Many of you will remember Terry Anderson. He was the journalist who was held as a hostage in Lebanon along with others we don’t remember for 2,454 days! But few of know that he had been raised in the Catholic Church. Even though he had not been a practicing Catholic for years, however, the Bible was given to him during his captivity. He said it came to him as a gift from heaven. He read. He pondered his life. He had lots of time to ponder his life. Too much time to ponder his life. He began a litany of confession in his mind. He confessed that he had hurt his first wife and daughter. He had made many mistakes. He had been a very arrogant person. He wasn’t sure that people liked him much. He wasn’t sure he liked himself very much.
Later in the first year of his captivity Anderson became aware of the fact that other hostages were living next door. One was a priest. Father Lawrence Jenco. He asked his captors if he could see the priest. “I am a Catholic,” he told them. “I want to make a confession.”
His wish was granted. Father Jenco came to his room. They both took off their blindfolds. Anderson hardly knew where to begin. It had been 25 years since he had last made confession. Father Jenco was encouraging. Anderson began reciting to this priest the sins he had been reflecting upon. There was much to confess. A bad marriage. Chasing women. Drinking. Anderson found it a very emotional experience. When he finished both he and Father Jenco were in tears. Father Jenco then laid his right hand upon Anderson’s head. “In the name of a gentle, loving God, you are forgiven,” the priest proclaimed.
Terry Anderson’s faith deepened immensely in his hostage years. This moment of confession with Father Jenco, however, was his first formal step back into the church. Self-reflection had grown within him out of the darkness of his hostage encounter. It was time to face the light. It was time in his life for a turn around.”
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Richard A. Jensen, Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit, CSS Publishing, Lima, Ohio, 1994.
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[Original illustration at this number was replaced by this more current one]