PRELIMINARY REPENTANCE - A: 4th Sun in Easter

First Reading: Acts 2:14, 36-41 (30 April 2023)

“‘You must repent,’ Peter answered ‘and every one of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:36).

This is the concrete procedure mentioned by Peter when asked by the crowd what to do next (v. 37). Here, we recall the same message of John the Baptist when he began preaching in the desert, “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mk 1:4). His testimony was well received, leading many to be baptized in the river Jordan right then and there after acknowledging their sins (v. 5). Similarly, Jesus began his public ministry with the same message, “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (v. 15). For both John the Baptist and Jesus, hence, the preliminary step of accepting God in one’s life is by recognizing one’s sins and resolving to sin no more.

Along these lines, we are reminded of the formula of the Act of Contrition: “O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they have offended you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.” A point of emphasis here is the phrase “to amend my life”.

It establishes that any believer of Christ should make a firm resolve to stop committing the sins of the past and embrace a new life of witnessing the Gospel.

Recognizing the same principle in discipleship, Peter, now acting as a public preacher for the first time, adopted the same message delivered by John the Baptist and Jesus. Peter realized this message to be true since in his decision to follow Jesus since he also recognized his own sinfulness, uttering, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Lk 5:8). To this recognition, Jesus responded, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (v. 10). Later, Jesus alluded to Peter’s initial sinfulness when he changed the name of Simon son of Jonah to Peter, declaring, “And I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church ….” (Mt 16:18). Yet, this commissioning did not totally transform Peter to a perfect disciple since he fled away in Jesus’ arrest (26:56) and denied the Lord three times when confronted by bystanders (vv. 69-74). Peter remembered his tragic betrayal when, as the cock crowed thrice, “[h]e went out and began to weep bitterly” (v. 75). In one resurrection appearance, Jesus took Peter aside and addressed him three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” (Jn 21:15a, 16a, 17a).

Peter was distressed after hearing this three-fold questioning (v. 17b), realizing that he had failed miserably in wholeheartedly accepting Jesus in his life.

Fast forward to the day of the Pentecost, Peter must have learned his lesson well of commencing any following of the Lord with a complete denunciation of sin. In enjoining the crowd, he did not want would-be Christ-believer to have a similarly divided disposition and a shallow faith. Any following of the Lord should begin with the preliminary step of total repentance of sin. Let us examine ourselves, then, whether we set our feet on the right track.

- Rex Fortes, CM