I sometimes wonder whether we are living in an era where people are becoming more and more complacent or taking things for granted when it comes to sin. For example, when it comes to Lent and Advent, the number of faithful who come for the Sacrament of Reconciliation seems to depend on when and where confession takes place. At the beginning of Lent or Advent, the number of faithful who come for confession seem so few, so much so that at times, it seems as if the number of priests who have come to listen to confession are more than the faithful present. Yet, towards the end of Lent or Advent, the numbers seem to swell up tremendously, and the priests present find it difficult to cope. Some faithful even take their sweet time to come, sometimes quite late at night, and expect the priests to still be there.
In contrast to the way some faithful are when it comes to sin, today's reading tells us of the prophet Isaiah who had a mystical vision of the holiness of God. The prophet confessed his sinfulness, and subsequently he was cleansed and healed of his sinfulness, because he experienced the overwhelming glory of God. Not only that, the mystical experience also made him readily and willingly respond to God's call to be His messenger.
If we realise, just as the prophet Isaiah did, the magnitude of God's holiness, and how incompatible sin is to God, then surely we should make every effort to go for confession more often, instead of just waiting for Lent or Advent to come by. Have some of us become so lax or have a "tidak apa" attitude or "don't care" attitude when it comes to sin? Or have some of us have the misguided notion that sin should be accumulated into one lump sum before seeking confession? Let us not be caught off guard or unprepared, and make more effort to seek confession when possible, as our eternal future may be at stake.
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