The Gates of Repentance - Fr. Gregory - March 2, 2025

On this Forgiveness Sunday (also referred to as Cheesefare Sunday), the church commemorates the exile of Adam and Eve from Paradise. They had complete freedom in the Garden of Eden to choose obedience to God, to choose to not eat from the tree. However, they chose to eat of the tree and not keep this original fast. Fr. Gregory explains that Lent, which beings after Forgiveness Sunday, represents our journey back to Paradise. During this journey, we have the choice to be obedient to God and keep the fast, practicing self-control, obedience, and humility.Fr. Gregory then addresses forgiveness, which Christ addresses in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 6. He references a book, “Forgiving What You Can’t Forget” by Lysa TerKeurst, sharing six main points from the book.Finally, he encourages us to remember the hymn we sing as we enter Lent, which says, “Open unto me the gates of repentance.” He reminds us that Lent is our return to Paradise, our chance to choose obedience and repentance.