Another calendar year has come and gone, and Chrysostom Academy is back in full swing. Even though we are only two weeks in, there have been several tests and quizzes given, and students are frantically studying. Yet, the memory of last semester still hangs over the school, with the possibilities of the New Year not fully setting in. The question I often ask myself at the beginning of any new calendar year is how can we move into this New Year and embrace all it has to offer us?
There is a cliché, oftentimes heard in Christian circles, that used to really annoy me: Let Go and Let God. Many, if not most of you, have heard it. Many may love it. But, perhaps, maybe some of you are even wincing at the sound of it. What exactly this means depends on who you ask, but one meaning I have been pondering at the beginning of this New Year is the answer to my question.
Within the services of the Church we often pray for the “remission of sins.” The Greek phrase used is “αφεσιν αμαρτιων,” and while remission is an adequate translation, there is another word we can use which fits this better. Remission in English tends to acknowledge at least a remembrance of something. Something was there, but now it is not. When someone is in remission from cancer, the memory of that experience hangs over them, often clouding the progress being made against the cancer. This cloud of remembrance can often distort the good that is happening around them. To solve this seeming contradiction, we can turn to Holy Scripture. In Ps 27.7, the blessed Psalmist asks God to remember not the sins of his youth. This seems to go beyond a mere remission. Remission leaves a memory of what was, meaning God remembers our sins even though He forgives us. So how do we reconcile this remembrance of sin with the petition for God not to remember sin? The answer lies in another meaning for the word Ἄφεσις, and that is release. Release is a full letting go of what was without holding onto even a memory of it. Anecdotally, I have heard priests talk about the mercy given them in confession where they do not remember the sins confessed to them once confession is over. This mercy from God is the exact mercy we beg of Him, to release us of our sins to the point He Himself does not have a trace of their memory in Him.
This opens up a huge opportunity for us as well. Within the Lord’s prayer, we ask God to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. However, the word used for forgiveness is ἄφες, meaning, we can translate the phrase as, “release us from our trespasses, as we release others who trespass against us.” In Latin, the phrase is often translated as, “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. This year is a perfect year to put this into practice. We can, and should pray for our release from sins, but more importantly, also release those who may have wounded us. So this year is the perfect year to truly Let Go and Let God. Release those around you from whatever negative emotion you are holding for them, as God has released our sins.
As always, in the Last words of St. John Chrysostom, Glory To God for All Things!
John W. Heitzenrater, II A.B., M.H.M.
Headmaster
jheitzenrater@chrysostomacademy.org
610-427-2758