Luke 19: 8—10
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
--NIV
In the name of the One Who came to seek and save what was lost, amen.
The sinner repents and shows his repentance by his deeds; how do you measure up? Let me put it another way, "Talk is cheap." It is easy for us to say we are sorry. It is easy for us claim to be repentant, but if our repentance is not accompanied by appropriate action, then it is nothing more than empty talk. The repentant thief will do his best to return what he stole. The adulterer leaves his life of adultery. The murderer confesses. Such actions show true repentance. On the other hand, if we continue to make use of, continue on in, or cover up our sin, then our repentance is false.
Now, when doing the appropriate action of repentance (this is called penance—an attempt to restore what we have destroyed, stolen etc. It comes from the heart and is not commanded by anyone.), we should not do it in such away that we lead others to sin. For example, if we stole something and we can return what we stole without our victim ever knowing who it was that stole from him, then we should not go and confess to that person because then that person has to struggle with forgiving us. Why put the person through such pain. The same holds true for marital infidelity; why hurt our partner with the painful truth if they do not know about our unfaithfulness? The burden is ours, not theirs. Why should they be forced to carry the burden, while suddenly our conscience is salved because we have "confessed" our sin? Why should the other person be made to struggle with the hate, anger, and jealousy? Rather go confess to your pastor, and let the innocent victim remain innocent.
So, how do you measure up? Do you live your repentance? Or do you merely speak empty words? If you are having trouble living your repentance, then go and dine with your Savior. In the Holy Supper that He gives you is the power to live the new life. In the Word that He feeds you is the strength to be what He wants you to be. May you be blessed by the presence of your Savior at your table. Amen.
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, you are loving and kind because You go and eat with sinners. May we be among those sinners with whom You eat. Send us Your Holy Spirit to give us the strength to show our repentance by appropriate acts of penance, amen.