Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? – Isaiah 43:18-19
Did you know that I am a convert? Yes! I went through RCIA and became Catholic when I was 17 years old. One of my dearest childhood friends is Catholic, and I sensed something different and beautiful about her family’s faith. The way they cared for each other, the communities of their parish and schools, the beauty and mystery of the liturgy. I certainly did not know what “liturgy” meant back then! I just knew it was true, good, and beautiful even though I didn’t understand why. I was pretty rough around the edges back then. Well, maybe not just the edges. 😉
The point of sharing this is we all have past versions of ourselves that color the way we consider ourselves presently. We grow and change over time, so in a way, the people we were in our younger years are different people from who we are now. And as we continue to grow and change, we will become “new” in the future. I imagine that most people have things that they would have done differently in the past. That there were some rough edges and sinfulness and even downright ugliness of heart and action that each of us can point to and regret, even be ashamed of.
Here’s the Good News: by responding to God’s grace, we can and have changed in ways for the better. Listen for this theme in this Sunday’s readings. God tells the Israelites, “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; See, I am doing something new!” (Isaiah 43:18-19). God will bring forth springs in the deserts and “wastelands” of our lives to heal and transform them, making them spring forth new life.
In one of my favorite Bible verses, St. Paul talks about letting go of who he was in the past and instead focusing on who he will be with God’s grace: “…forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). St. Paul is not ashamed of the person he was in the past: Saul, who persecuted the Christians out of misguided zeal. No, he forgets the events of the past so he has the energy to strive toward Jesus’s calling in his life.
How can we leave past events and the people who we once were behind to be made new? Listen to Jesus’s words in our Gospel passage to the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). At the end of the ordeal, Jesus asks the woman where her accusers have gone. When she replies that they have not condemned her to death, leaving them alone, He shows her the way forward: “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more” (John 8:11). God does not condemn us for the sins of the past when we confess them with honesty. He forgives us, but doesn’t leave us to sit in that same sinful place. He directs us to lead pure lives without the stain of sin. Christ Himself makes us new. He tells us “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5).
Jesus, thank you for making me new again and again. I remember the great things you have done for me, and I am filled with joy! (Psalm 126:3). Please continue to heal the parts of me that are still wounded from the past so I can strive to be the person You want to fashion me into.