NOTES for Dan 9:8

When we speak of repentance, we sometimes mean by it something that, from a biblical point of view, is not repentance at all. We most often understand the word “repentance” as an acknowledgment of our sinfulness and worthlessness, necessarily followed by self-flagellation and timid promises to correct ourselves in the future, if we manage it, and to begin a new life, if we succeed.

Yet both the Hebrew word and the corresponding Greek word translated into Russian as “repentance” mean “turning.” Thus the chief thing in repentance is not self-flagellation or promises, or even awareness of one’s sin, although that, too, is of course necessary, but the resolve to turn to God. To turn as one is, without wishing to embellish the situation somehow or to “become better” through one’s own strength.

The desire to look more presentable in God’s eyes is of course quite understandable. It need not necessarily be a matter of fearing punishment: after all, one always wants to appear at one’s best in the eyes of someone one loves, sometimes even better than one truly is. Yet these attempts are useless: God already knows each of us through and through. He sees right through us, and nothing can be hidden from Him anyway.

Daniel does not try to hide anything from Him or to embellish the situation. Turning to God, he says to Him directly: all truth and all righteousness belong to You, while we have nothing but our sins. This is not self-abasement, but a simple, sober view of himself, his people, and their history. And at the same time it is hope that a new life is nevertheless possible, possible because the desire for this new life is present not only in Daniel personally but in the whole people.

So is the desire for a new life enough by itself? Can all the sins of the past be forgotten and never recalled? Both yes and no. It is absolutely necessary to become aware of one’s sins and mistakes, primarily in order not to repeat them. But what sense is there in tormenting oneself for them?

God does not need our self-flagellation in any form or shape. He is not a sadist who wants to punish the sinner as severely as possible. Nor will self-flagellation help us: to depart from sin, we need only to understand what happened and resolve never to act that way again. The rest is God’s work; He knows how to sustain our readiness to resist our sins. The main thing is that this readiness should exist. Daniel understands that it does. And he turns to God, asking Him to support those who are ready to renounce a sinful life and follow Him, choosing His path, the path that leads to life.

Every person has moments when he realizes that he is sinful. Daniel speaks of common guilt (Dan. 9:5), without denying it and without excusing himself by saying that he was not the only one who sinned. And he contrasts these sins not with some "other fellow," but with the holiness and beauty of God Himself. Daniel looks at the Lord, being purified beneath His merciful gaze, which will be revealed to the world in Jesus.

Jesus also speaks of God's mercy, reminding the Jews of Old Testament truths. But He goes further: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful," calling them to action and imitation. Verse 38 appears contradictory, but this is what God's mercy, His law, looks like. In the second part of the verse we read about the eternal inequality of our relationship with God: He simply cannot give less, less than His Incarnation, Love, and Cross. By these gifts of His we test everything we do in the world.

Today we read the penitential prayer of the prophet Daniel. Daniel is a man who remained faithful to God through the hardest trials. In essence, he has every right to say: "Lord, see how much I have endured for Your name, and I have remained faithful to You." But Daniel looks at the situation differently. He does not separate himself from his people. "We, Your people, have sinned before You and have departed from Your commandments." Daniel turns to the Lord on behalf of the whole people, who may be occupied with their own affairs and not thinking about repentance at all. On behalf of all he says: "Righteousness belongs to You, and shame is on our faces." He does not check what expression is on the faces of those around him; he brings the Lord his own repentance, his own shame for everyone. And God is pleased with this prayer of Daniel.

In today's reading the Lord calls us not to remember how many times we personally acted correctly, but to receive today's state of things as our own pain and our own shame, and to bring Him our repentance for everything that has happened and is happening in our families, in the Church, in the country, and in the world. And if we do not look for the guilty and separate ourselves from others, He will have the opportunity to act.