Orthodox Health Repentance is a Miracle: Forgiveness Is the Doorway to Lent with Fr. John Wehling
The Church does not begin Great Lent with a productivity plan, a diet, or a heroic list. She begins Lent with a doorway... forgiveness.
In this Forgiveness Sunday episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast, Dr. Michael Christian & John sit back down with Fr. John Wehling to unpack why forgiveness isn’t sentimental, why it isn’t the same as reconciliation or access, & how the Rite of Forgiveness trains the heart for real repentance.
Fr. John ties Forgiveness Sunday to the Expulsion of Adam from Paradise, the first commandment as fasting, & the deeper reality: if we won’t forgive, our hearts won’t be able to repent... & Lent won’t “work” the way the Church intends.
Takeaways:
- Lent begins with reconciliation: before you pick up the fast, put down the grudge.
- Forgiveness ≠ reconciliation: forgiveness is not the same thing as trust, access, or pretending the wound was imaginary.
- Forgiveness as “loosing”: forgiveness separates the person from the sin as far as it’s within our power.
- Don’t feed the memory of injury: treat it like a tempting thought (don’t rehearse it; redirect it into prayer).
- Repentance is a miracle: despair paralyzes, but repentance is already grace at work (expose the wound & give the Physician a chance to treat it).
- A household practice of peace: asking forgiveness regularly trains the home for communion, not just “good behavior.”
Sound Bytes:
- “The Church is not starting Lent with a productivity plan. She's not starting with a diet. She's not starting it with a heroic list.”
- “However, she is starting it with a doorway & that doorway is forgiveness.”
- “Before you pick up the Fast, put down the grudge.”
- “Repentance makes anything possible.”
- “Repentance is a miracle.”
- “If you refuse to forgive somebody, your heart just won't work right.”
- “Lent is the school. It will teach you what repentance is.”
Chapters:
00:00 Opener
01:31 Forgiveness Sunday: The Doorway to Lent
06:33 Fr. John Wehling Returns
07:14 What Forgiveness Sunday Trains in Us
12:04 Adam’s Expulsion & Why the Church Starts Here
16:27 “Repentance Is a Miracle”
20:50 God’s Mercy: What Forgiveness Reveals
22:55 Forgiveness Vespers: The Rite of Mutual Forgiveness
29:50 Letting Go of Non-Orthodox Traditions
32:31 What Forgiveness Is (and Isn’t)
38:57 Sin, Redemption, & the Healing of the Heart
46:10 Jiu-Jitsu & the Passions
48:41 Confession & Forgiveness Sunday: How They Connect
52:09 The Royal Path of Confession
57:00 Tolkien “Grand Slam”
57:52 Forgiveness Inside the Family
01:03:33 When Forgiveness Isn’t Returned
01:06:54 Lingering Resentment on the Eve of Lent
01:12:51 Resentment’s Toll on the Body
01:17:24 Final Exhortation for Great Lent
01:22:12 Outro
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