Penance can be a powerful healer of relationships.
My wife Celeste loved the TV series, “Hill Street Blues.” It had its perverse side, but the drama could be riveting.
In one memorable episode, the precinct sergeant hears that a vicious criminal has been released from prison. This criminal had been serving a long sentence for attempting to murder the cop. No one knows where the criminal is now, but he has put out word that he is looking for the policeman. All through the program, the sergeant is looking over his back and wondering what will happen to him.
In the final scene, they confront each other in a dark alley. The ex-con approaches hesitantly, and haltingly says, “When you met me, I was a violent man. But now I am different because I have repented of my sins. Jesus Christ has made me clean. I am sorry for what happened. This is all I own, and I want you to have it.”
He hands the sergeant a tattered Bible and disappears into the darkness. Astounded, the sergeant stares down at the Bible as the screen fades out.