Some Penance makes sense, other Amends have no logical account, but the best Atonement is pure unadulterated Wisdom. God makes no mistakes, His Virtual-Method means business and religious advocates know His-Righteous-Ways. Jesus was scorned for leaving His Parent’s Caravan; during adolescence Punishment might seem Irrational, but is Necessary-for-Growth. But irrational people might question the Almighty’s Love for all the wrong reason.

“Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.”  But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’  Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 

Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean. (2 Kings 5:10-15 NABRE)

Jumping into a river to cleanse Leprosy sounds crazy and Naaman knew it. But Elisha was a Well-Spoken-Prophet who advocated Atonement-for-Sin; did our Lord speak through Elisha by mistake?  God often deals with us as Clay in a Potter’s-Hand; in His-Loving-Guidance souls are made Clean, Humble and Justified for others to notice His-Glorious-Understanding of Human-Frailty.