Repent and Believe the Gospel

Mark 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness and he remained there for forty days, and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild beasts, and the angels looked after him.

After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.’

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First Sunday of Lent

Dom Anscar Chupungco, OSB

In ancient times when people wanted to show that they were sorry for the sins they had committed, they smeared their bodies with ashes. Last Wednesday, as we started the season of Lent, the priest applied ashes on our foreheads as he said the words of Christ: “Repent and believe the gospel”. Why did he smear us with ashes and say those words? Because we need to remember that we also are sinners. Ash Wednesday and the entire season of Lent is a strong reminder that we are all sinners and that we need to be sorry for our wrongdoings.

In today’s gospel we hear again the words of Christ: “Repent and believe the gospel”. He tells us two things, two things that we need to do in order to be his disciples. The first is that we should be sorry for our sins. The second is that we should believe the gospel.

As regards the first, we cannot repent if we do not admit that we have committed sins. Unfortunately some of us can remember only the sins of others and forget conveniently our own sins. We enjoy talking about the sins of others; we even take pleasure in shaming them by telling them how bad they are. Sometimes people come to confession not to confess their sins but the sins of others. They say, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned”. And immediately they add, “my husband is a drunkard, he beats me up, and he does not go to Mass on Sunday”. There are others who try to minimize the seriousness of their sins. They ask, “Father, I am in love with this married woman. Is adultery a sin when we love each other?” And there are those who deny any true accusation or excuse themselves by saying that other people are doing the same. They say, “Why should I not steal? Everyone is doing it”. What does our Lord tell us? “Repent!” He tells us to be sorry for our own sins. If we do not humbly admit our sins and be truly sorry for them, he cannot forgive us. If he cannot forgive us, we cannot be saved. If we cannot be saved, what are we here on earth for?

“Repent and believe the gospel”. It is not enough to repent. It is also important that we believe what the gospel teaches us. And what does the gospel teach us? It teaches us to observe God’s commandments that are summed up in one sentence. “Love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as you love yourself”. For example, when we are too lazy to worship God on Sunday, is that loving God with all our heart? When we transfer to another religion because we are promised money and material benefits, is that loving God with all our soul? When we perform superstitious practices, is that loving God with all our strength? Or when we are cruel to our neighbor, slap our own wives, and beat our children, is that loving others as we love ourselves? No, we are not cruel to ourselves, we do not slap ourselves, and we do not beat ourselves? So, if we do these things to others, we do not love them as we love ourselves. Consequently we do not observe the commandment of God, and we do not believe the gospel.

My brothers and sisters, the season of Lent is an opportunity for us to repent and believe the gospel. Let us ask God to make us sorry for our sins. Let us ask God to help us to believe what the gospel teaches.