Joy in Repentance

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, January 25, 2026:
​Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Matthew 
4.12-17

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the Prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

​Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Repentance. That word used to scare me. I would hear it and immediately envision darkness and sin. I would picture a heavy burden that I had to put down through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And that was even scarier for me! I had a rough experience in Confession as a child and have allowed that to keep me away from the healing of this beautiful Sacrament far too frequently. So, I sludge through life, carrying my heavy backpack and adding to it from time to time despite knowing that, as Jesus says, the Kingdom of Heaven is near. 

I recently had two occasions to gain an understanding of how misplaced my fear of repentance is. The first was at a parish mission that taught on the freedom and joy of repentance and the gift of surrender. Repentance results in salvation and salvation literally means to be set free. I came to understand that I can repent by looking at areas of my life that require examination and specifically looking at where my eyes are focused – on myself or on Christ and others.  When my eyes are focused inwardly, my thoughts and reactions are selfish. It’s too much of my time … my resources … someone else will take care of that … it’s an inconvenience right now.  When my eyes are focused on Christ, my whole thought process changes.  How can I help … serve … love? The burdens I am carrying become much lighter when I focus my eyes on Christ and live in service.

The second occasion came about through my beautiful granddaughter who, in preparation for receiving Eucharist for the first time, was also preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. She was experiencing more angst than any seven-year-old should as she prepared! Her mother shared that the night before she was to receive the sacrament, she very seriously said, “I have seven years’ worth of stuff to tell the priest! I’ll be there for a long time, and he probably won’t let me back in the church afterward.”  While we chuckled about this, I was also struck by the simplicity of her ability to know that her eyes weren’t always focused where they needed to be focused on. The day she made her First Confession, we all gathered at the teaching Mass and waited for her outside the makeshift confessional. We could see through the window as she very seriously spoke with our pastor. The back of her head was bobbing as she shared her seven years with him. Soon, he broke into a huge smile and opened his arms wide, embracing her in a huge hug. The door opened and she skipped out of the confessional, jumping up into her daddy’s waiting arms, having been set free.

The kingdom of heaven is indeed near. There is great joy and freedom in repentance. Let me always approach the Father’s arms with the simplicity and belief of a little child.




​Sandy Graves

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