Retreat and repent

Fr. Dan Debano
RR Ministerial

In the military, when a retreat is ordered, the dutiful soldier immediately turns around and goes in the opposite direction. This common military command serves to protect the soldiers and allows them the chance to regroup.
As we prepare for “Election Day”, it can be seen as a retreat. As we press on in the battle of self-denial, taking up our daily crosses, we are faced with countless situations in which our course needs to be redirected. When we fail to follow the Lord’s commands and His way of love, we must turn ourselves around through repentance.
By repenting, we are doing essential things: acknowledging that we have turned away from God and making a hasty retreat from sin, back to Him. In Ezekiel (18:21-28) it is very clear what happens to us when we sin: “And if the virtuous person turns from the path of virtue to do evil, the same kind of abominable things that the wicked person does, can he/she do this and still live?...he must die” (Ezek 18:24).
When a soldier obeys the command to retreat, he turns away from danger and saves his life. There is no victory for him in disobedience. It actually may cost him his life. He must master this principle early in his training. In the same way, our spiritual obedience will restore our lives. Sin leads only to death, but when we obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit calling us to repentance, we turn away from darkness to the Light of Christ, to the One who wants us to have eternal life with Him. This is the ultimate victory. Clearly, repentance is a daily spiritual exercise we must master and execute whenever we have turned our backs on God.
As our community tries to find new and innovate ways to revitalize our town, maybe we should first ask our Lord to provide us with the humility and courage to repent. Without forgiveness we will make no progress toward revitalization and success. Maybe a good place to start is by giving thanks for all the wonderful blessings our Lord has given to our town of Rainy River, to each of us, and to our families.
If you haven’t been to a place of worship lately, make time this week to join us and the many other members of “YOUR” community who do. Don’t be afraid to show God by your actions that you truly want his forgiveness, and in return he will shower you and our community with His many blessings.