My mind is on the beautiful, fictional land of Narnia once again. You may remember me talking before about C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia book series in previous homilies. Right now I am reading book one in the series with the 6th and 7th graders at the school, so it’s not too surprising that a scene from Narnia came to mind as I was praying with the readings for this third Sunday of Easter. It is a scene where Father Christmas makes an appearance. Of course, we would know him as Santa, but C.S. Lewis was English, and in England, Santa is known by the name Father Christmas. Between you and me, I really prefer this name. Father Christmas just sounds cool!
The scene is from the book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and it occurs in a moment of great need for the main characters, Peter, Lucy and Susan Pevensie. If you’re not familiar with the story, the Pevensie children find their way into the magical land of Narnia by stepping through a magical wardrobe. They enter Narnia at a time where it is “always winter and never Christmas” by the curse of an evil witch. But their arrival, as was foretold, spells the end of the witch’s power. The children, along with Aslan, the Lion who is the true king of Narnia, will go to battle with the witch and her armies. But before that battle, the children are made ready by receiving special gifts from none other than Father Christmas himself.
The children are hiding in a large dam made by talking beavers who befriend them, when they hear the sound of a sledge (what we would call a sleigh) outside. They’re afraid it is the witch, who travels in a sleigh of her own, but it turns out not to be the witch at all, but Father Christmas. Here is that scene from the book:
It was a sledge, and it was reindeer with bells on their harness. But they were far bigger than the Witch’s reindeer, and they were not white but brown. And on the sledge sat a person whom everyone knew the moment they set eyes on him. He was a huge man in a bright red robe (bright as holly berries) with a hood that had fur inside it and a great white beard that fell like a foamy waterfall over his chest. Everyone knew him because, though you see people of his sort only in Narnia, you see pictures of them and hear them talked about even in our world – the world on this side of the wardrobe door. But when you really see them in Narnia it is rather different. Some of the pictures of Father Christmas in our world make him look only funny and jolly. But now that the children actually stood looking at him they didn’t find it quite like that. He was so big, and so glad, and so real, that they all became quite still. They felt very glad, but also solemn.
“I’ve come at last,” said he. “She has kept me out for a long time, but I have got in at last. Aslan is on the move. The Witch’s magic is weakening.”
And Lucy felt running through her that deep shiver of gladness which you only get if you are being solemn and still.
“And now,” said Father Christmas, “for your presents.”
Father Christmas tells them that these presents are tools to be used when the time is right. He gives Peter a sword and shield perfectly fitted for him. To Susan, he gives a bow and arrow which don’t easily miss, and a horn to blow to bring help when it is needed. Finally, he presents Lucy with a diamond vial containing the juice of a fire flower, of which just a few drops will revive anyone who is hurt. These tools end up being exactly what Peter, Susan and Lucy need in decisive moments of battle.
We gather to celebrate the victory of Jesus’ resurrection this Sunday and to remember the great gifts He has given us as Catholics. He truly has won the victory for us through His resurrection, and He appeared in His gloriously risen body to give the Apostles and others the certainty that He truly had conquered bodily death. This is why Jesus appears and reminds them that He actually has a body, which can still eat. Not just an apparition, He is truly raised from the grave and in His humanity, enjoys a new mode of existence.
Beyond giving the disciples a physical experience of His victory over the grave, He is also sending them into battle. Even though Jesus has won the war over sin and death, there is still “mop up work” to be done in the battles that continue for the human heart. Like Father Christmas, who shows up to give the children what they need for battle in Narnia, Jesus gives the Apostles the tools that will serve them well in the battles to be fought to bring more people into that definitive victory that Jesus has already won.
Jesus opens their minds to understand the scriptures and how they had all pointed to His victory. Then He says:
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.”
So Jesus sends out the Apostles to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins. We tend to think of repentance as a message reserved only for the Lenten season, but the truth is, the message of repentance is always there for us. What we heard from Peter in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles was him carrying out the Lord’s command. He says: “Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.” Even in the glory of the Easter season, when we recall the grace of our own baptism and celebrate the baptism of new members of the Church all over the world, we are called to continue turning back to the Lord. We are called to let Him win the battles within that we all still have.
Repentance really is an ongoing call in our lives. We are called to continue to turn away from sin and back to the Lord so that the power of His resurrection will more and more fully flood through our hearts. Even after being brought into the new life of the resurrection through our baptism, we still have battles to fight. And the great news is that Jesus gives us exactly what we need at every moment for that battle. Just as Father Christmas came bearing the gifts that would serve Peter, Susan and Lucy in battle, the Lord is always with us to give us what we need.
A great and powerful tool is given to each and every one of us in the Catholic Church in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. So often, we allow ourselves to lose those battles in our hearts when we turn away from God and give in to the world, our weak flesh, and the devil and his demons. Temptation is never far from any of us as we walk this life, and all too often we fail in the battle. That is why we need that ultimate tool, the unending fountain of mercy there for us through Reconciliation.
As we heard from the first letter of St. John today:
My children, I am writing this to you
so that you may not commit sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.
Jesus’ mercy overwhelms and wipes away our sins when we bring them to Him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Some Catholics have incorrectly stated that we do not need the Sacrament of Reconciliation, that we can simply go to God for forgiveness. Now from God’s end, it’s true that He can choose to forgive in many ways. He knows where a person’s heart is and can forgive them apart from the normal way of the Sacraments. For those outside of full Communion with the Church, we can trust that if they are sincerely seeking God for forgiveness, He is not going to turn them away. That is within His power.
I have heard it said that while God is not bound by the Sacraments, we are. For us within the Catholic Church, God has given us a normative way to encounter forgiveness, and that is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He has given the Church the Sacraments as the normative way that we know to encounter His grace and help when we’ve fallen into serious sin. Just recently, our Sunday Gospel contained that moment where Jesus shared His authority with His Apostles to forgive sins. It is this authority which is exercised in the Confessional in order to heal.
So let’s lean into the grace of God and hear His call to repentance during this season of joy, and not stay far from that great Sacrament of mercy. In this Sacrament, those grave sins which cut us off from the sanctifying grace of our baptism, and even the wounds of lesser, venial sins, are wiped away. Also, this Sacrament heals our communion with the body of the Church, which is damaged by our sin. What a marvelous and powerful gift the Sacrament of Reconciliation is! It allows us to be renewed and healed within in order to better love and serve God and our neighbors. When we stay away from this beautiful Sacrament of healing, it is like we are going out to battle bleeding and hobbling already! Let’s let the Lord heal us.
One of the precepts of the Church, the foundational expectations given to each of us as members of the Catholic Church, is to go to confession at least once a year. But let’s not stop at the minimum! Let’s take advantage of that gift of grace as often as we can. He is here for us to heal us! Availing ourselves of this Sacrament when we are aware of mortal sins also prepares us to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. By healing our communion with the Church in Reconciliation, we prepare ourselves to worthily receive the Sacrament of Communion: the Holy Eucharist!
The bottom line is that Reconciliation is a precious gift. I pray that we all use this gift to its fullest extent so that we can all be victorious in the battle of our Christian life, and so that we can draw more people to the joy of Jesus’ life by more fully living in His freedom ourselves!
+ Father, thank you for drawing our hearts to repentance so that we can know your abundant mercy. Jesus, we praise and thank you for the gift of healing mercy that you shower on us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Holy Spirit, help us not to stay away from this Sacrament, but come to it often so that we would be strengthened for our mission. We ask this through Christ, our risen Lord. Amen. +