“Produce Good Fruit
As Evidence of Your Repentance” (Mt 4:8)
Dear Sisters
and Brothers in Christ,
The four
weeks of the Advent Season are intended for the preparation for Christmas
celebration. By “preparation” we mean
that great efforts should be done for a decisive turning point in our life, a
radical change of our way of thinking, speaking and acting, a profound
conversion—the going back to God—from darkness to light, from sin to holiness.
How to make
such a great change? How to start such
deep conversion?
Let us
listen to Saint John the Baptist:
“Produce
good fruit as evidence of your repentance.”
Based on
what Saint John said, we have first to begin with repentance. The process of authentic conversion itself
starts with the sincere and courageous recognition of wrongdoing.
Conversion
must be sincere because without free and true decision to say “this is my
fault” it stops being conversion and remains a mere pretence. There should be the truth between what I say
and what I really mean.
Conversion
must be courageous because it is not easy at all for people to admit the
reality that they have done something wrong, and it is much more difficult for
them to say “sorry” and ask for forgiveness, in particular when the wrongdoer
used to be highly respected as a beacon of moral standards.
In year
2000, during the Great Jubilee, Pope John Paul II publically asked the world
for forgiveness for the sins committed by the children of the Church. That act of repentance might not be welcomed
by some Catholic Christians, not even by high ranking leaders of the Church,
considering it as too much humiliating.
But that act, sincerely performed earned the Church heartily
reconciliation and admiration from both Christian communities and people of
other faiths.
Now, we go
to the most crucial point of repentance: we should show people the evidence of
our willingness to give up our wrong way, our sinful life, and take the new
path for a better life. The new things,
new changes to the positive direction clearly seen in our daily activities are
fruit of our conversion to God. Saint
John the Baptist made a list of what people have to do for the detachment from
sinfulness and the renewal of their way of life. The list ranges from repenting of the sins
against social justice, the sin of power abuse and the thirst for wealth, to
the restoration of just and human society.
Taking
Chapter 3, verses from 10 to 14, we read, “And the crowds asked him, “What then
should we do?” He said to them in reply,
“Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do
likewise.” Even tax collectors came to
be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He answered them, “Stop collecting more than
what is prescribed.” Soldiers also asked
him, “And what is it that we should do?”
He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your wages.”
It is now
our turn how to answer the urgent call by Saint John the Baptist, “Produce good
fruit as evidence of your repentance.”
Fr. Francis Nguyen, O.P.
