Many years ago in England, two brothers were convicted of stealing sheep. Now at that time, the penalty for this crime was to be branded on the forehead with the letters “ST” for Sheep Thief. This meant that for the rest of your life you would carry that mark upon your forehead for everyone to see and know what you did.
Now one of the brothers was unable to bear that stigma, so he fled to a foreign land where he lived and died in bitterness and shame.
The other brother, however, chose not to run away. He realized he couldn’t flee from his crime, so he chose to deal with the situation as best he could and change his way of life; hoping to regain the respect of his family, neighbors, as well as his own.
It wasn’t easy bearing that brand, but as the years passed the man gradually established a reputation for his integrity and respectability, his honesty and worth. Then one day a stranger was passing through the village and noticed this old man coming out of church with the letters “ST” branded on his forehead. Perplexed, he asked one of the local people what that meant. The villager pondered a while, weighing the man’s one-time indiscretion as compared to the life he now lived which was governed by godliness, truth, righteousness, kindness, and love, and then replied, “You know, it all happened so long ago that I can’t remember the particulars…but I think the letters are an abbreviation for the word “Saint.”
Those who choose to follow Christ are not defined by what they’ve done, but by what they do!
Fr. John
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