Several years ago we had an elderly gentleman, right around 89 years of age, move into the nursing home. It was mid-morning. As his two suitcases were being brought in he politely, but firmly, informed the care-aide that he would like his meals brought to his room.
Noon came. No lunch! One o’clock. No lunch!
He had made a mistake! He had chosen to be wrong. He did not miss the evening meal with all the other seniors in the dinning room.
How terrible it would be if we never made mistakes. What a disaster it would be if from day -one of our lives our parents did not stand back and allow us to make mistakes. Real learning only happens through mistakes!
This Lent bring to your prayers the mistakes you have made in your life, the mistakes our country has made and the many mistakes that are made in the world. The repentance asked of us during Lent is not only over the evil things (and thoughts) we may have done, but also all the many mistakes we have made in this life.
Give to the Lord the times when you selfishly demanded your position and deliberately did not consider the needs of your family. “You did it your way,” but oh, so selfishly! Now you can look back on that decision and take ownership of its falsity.
Bring before the Lord the time you rejected the concerns shared by your 27 year old nephew about the exploitation of the garment workers in the Third World. He pointed out that we buy cheap clothing in the First World because the wages in the Third World are just above subsistence. And there are corporation owners of these manufacturing companies who are making huge profits from such poor wages. And you just brushed off your nephew! Now, you recognize your mistake!
The leadership of our Church were so very slow to take action in the sexual abuse scandal. Even if this happened five decades ago the mistakes have long lasting effect. Trust has been eroded. As a Church we have much to take ownership of when we tally up the neglect towards young people at the hands of clergy and the neglect of what was happening in our families. The scars of these mistakes are very much with us.
At the moment we must add the indifference, the lack of care, that circulates in our country in the opioid crises. People just seem to throw up their hands and Canada is only one family away from the overdose of one of their members. We are living through a season of mistakes towards our fellow citizens who struggle with addictions.
And then there is the neglect of Mother Earth. Humans have used and abused her, not protecting and supporting her in her oceans, her soils and her bounteous atmosphere. A great number of our fellow citizens refuse to even hear concerns for the well-being and preservation of Mother Earth.
As we come to prayer during Lent we need to clutch in our hands all the mistakes and failures that we have accumulated. We must ask for the courage to take responsibility for the mistakes we have made.
And we seek that the Lord will redeem our mistakes through forgiveness and courage to learn and move on into our future with better decisions and actions in our lives.
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