About Our Youth

They both messed up so horribly and turned their back on Jesus… yet one let his shame destroy him, and the other was led back to God through repentance. I am speaking of Peter and Judas... and I can't help but wonder why?  

In our “cancel culture” society, it is somewhat easier to understand Judas.  In his mind, he was unredeemable, worthless…cancelled.  The truth is – our world has a backward warped view of sin. Despite what our Twitter feed tells us, repentance is not about feeling bad forever or a condition to somewhat “earn” forgiveness.

The word “shame” can mean so many things – guilt; insecurity; condemned; exposed.  The truth is, God has no use for this word in any of its meanings.  

We are valued and loved by our Lord.  Our repentance is not to earn His forgiveness – it is for us.  Repentance is a process – it is about spiritual longevity… and that is what we see in the life of St. Peter.

Peter, a rock of faith, walked on water – but he also doubted… he sank in that water, and he denied ever knowing Christ (three times!). Even so, he showed courage in doing what Judas could not – he repented.  And because he did, Peter became all the stronger for it – he would go on to preach to the masses, baptize Jews and Gentiles, be imprisoned/tortured/martyred in the name of Jesus.  St. Peter lived his life truly walking on water knowing that faith does not sink.

Have you heard of the phrase Revertigo?  Its a thing - Google says so.  Its the tendency of a person to revert back to an older version of themselves when around people from their past.  It explains why when we travel back to our hometown for a weekend visit, our maturity declines a couple decades hanging out with old childhood friends.  Or why siblings can laugh until their sides hurt over inside jokes as if they just happened.  And yet, we are in fact grown adults with real responsibilities.  

Sometimes the phenomenon also happens during Lent - we hit the time of year as if it is just a "default" season and revert to whatever we think we ought to be doing or reading or eating (or not eating).  Lent is supposed to be a forward journey, and it is supposed to be new every year.  Christ has something new to teach us every year.  In writing our Lent series, "Follow Me" I was astonished at the artificial roadblocks we put up ourselves to stand in the way of our journey in following Christ - our fears, our pressures, our identity, logic... and yes, our revertigo.  This Lent, let's not be like the Nazarenes who rejected Jesus in His own town, failing to see the Divinity through the Humanity and instead embrace the invitation to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. 

My younger son often asks me why Jesus couldn’t be more direct with His words: Why did He speak in riddles?”

It is a great question to think about especially this time of year as we re-live Christ’s days on Earth. Why did Jesus teach in Parables? Wouldn’t it have been more effective, more practical, to just give textbook teachings and sermons?

Through the imaginative allegories that came through in His parables, Christ described the indescribable in a way we could understand and in a way we would never forget. There was wisdom and prophecy behind the stories. There was accountability in His words. There was love for humankind resonating in each allegory.  This Lent season, I encourage you to embrace the message and beauty found in Christ's Parables.