And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” - Mark 1:11

Today’s’ gospel talks about how John the Baptist proclaimed himself as a man of God and how a swarm of people came out to hear him and to further be influenced by him. John the Baptist was proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This baptism symbolizes an act that should be accompanied by a change deep within us and in the way we look at the purpose of life and how we live it ourselves. It is closely related to repentance which we usually comprehend as “being sorry” for something we have done. Well, I hate to break it to everyone but, repentance and baptism is more than just a clean slate and saying you’re sorry. The same way goes for God’s forgiveness. It is more than Him wiping out the guilt and remorse and punishment that go with our sins. The damage that our sins do often lasts for a very long time and cannot be undone.

As humans, it is normal for us to make mistakes. As for me, I've been really good at making them. Often, we find ourselves waking up and finding ourselves trapped under the weight of every bad thing that has ever happened to us. We feel some sort of unexplained pain in our hearts and tend to become someone who we thought we’d never be and do things that we said we’d never do. More often than not, these “things” that we've done are sinful. It may seem morbid to think about, but there are some people who seem to be obsessed with the idea of sin. But then there are people like me who don't spend very much time thinking about sin at all. I tell myself that I don't think about sin that much because I'm that much confident in God's grace for me. I tell myself that it is okay to keep on doing the wrong things and chasing those “temporary highs” for a fleeting moment of satisfaction, only to end up with a sense of solitude and misery. The feeling of being alone has never ever felt good. Having the weight of the world on your own shoulders is anything but cute. However, since everything has a bright side, the thought of His forgiveness through baptism relieves me of this hollowness that seems to occupy my heart.

Jesus calls us to repent not because he wants us to dwell on our sin but because he wants to get that barrier out of the way. There is a need to reexamine our hearts and get the sin out of the way so that God's grace can pour in all the more. This love, sets us free from our tendency towards sin and isolation. This love surrounds us and stretches beyond the bounds of this life and takes us home- back to our home with God. Sin will always be a part of our lives- a part of us. But what’s important is that we should try to practice believing in the Good News- that God's mercy is never-ending, that God's forgiveness is merely the means to the end of knowing God and coming home to his arms. 

-Nicole Aquino