By Water & Blood

On repentance

Concerning repentance.

But the divine Scripture not only forbids lawlessnesses, but also heals those who have received the wounds of these. For it abhors the savagery of Novatus, and accuses the shepherds who have not given this care to the sheep. And God himself says: “O shepherds, you have not strengthened what was weak, and you have not healed what was sick, and you have not made sound what was in a bad state, and you have not turned back what was wandering, and you have not sought what was lost.” And the One who accuses those who have not made this foresight clearly wishes the weak among the sheep to be counted worthy of healing; for this reason he said to the same prophet: “I have given you as a watchman to the house of Israel, and you will hear a word from my mouth, and you will warn him from me. When I say to the sinner, ‘You will die by death,’ and you do not distinguish for the sinner so as to warn the impious to turn him from his wicked way so that he may live, that lawless one will die in his lawlessness, but I will seek his blood from your hand.” And a little later: “As I live, says Adonai the Lord, that I do not wish the death of the sinner, as that he turn from his wicked way and live.” Then exhortatively: “Turn with turning from your wicked way; and why do you die, house of Israel?” Then he commands the prophet also to convey this word to them: “And you, son of man, say to the sons of your people: The righteousness of the righteous will by no means deliver him on the day on which he wanders; and the lawlessness of the lawless will by no means kill him on the day on which he turns from his lawlessness and does judgment and righteousness, and restores the pledge of a debtor, and will repay what he has seized. If the lawless one has walked in the commandments of life so as not to do injustice, he will live by life and will by no means die; all his sins which he has sinned will by no means be remembered against him, because he has done judgment and righteousness; in them he will live.”

And to Nebuchadnezzar the blessed Daniel offered the remedies of repentance. For “and now,” he says, “O king, let my counsel please you; and wash away your lawlessnesses in almsgiving, and your injustices in compassions for the poor.” And the prophecy of the divine Jeremiah is full of this teaching. For now he says: “Turn, you sons who have stood apart, and I will turn toward you, says the Lord God. Wash from wickedness your heart, Israel, so that you may be saved, lest the reasonings of your toils be found in you.” And again: “Does not the one who falls rise, or the one who turns away turn back?” And one can find very many other such admonitions with him. And the all-wise Isaiah also cries out: “When you turn and groan, then you will be saved, and you will know where you were when you trusted in the vain things.” And in the prologue, after going through very many lawlessnesses of the people and showing the disease hard to heal—“For there is not,” he said, “a poultice to apply, nor oil, nor bandages”—a little later he brought them the healing of repentance, to which he was saying: “Wash yourselves, become clean; remove your wickednesses from your souls before my eyes. Cease from your wickednesses; learn to do good; seek judgment; deliver the one being wronged from the hand of the one wronging him.” Then he promises to show them like white wool and snow, even if they should have a scarlet and crimson color. And this is possible for God alone; for the dyers change the white into other colors, but they are not able to change any other of the colors into white; but for the Maker all things are easy.

But we would lengthen the discourse beyond measure if we should collect all the exhortations of the prophets; for both the prophetic melody and the oracles of the other prophets are full of these. But those who have succeeded to the arrogance of Novatus say that after baptism one must not offer healing to those who sin. Yet they ought to have understood that the ancients also had as a type of the sacred mysteries the sprinklings and the divine rites. And so that from a great abundance we may refute this very folly, let us bring Aaron into the midst. For this man, having been anointed and appointed first high priest, and having received the grace of the divine Spirit, yielded to the impious requests of the lawless people, and constructed the image of the calf, and with the other Levites offered sacrifices; yet nevertheless he obtained forgiveness, and continued as high priest until the end. And the great David also, being a prophet and possessing the grace of the divine Spirit as a household companion, worked two grievous lawlessnesses, but healed the wounds through repentance, and was not stripped of the grace of the Spirit, but even after the sin prophesied many of the things that would be.

What would they say concerning the one in Corinth who had committed fornication, who had not only been counted worthy of divine mysteries, but had also obtained a teaching gift?—for which reason, when those under that one were thinking highly of themselves as of a wise and educated man, the divine Apostle accused them, saying: “And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, so that the one who has done this deed might be taken away from your midst.” Yet nevertheless, having handed over even one who was a teacher and had dared a very great lawlessness to Satan, he again snatched him from that one’s hands and gave him back to the body of the Church. And he writes thus in the second Letter: “And to whom you grant a favor, I also. For indeed if I have granted a favor to anyone, to whom I have granted a favor, it is for your sake.” And lest someone suppose him to have done this for the favor of human beings, he has added: “In the person of Christ”—that is, as the Master of all is watching, as knowing that this also is pleasing to him when it takes place. Whence he also adds the cause: “So that we may not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his thoughts. So that you rather grant a favor and comfort, lest somehow such a one be swallowed up by the more abundant grief.” Such compassion the teachers of the Church had; for they were spiritual physicians, guarding the health of those who were sound, and driving out the diseases of those who were in a bad state.

Working at this, he has also planted these things in the letters toward these: “Lest when I come again my God humble me toward you, and I mourn many of those who have sinned beforehand and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and sensuality which they practiced.” Thus he leads back toward salvation the Galatians who had turned aside from the faith, and who after the call of grace and the enjoyment of the divine mysteries had received circumcision and embraced the keeping of the legal observances; and he applies to them the remedies of repentance, and lets forth the voice of an affectionate mother: “My little children, for whom I am again in birth-pains until Christ is formed in you.”

And the Master Christ also has offered us this teaching through his own parables. For both the lost sheep and the coin that fell teach care for those who have sinned. And the prodigal son plainly signifies the transgression that has taken place after baptism. For having received the fitting portion of the father’s substance and having consumed this prodigally, he returned; yet nevertheless he was counted worthy of the first robe, and through the ring he recovered the divine image, and enjoyed the fatted calf, and arranged a very great feast for the father. And every teaching and act of the Lord teaches the healing of sinners—both the tax-collectors who were called, and the prostitute who approached, and the robber who believed, and the words of loving-kindness: “I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners to repentance. For those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are in a bad state.”

But if they say that these things took place before baptism, let them learn carefully that the first foundation of the Church was shaken, and was confirmed by the divine grace. For the great Peter, having denied three times, remained first, healed by his own tears. And the Master commanded him to offer this healing also to the brothers: “For you also,” he says, “when you have turned, strengthen your brothers.” And having given the disciples a type of prayer, he commanded them to say: “Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.” And this prayer we teach not to the uninitiated, but to those being initiated into the mysteries. For none of the uninitiated dares to say, “Our Father who are in the heavens,” not yet having received the gift of adoption. But the one who has obtained the gift of baptism calls God Father, as having been enrolled among the sons of grace. These, then, were commanded to say: “Forgive us our debts.”

Healable, therefore, are also the wounds that come about after baptism—healable not as formerly, when forgiveness was given through faith alone, but through many tears, and through lamentations and weeping and fasting and prayer and toil, measured to the quantity of the sin that has taken place. For we have been taught neither to forbid those who are disposed thus, nor to share the divine things readily. For “do not cast,” he says, “what is holy to the dogs, nor throw the pearls before the swine.” These laws concerning repentance the Church also holds.