Lesson 22
Why Did Jesus Forgive The Apostles?
I am sure glad that you are watching and listening to these Lenten Lessons on the Sacraments. One of my first duties as a priest is to teach the people what the Church has taught me. Although you might hear some people say that “ignorance is bliss”, in fact a “lack of knowledge” makes you very vulnerable.
We have just covered the three sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Holy Eucharist and Confirmation. Now it is time to turn our attention to the Sacraments of Healing, and they are Confession – also known as Reconciliation or Penance – and the other is the Anointing of the Sick, sometimes still referred to as the Last Rites.
I am going to dedicate six lessons to Confession because it is THAT important. It is the one sacrament that – theoretically – you could receive even more frequently than the Holy Eucharist, as there is no limit – other than common sense – to how often you can receive Absolution for your sins in the Sacrament of Confession.
But in order to understand this extraordinary gift of God’s Mercy, which is beautifully portrayed in Our Lord’s Parable of the Prodigal Son, it is important for us to reflect on the moment of the institution of this Sacrament. That happened on the first day of his Resurrection, on Easter Sunday in the evening, when Jesus suddenly and miraculously appeared in the Upper Room where all of the Apostles were gathered – all except Judas and Thomas. The Apostles were amazed, surprised and even incredulous when Jesus appeared. Then Jesus, as we read in the Gospel of St. John, chapter 20:21-23, Jesus breathed upon them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.” Isn’t that amazing? If we repent, we can get a second chance by making a good confession! There is forgiveness! There is redemption! And THAT is great news!
But please think about this for a minute – that moment of Institution. The last time all of them were together with Jesus was three nights before, on Holy Thursday, in the Upper Room, at the last Supper. And each of them, that very night, declared in public in front of Jesus and the others, and from the bottom of their heart that they would “never deny Jesus.” St. Peter declared that emphatically.
But then where were they when Jesus needed them the most? 12 hours later. The very next morning. On that fateful Good Friday morning when Jesus was put on trial – a mock trial – by Pontius Pilate, the Procurator gave the people a choice: Jesus – who did nothing wrong – or Barabbas, a murderer. And the crowd chose Barabbas and wanted to crucify Jesus. Where were the Apostles? They did not show up for Jesus. Had they showed up for Jesus and shouted at the top of their lungs for Jesus, maybe the rest of the crowd would have joined them, because public opinion and crowds are so fickle and so easily influenced by the loudest voices. But. They. Did. Not. And Jesus was crucified. Poor Jesus.
So when the resurrected Jesus showed up in the Upper Room the night of the Resurrection, they had to have been ashamed of themselves. Very ashamed. They had to expect Jesus would say something . . like “Where were you guys? Only John was there when I hung on the Cross.” Jesus could have scolded them, chewed them out, and humiliated them.
But no. Jesus did not say a word. Instead he smiled at them because he was very happy to see them. That was the moment of sublime Mercy, and that was the perfect moment to institute the Sacrament of Confession, because that is the sacrament of Mercy, Forgiveness and Joy.
So tune in every day of Lent to learn more about your Catholic faith, because if you Learn it, then you can Live it; and if you Live it, you will Love it; and if you Love it, you will never Leave it!
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