Lenten observance.....Do not be afraid to expose-

Reflections for Second Sunday of Lent ...


Years ago, there was a very popular Jesuit writer. His name was John Powell. I was in college then when I got hooked from his books which were all best sellers. If I still remember it right, his first book was entitled “Why am I Afraid to Love?” Then, he followed it with his second book entitled “Why Am I afraid to Tell You Who I am?” His third book was actually a sequel to the second one and its title was “If You Really Knew Me, Would You Still Love Me?” It became a best seller, too. The books’ covers were all attractive, so were their contents. But I believe his books were bestsellers because they answered so many questions people desperately sought answers for, but were afraid to ask.

From our own experience of human friendships and relationships, we know that the more we expose ourselves to people, the greater the risk that people will eventually turn away from us. We know from human experience that the more we expose our weaknesses and brokenness to people and even to our own friends, the more we run the risk of losing them.

Perhaps, all of us have experienced these. We have friends and we are afraid to tell them who we really are, what we have done, and what have become of us. We have friends, and we are afraid to love them as we should. We have friends but we doubt, and we ask questions to our minds like: “If you really knew me, would you still accept me and love me?”

Fortunately, GOD is not like that, because the moment our human friends turn away from us after getting to know our shameful sins in the past and the brokenness in our lives, God can only say: “The more you are broken, the more I love you.” God can only say: “The more you expose the wounds that sins and life’s harshness of circumstances have inflicted on you, the more I will be close to you.”

So dear friends, brothers and sisters, there is no reason to be afraid of exposing the wounds of sins in our bodies before the presence of God. Let us not be ashamed and afraid to tell Jesus that we have sinned. Let us not be afraid to get reconciled with God, because these is no reason to be afraid and to be ashamed in reconciling with God. Jesus can only say: “Welcome back. Long have I waited for your coming back.”

As what they say, familiarity breeds contempt. This becomes apparent with our friends. When we get too familiar and too close with people, we grow tired of them. We get so used to them. But with Jesus, we just have to expose the wounds of our sins and He will be as assuring. And as a matter of fact, even more assuring than before we exposed our wounds.

When you come to confession and you tell the priest or pastor your sins, we say that you tell your sins to Jesus. Actually, Jesus already knows your sins. When you tell your sins to the priest or pastor, you are actually exposing your wounds. And you are just telling Jesus, “Lord Jesus, here are my wounds. Transform my wounds into my own strengths.”

When you come to confession, Jesus already knows your sins. When you tell the priest or pastor your sins, it is just like going to the doctor. “Doctor, here is my bruise, here is my wound. It is too deep. It has been bleeding all these years. I want to be healed. I want to be made whole again.”

Dear ones, in this Lenten observance, let us ask God to give us strength and sustain in us the courage to expose our sins. Be not afraid. Be not ashamed. God is just eagerly waiting for our return to His fold. See your priest now. Talk to your pastor now…