REPENTANCE AS REBIRTH IN THE IMAGE OF GOD

Friday, first Week of Lent
Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP

Repentance as Rebirth in the Image of God

The passage from Ezekiel makes it easy for us to understand the nature of sin, and its effect in our life. The understanding also sheds light on the importance of God’s word for the well being of the human person. The word of God is well suited for the good of the human person. It is the life of our spirit. Thus, the scripture says that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. We are made of body, soul, and spirit. The material bread or food nourishes the body which is supported in life by the soul. But the human soul also needs the word of God to maintain its spiritual component. Thus, it is a necessity that we feed daily on the word of God as we feed on material food. Just as putting the wrong composition of food into our body causes us to fall sick, feeding our soul with the wrong combination of spiritual contents or not feeding it at all will cause us to fall sick spiritually and even die spiritually. This is what the Lord clarified through the prophet Ezekiel. “But if the upright man renounces his integrity, commits sin, copies the wicked man and practises every kind of filth, is he to live? All the integrity he has practised shall be forgotten from then on; but this is because he himself has broken faith and committed sin, and for this he shall die.” The death of the righteous man who committed sin is due to the wrong spiritual contents he fed his soul and not because God wants him to die. 

In the same way, changing from consuming harmful spiritual contents, which cause our soul to die and decay spiritually, to consumption of healthy spiritual contents will cause our soul to come back to life. Daily eating of our spiritual bread will rejuvenate our soul. Because God does not desire the death of his creatures made in his image, he has offered us our spiritual food in a manner more appealing than ever. This is what he did in sending the Eternal Word, his only begotten Son, in human nature. Because he has prepared such a wonderful and sumptuous meal on the mountain of the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are expected to live higher and deeper spiritual life than the ancients who had no such privilege. “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.” In the incarnation of the Son of God, our spiritual nourishment is made superabundant and easily reachable by all. Hence, no one has any excuse to live or remain in sin. If we are having difficulty forgiving others, managing our anger, keeping away from quarrelling with people, living at peace with our relatives and friends, keeping our hearts pure, etc., then we should consider what we consume every day. Feeding on the right spiritual food and drink daily will make our soul wax strong spiritually and able to overcome temptations that come our way.

Let us pray: Grant us, Lord, to relish your word and feed sumptuously on it daily, that we may grow strong spiritually and able to accomplish your will.     


 

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