Yesterday, I was reading an entry by the poet Scott Cairns. He wrote about repentance, which is a central part of the Christian life and which the Church emphasizes in Advent as a way of “making room” for Jesus’ entry into the world. I heard long ago that “to repent” means “to turn.” And I’ve always thought of it as turning away from sin, as if I’m walking down a road towards a dark place and something stops me in my tracks so that I turn around entirely and head back towards the light. 

Cairns wouldn’t disagree with me, I don’t think, but he emphasizes the importance not of turning away from sin, but of turning towards God: “Our specific hope lies in turning toward. As a result, the sin we suffered is behind us just the same, but that sin is no longer the power that occasioned our turn.” 

In other words, if all I’m turning away from sin because the sin itself sickens me, but not because the love of God compels me, then sin still motivates my action. Instead, ideally I would turn towards God because love and truth and goodness draw me close. 

As we prepare to receive the Light of the World once again this year, may I be drawn to the light even more than I shun the darkness.