The joy of starting over

HOW do you tell a sad person from a happy one? A sad person is trapped in his past; a happy person lives in the present. A sad person feels he is continually regressing; a happy person sees progress despite his failures. A sad person is full of regrets; a happy person burns with hope. A sad person sees a dead end ahead of him; a happy person envisions a new beginning.

In today’s gospel reading, the lawyers and Pharisees wanted to condemn to death a woman who had been caught in adultery, thereby imprisoning her in her sordid past, depriving her of any opportunity to become better. But when she was presented to Jesus, He instead gave her the opportunity to break free from her past and forge a better future for herself. Jesus did this without recriminations, no threat of any disfavor or censure, just pure and unconditional mercy and forgiveness. (Luke 8:1-11)

But Jesus also advised her to sin no more. This means that a fresh start does not mean just letting go of the past, but doing whatever it takes to get out of the rut one has been stuck in. It means breaking free from the chains of addiction, obsession, and other debilitating habits; and reinforcing those virtues that help us to level up to our God-given potentials.

Sometimes, when our past is ridden with guilt and shame, we tend to retreat in a cocoon, wallowing in self-disgust or endless rationalization. We create our own prison and refuse to come out. We are like the disciples of Jesus who hid themselves when they realized the tragic effect of their betrayal. They “locked all doors”(John 20:19). But in the same gospel, we read the good news: although the disciples had locked the doors, Jesus came and stood before them.

Indeed, we cannot lock Jesus out because Jesus is never outside. Jesus does not come from without; He appears from within. This is what hope is all about: not an eruption of baseless expectations, but the promise of hopedfor possibilities. With hope in our hearts, even in our gloomiest and darkest nights, we know God is with us — as the Spirit that enables us to cope with every failure and sin of the past, transforming us into a new creation.

This is precisely God’s message to the Israelites in the first reading of today’s Mass: “Do not dwell on the past, or be obsessed with the things of old. Look, I am making all things new and make them spring forth. Do you not see? I am opening up a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah:43:17-18).

And St. Paul in the Second Reading says: “Forgetting what is behind me, I race forward, and run towards the goal, with my eye on the prize — Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:14).

Yes, every day brings a promise of a new beginning. If, despite your best efforts, you still find yourself imprisoned in the walls of past hurts, failures, and sins, Harold Sala’s song can help you shatter these walls and break free.

With the past behind you, let it slip away.

If it still pursues you, turn away For, there is nothing that you have done

For which the Lord did not atone. With the past behind you, let its memory dim.

Let its haunting shadows fade away. You are really free to choose another course

Because Christ took your sins and cast them all away.

With the past behind you, walk into TODAY.