Washington Irving, an American short story writer, once remarked: "There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love." Romans 10:10 confirms: "For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved.”
Contrition is defined as a state of feeling remorseful and penitent. In Christianity, repentance for any sins committed is regarded as one of the first steps necessary to achieve reconciliation, through our Lord, Jesus Christ, with God and seek His forgiveness. It informs Him that we accept that we have done wrong and are truly sorry for our misdeeds. We often promise that we will not do it again. It includes sanctification and allows the Holy Spirit back into our lives. 1 Peter 1:2 reminds us: “According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”
Forgiveness is essential if we are to ultimately see the Kingdom of Heaven. We are mortals who are vulnerable to sin and wrongdoings. Ephesians 2:8-10 reminds us: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
In the Catholic Church, confessionals are common practice. This enables people to live in peace with themselves, knowing that any sins that they have committed have been absolved. A fresh start in life has been granted and the slate has been wiped clean. In the Church of England, absolution usually forms part of most services. 1 John 1:9 states: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Over 1500 years ago, a legend was born that concerned a creature located in the Scottish Highlands. This particular incident occurred in the River Ness. Today, the creature is referred to colloquially as the Loch Ness Monster. It is reputed to be a large aquatic animal that resides in a lake named Loch Ness. It is uncertain whether the original discovery by Saint Columba all those years ago is related to the possible present inhabitant. Many people have reputedly seen it from time to time and it has been described as a long-necked beast in excess of twenty feet in length with one or more humps that primarily lives below the surface and is considered to be malevolent. It has often been referred to as "Nessie." This name is a derivative of: "Nessiteras rhombopteryx." However, many people consider the creature as evolving from a mythical origin. Much scepticism exists over the claims of its presence. Loch Ness is situated in an extremely scenic area of natural beauty and stretches for some 23 miles. It is considered the largest freshwater area in Great Britain with an approximate depth of 240 metres.
There was once a man who lived in London but had always wanted to visit Scotland and in particular, Loch Ness where the infamous creature was reputed to reside. Although he was aware that it has never been officially substantiated that the creature exists, he just felt the desire to visit the area out of curiosity. Additionally, he desired to view the beautiful surroundings appertaining to the location with the vain hope that he might just glimpse something to verify his own particular beliefs. He found a five-day excursion which included a two-night stay in a hotel situated by the loch.
While he was waiting to board the coach in Victoria Coach Station, he went into a nearby shop and purchased a bottle of Coca Cola and a packet of Liquorice Allsorts to enjoy on the long journey ahead. It was envisaged that the travel time would take at least seventeen hours with two overnight stopovers in Liverpool. One on the outward journey and one on the return.
As the passengers boarded the coach, the seats opposite where he was sitting were taken by a married couple who were accompanied by their young son. The boy sat next to the man to be adjacent to his parents. As the boy was quite young and relatively small, he didn’t take up much room and so the man was not perturbed by his presence. There was still plenty of space for him to be comfortable and move around freely.
As they were travelling along the M1 motorway, he opened the packet of sweets and chose a coconut roll, one of his favourites. He replaced the packet into his small weekend holdall and placed it between the two seats. A little while later he noticed that the boy had removed the bag of sweets from his holdall and was helping himself to the contents. The boy then replaced the bag in between the two seats for further ease of access. The man was horrified at this action and thought to himself that the lad had such a nerve. He certainly needed to be taught some manners which had obviously been lacking in his upbringing to date. Every time the man decided to have another sweet, the boy would do the same. The man felt that the boy was being extremely cheeky and quite rude by helping himself without even asking, but shrugged it off as the boy was so young and he didn't want to make a scene in front of his parents.
When all the sweets had gone except the last one, much to his amazement, the boy offered it to the man. He smiled at the boy and took it. When they reached their first-night destination they got off the coach and the man went to his appointed room in the hotel, as he unpacked his bag, he noticed that the bag of Liquorice Allsorts that he had purchased was still in his bag, virtually intact. A dreadful feeling of shame and guilt came over him and he began to feel contrition. He suddenly realised that he had been helping himself to the boy's bag of sweets and the young lad had been too polite and well brought up to say a word about it. The boy had, in fact, been quite correctly raised to share all that he had. The man was the one who had been impolite and intrusive on the boy’s possessions. In his mind, he had unjustly accused the boy of theft.
The moral of this story could be described as “False impressions are easy to acquire. But, the act of contrition has greater power.” We should heed the words of George Eliot who once remarked: "Don't judge a book by its cover." This is a metaphorical phrase that means: "One should not judge the worth or value of something by its outward appearance alone." Isaiah 6:7 reminds us: "And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
Amen.
