A friend of mine is a judge and we were talking one day about the sacrament of reconciliation. She said that my job was a little like hers. She has to listen to evidence, decide if the evidence shows that the person is innocent or guilty, and if they are guilty, assign a punishment. That is a little like what you do with penance. I thought for a moment and I smiled, and I said, “I disagree. I do not have to listen to evidence. I do not have to decide if the person is guilty. When a person comes to the sacrament of reconciliation, they know their guilt and they admit their guilt. There really isn’t a question. They are guilty of great sins and small sins. And in the face of that guilt, I get to set them free.”
A penance is not punishment, but medicine. The penance is not an action of a prisoner, but the response of one who has been set free. It is the prayer of a child of God and not the pleas of someone who is condemned. The difference between a punishment and a penance is more than a difference of words. It is a difference of vision.
Jesus gives us a new vision. Jesus gives us a new way to see the world. Jesus gives us a new way to see everything and everyone. It is a new vision. The world says hate your enemies and curse those who are against you. Love your friends and hate your enemies. Treat others as they treat you. Cheat those who can be cheated. Get everything you can no matter who you have to hurt in the process. That is the wisdom and the vision of the world.
But Jesus gives us something different. Jesus gives us something better. Jesus gives us a way to see, and a way to speak, and a way to act, and a way to hope. Jesus gives us more than a way to follow him. Jesus gives us a way to see with him. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. These are not the words of the world. This is not the vision of the world. These are the words of the Savior. This is the vision of the Kingdom of God.
Love not only your friends, but your enemies. Pray for those who are against you, and not just for those who pray for you. This is the invitation of Jesus. It is the vision of the kingdom of God. And it would be absolutely impossible for us to share in this vision, if it were not for the fact that this is how Jesus looks at you and me.
When we act like enemies of Jesus, that is what it means to choose sin, Jesus loves us. When we curse the way of Jesus, that also is what it means to choose sin, Jesus blesses our words of repentance. When we treat Jesus badly, that is what it means to sin, Jesus prays for you and for me. The vision of the Kingdom of God is the way that the King of Heaven looks at you and me. Jesus looks at us with the eyes of mercy and we want to look at the world and everyone in it through the merciful eyes of Jesus. We want to have the vision of the Kingdom.
And now we come to the banquet, where Christ our merciful high priest opens our eyes and renews our vision so that we can walk in the freedom of the Children of God.
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