“Repent and turn towards God”
Christians the world over began a season of abstinence, prayer and voluntary fasting and some would certainly add a few extra mortifications to it too. In churches the priest while applying ashes on the forehead of individuals would pronounce these words, “Remember, thou art dust and unto dust thou shall return”, or “Repent and believe in the Gospel”. The words ‘repent’ and ‘repentance’ appear several times in the Bible, emphasizing the need for people to change their sinful ways and turn towards God. Right at the time when Jesus began sharing the Good News of God’s love with people, he asked his hearers, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). True, God’s love is unconditional but it would be much easier for people to experience God’s love in abundance if they would first repent of their wrong doings. In the Old Testament, for instance, Job who had to suffer a great deal in his life becomes aware of his sinfulness and says to the Lord, “Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42: 6). Again Prophet Daniel finds himself in the same state saying, “Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession…” (Dan 9:3). I Incidentally, at the Maha Kumbh at Haridwar and Rishikesh these days, one would find quite a few sages with their bodies covered with ashes. Millions of others are taking a dip in the holy Ganges to cleanse themselves of their sins, certainly with a sense of repentance accompanying it too. The Lenten season and indeed the Maha Kumbh should really be an invitation for all of us to look inwards and see why our relationships with one another and with God are strained or broken. However, before real repentance can happen, one has to feel the need to be reconciled with one’s enemies and to turn towards God. Repentance leads us to forgiveness of our own sins as well as helps us forgive others. Many spiritual healers insist on repentance and forgiveness as a prerequisite for any healing process to begin. The words used by the priest while applying ashes is a powerful reminder to all of us that since we are all going to turn into dust one day, we could be less attached to things and to people so that we could be more available to the needs of our less fortunate brothers and sisters.
