Repent!

“I am who am”

God heard the cry of his people and had come down to free them from slavery to Pharaoh. He called Moses to himself and sent him on mission to deliver his message. Moses questioned by whose authority he would do these things. God assured him that he would be with him and that he would serve God on God’s holy mountain. Moses asked who he should tell the Israelites had sent him and God replied, “I am who am.”

‘I am who am’ is the most sacred word to Orthodox Jews. It is so sacred, in fact, that it has not been uttered in two-thousand years. Prior to the destruction of the temple in AD 70, the Holy name of God would only be whispered in the temple in the Holy of Holies by the high priest on Yom Kippur. It was said that there were little bells attached to the priest’s vestments and a rope tied around his ankle so that if he died while being in the presence of God, they could pull him out. When the temple was destroyed, they lost the ability to say the sacred name. Most practicing Jews have such reverence for the name of God that they won’t even write the word God. They write it as G-d. Wouldn’t it be great if the entire world held this same reverence for God?

But we have something they do not. God appeared to Moses in the form of the burning bush. God appeared to us as one of us. God sent Moses to free the Israelites from slavery to Pharaoh. God came himself to free us from slavery to sin. Jesus, the great gardener, watered and fed the fig tree, which is all of humanity. God, the Father, the owner of the fig tree, longed for it to bear the fruit of repentance. At every Mass Jesus feeds us with his body and blood. We could not be better cared for and yet, how many of us fail to produce fruit?

We read about the Israelites being fed and watered by Christ during their forty years in the desert. They did not repent and were struck down in the desert. Jesus talks about the Galileans who suffered at the hands of Pilate and the eighteen who died at Siloam. These are examples given to us so that we don’t make the same mistakes, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did.

Repentance is one of the fruits of love. If we truly loved God in the way we should, we would immediately repent when we realize that we have done something to offend him. The moment we realize we have done something to offend God, we should turn to him with a contrite heart and say, “Father, I am sorry.” Then it is time to get to confession. The Sacrament of Reconciliation was given to us by Jesus for two reasons. The first is, of course, for us to be able to tell God what we have done wrong and repent for our transgressions. The second reason, I feel, is even more important. Through the words of absolution, we are assured that God has forgiven us and that our friendship with God has been restored. When we live in friendship with God, we have nothing to fear, including death.

Repent says the Lord; the kingdom of God is at hand.