Sunday of God’s great mercy that he is willing to shower on those who ask for it. We are all called to repentance because we all sin against God. Some sins are bigger and some are smaller though we all sin.  

We need to be mindful of how we act and how we speak in order to do our best to avoid sin. In being mindful about sin we are also reminded that no matter the level or gravity of our sin God’s mercy is available to us as we are reminded of in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles today; 

The author of life you put to death, 
but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses. 
Now I know, brothers, 
that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did; 
but God has thus brought to fulfillment 
what he had announced beforehand 
through the mouth of all the prophets, 
that his Christ would suffer. 
Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.” 

As we can see from this reading even those who called for Christ’s crucifixion God is willing to forgive if they repent. This means that we should not believe that any sin we have committed is unforgiveable for God. We, however, are still human and the forgiveness of a grave sin, whether we committed it or someone else did it to us can seem to be unforgiveable. We will shortly remind ourselves in the Our Father we proclaim “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” 

Do we have a willingness to forgive those who have harmed us either physically, emotionally or spiritually? As I just mentioned the words we say in the Our Father should carry some weight in making sure that we are willing to forgive others. This is not an easy task I know since I also struggle at times with this aspect of our faith. When we are not willing to forgive those who have harmed us, why should God be willing to forgive us? This is also part of our call to repentance, not just for those sins we have committed, but also for the ability to forgive others who may have injured us in some way.  

During this Eastertide we should be comforted by knowing that should we be willing to repent of our sins God is willing to forgive them so we can remain in communion with him. We all know the grave sins that we should not commit, such as murder, adultery, stealing and other aspects from the commandments that Moses gave to the Israelites on their way from Egypt to the promised land. 

Do we, however, know or believe in some of the minor sins that we can all be guilty of at times? Some of these, though not an exhaustive list are gossiping, those little white lies, and unwillingness to forgive others. Some of us think since there is no physical harm brought to anyone by these sins then there is no sin. In gossiping about someone then we make them out to be someone they are not and people’s opinions of them change. This can cause them friendships, promotions and after that they can lose faith. There is no physical harm, but there is still harm that comes from it.  

I know that gossiping is a common thing amongst many people, they think that they are in on a little secret and want to be the person who breaks the story to their world. The issue is that in most cases they only know one side of the story and in order to do as God wills we need to know all sides of this story. While it may become less enticing when you know both sides it is the only way to be able to understand what happened.  

How willing are we to forgive those who injure us? This injury could be physical, emotional or spiritual. A lot of times this forgiveness is decided upon based on the level of hurt caused by the other person. But as we see represented by the crucifix there is no level of hurt that is unforgiveable for God. We are called to be just as forgiving as God. We are reminded of this when Jesus tells the people when he gives his sermon on the mount. So be perfect,^* just as your heavenly Father is perfect. 

This call to perfection is something that is difficult for us to attain. We would like to think that if we have led a good life, not gone against the 10 commandments, come to church every Sunday that we have attained a life that is pleasing to God. Yes this is a great first step to pleasing God with our life, yet we are called to be so much more.  

Jesus was very counter cultural in his time. He made women a primary part of his ministry, he told everyone that not only were they to forgive their friends, but also to forgive their enemies. The things that are asked of us today are just as counter cultural. We are called to stand up and fight for the child in the womb who has no voice of their own. We are called to stand and defend the creation that God has asked us to be stewards of. We are now also being called to defend the natural law which God put in place.  

Much of this that we are called to do is going to put us on the opposite side of our family, friends and sometimes our bosses. This can lead to some very interesting interactions, but during this Easter season we are called to repent of anything which we have done to harm not only those who agree with us, but also for that which we have done to harm those who disagree with us. We can find strength in knowing that Christ understands our most inner feelings in forgiving those we dislike. He understands it so much that he was willing to give us His Body and Blood to sustain us during these times of trial.  

When he said this he knew we would need this fortification to repent of our own ways that may injure others, even if they have or are trying to injure us. After all he asked for God to forgive those people who hung him on a cross. His apostles continued to preach this message of repentance and forgiveness to all as we have heard in the readings today. We are reminded in the reading from John; 

But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, 
Jesus Christ the righteous one. 
He is expiation for our sins, 
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world. 

While we are reminded that Christ died for the expiation of the sins of the world, we are also reminded that we are to emulate his life in how we live. Not just doing the bare minimum, but to go above and beyond. Are we ready to show those around us what a truly Holy life should be? We have an advocate with God for when we falter and we have the strength of His Body and Blood to help keep us on track. When we leave church today we should all strive to be perfect just as our heavenly Father is perfect. After all we have just listened to His word and partaken of His son’s body and blood. I ask again are you ready to strive for that heavenly perfection?