Live Differently – Penitent (04.14.24 Jn. 5:1-18)

​

​

Dear St. Paul Family,
 

Sermon - Live Differently - Penitent

Cornerstone - Cornerstone - 7 Words on the Cross - #6: It is Finished

Annual Theme - Freedom Through Confession - Freedom Through Confession - Why #11 - Commanded To

Explanation of the Liturgy - Explanation of the Liturgy # 68 - Liturgy of the Faithful (Commemoration #21)

The gospel lesson was from Jn. 5:1-8, the healing of the paralytic.

This year’s Lenten theme is, “Live Differently” and we will go through seven perspectives on how to do that.

At the end of this great miracle, we see Jesus saying to the paralytic to go and “sin no more”. St. John Chrysostom commented that, “his disease was the consequence of his sins”.

So the next perspective on how to live differently this lent is to be penitent. The dictionary definition has the following definition:

• feeling or expressing sorrow for sin or wrongdoing; and disposed to atonement and amendment; repentant; contrite.

So let’s take a look at those three components to penitence:
 

1. Sorrow: for sin or wrongdoing

   • There needs to be an element of sorrow or grief or sadness because of the sin we committed, but it needs to be godly sorrow as St. Paul says in 2 Cor. 7:4: “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

   • Therefore it is now sorrow because we got caught or that we can’t believe we did that, but genuine grief over sinning.

2. Amendment

   • This simply means to make a change. Something needs to be done to my behavior, patterns, plans, thoughts…-

   • It needs to be accompanied by some action, if for example I stole, I need to make amends, if I hurt someone, I need to initiate to reconcile …

3. Repent

   • This seems to be the first step. So not only does it comprise of sorrow and making amends, I need to truly repent

   • Repentance is a change of mind, it is to make a U-turn in that behavior or characteristic I have.

   • My mind has to be renewed (Rom. 12:2) and filled with positive things (Phil. 4:8). Repentance needs to have an element of renewal of the mind.

So to live differently this lent, we need to be penitent, meaning I need to have godly sorrow, make amends, meaning to change and finally to repent, which is a renewal of the mind.

Fr. James

​

​

​