“The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners —-of whom I am the worst16 but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen”. — 1 Timothy 1: 15-17
God is our Father who sent His Son, “the image of the invisible God,” the “firstborn over all creation” to heal us and help us find our way to the telos (goal) of being / existence. — Colossians 1:15-23. Apart from this revealed telos we are adrift in philosophical cluelessness, conjectures, and endless scientific and metaphysical speculations.
God follows us by His grace, the undeserved kindness of His love.
The late Harvard philosopher, Paul Tillich, was not wrong when he wrote in a sermon,
“Grace is the reunion of life with life, the reconciliation of the self with itself. Grace is the acceptance of that which is rejected. Grace transforms fate into a meaningful destiny; it changes guilt into confidence and courage. There is something triumphant in the word grace: in spite of the abounding of sin grace abounds much more.”
The word “salvation” originates from the Latin salvatio, meaning “a saving, rescue, or preservation,” which itself derives from salvus, meaning “safe,” or “sound”.
“In a broader linguistic sense, the Greek equivalent σωτηρία (sótēria) carries similar meanings of “deliverance, preservation, and safety”, meaning “to save” or “to deliver”— [Source: Bible Hub]
In the Latin Salve comes from the imperative form of salveo, to be well/in good health, or to heal. Note that this health can be physical or spiritual -salvation-, (hence God save you.)” –(ibid.)
The contingencies of existence often find us falling, stumbling, even sometimes revolting. God the Father is not surprised on account of all this. Our contradictions and wounds in the battle against errors and wrong directions are an inevitable part of the journey back to ultimate Reality which is fraught with tribulations of all kinds. Our finitude assures that while we will inevitably lose our way at times He follows us, seeks us out to call us back, back to sanity, to order, coherence and love which is the fullness of being.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation (or Confession) is not a place of punishment. It is a space for re-gathering, re-collecting out souls in truth, where we take stock of where we are. It is the Father’s embrace.
We are told we must fear God because He alone tells us the Truth.
“Let God be true and every man a liar” who contradicts this Truth (Rom.3:4)
Fearing God only means that we must not fool ourselves and deliberately persist in the wrong direction. For then we risk total disintegration and miss the goal of being. We beg for punishment if we allow our misdirection to become permanent.
But that’s not what God wants for us. The brutal execution, the Cross of Christ, tells us that. The second Person of the Holy Trinity came into the world and embraced our finitude to bear the punishment for our sins — and to call us safely Home. He redeemed our sufferings, He redeemed our strayings, and, as the Canon of the Mass tells us, He redeemed “our countless sins”.
What more could we ask?
“The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”— 2 Peter. 3:9
We should not miss this gift of healing for the world.
They are numbered psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143 in the Hebrew numbering.
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