Because of the Cross… Repentance Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God, saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe the good news.’ Mark 1:15 The first time Jesus appears, in the first gospel, the first instruction he gives is “Repent.” From then on, it’s his most consistent message. In all times and every situation, his advice is to repent. Not just the scribes and Pharisees, not just the powerful – he tells even the poor and oppressed that repentance is the key to eternal life. (Frederica Mathewes-Green, From The Illuminated Heart: The Ancient Christian Path of Transformation)

“The popular understanding of Lent is that it is a penitential period of time during which people attempt to become more sensitive to the role of sin in their lives.”… “Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God, saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe the good news.’” (Mark 1:15) This call to conversion announces the solemn opening of Lent. Participants are marked with ashes, and the words of blessing are prayed, “Repent, and believe the good news.” This ritual act is understood as personal acceptance of the desire to take on the life of penance for the sake of the Gospel. For forty days, the example of Jesus in the desert fasting and praying is imitated. It is time to center attention on conversion. During Lent, the expectation is to examine our lives and, through the practice of prayer, fasting, and works of charity, seek to conform our lives to Christ. It is a call to conversion. For some, it will be a turning from sin to grace. For others, it will be a gracious turning toward the mystery of God in Christ. (From: The Essential Lenten Handbook, A Daily Companion)

How is the call to repent a call to conversion?

What does the call to repent mean to you right now?

How is repentance larger than “just” regretting sin?

Here are a few definitions of Repentance: • • •

Regret for any past action. To feel sorry, self-reproachful, or contrite for past conduct; to be conscience-stricken about a past action, attitude, etc. To feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one’s life for the better; be penitent.

In the last of these, we see the Christian view that we are called to add “conversion” to “regret” to achieve “repentance”.

A Traditional Psalm about Repentance: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; According to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, So that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, And my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:1-17

How important was Repentance to Jesus? Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.” Matthew 21:31-32 These were [Jesus’] instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.” They went out and preached that people should repent. Mark 6:8-12 Jesus answered [the Pharisees], “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:31-32

Repentance is related to forgiveness, refreshment, works, and the Spirit: Peter replied [to the people who asked what they should do after hearing his message], “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” Acts 3:19 [During Paul’s defense to the King he said this:] “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” Acts 26:19-20 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, In quietness and trust is your strength, But you would have none of it. Isaiah 30:15

Repentance is different that simple regret or sorrow: Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 Corinthians 7:10

Repentance is one of the basics – we have to “get this” to mature: Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. Hebrews 6:1

Prayers of Confession and of Examen help us as we seek to repent. John Ortberg points out that people don’t talk much about sin anymore. He quotes Cornelius Plantinga, who wrote: “The awareness of sin used to be our shadow. Christians hated sin, feared it, fled from it, grieved over it.…. In today’s group confessionals it is harder to tell. The newer language of Zion fudges: ‘Let us confess our problem with human relational adjustment dynamics, and especially our feebleness in networking.’ Or, ‘I’d just like to share that we just need to target holiness as a growth area.’ Where sin is concerned, people just mumble now.” (From John Ortberg’s The Life You’ve Always Wanted)

“God never despises “a broken and contrite heart,” says the Psalmist (Ps 51:17). But the real question for us in the modern world is: how do we experience a contrite heart? A grieving, broken, sorrowing, repentant heart? We begin by asking. I wish that did not sound so trite, for it is the deepest truth we can ever know about our turning toward God. We simply cannot make heart repentance happen. It is not something that we cause to come about by creating a certain kind of mood with a certain kind of atmosphere and a certain kind of music. It is a gift from God, pure and simple. But it is a gift that God loves to bestow upon all who ask…. Second, we confess. We acknowledge our lack of faith, our distance, our hardheartedness. Before a loving and gracious Father we declare our sins without excuse or abridgment: unbelief and disunity, arrogance and self-sufficiency, and offenses too personal to name and too many to mention…. Third, we receive. Our God, who is faithful and just – and also full of mercy – will forgive and will cleanse…. Fourth, we obey. It is not enough to ask God for a heart soft and broken when there is space for repentance. It is not enough to confess freely and openly our many offenses. Embedded in the word of forgiveness is the call to obedience.” (From Richard Foster’s Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home)

So as you reflect on Repentance today, what is the call to you? At your table, read again Psalm 51, or any of the other Scriptures in the handout. Where do you find a conviction? An invitation? A desire to pray more, differently, or anew about a place in your life where repentance is needed?

Might you be willing to commit to do just that as one of your own Lenten disciplines?

How has repentance blessed your life? Where have you not yet repented, and what has that withholding cost you?

Anything else you’d like to talk about in your small table group, feel free! Is “celebrating Lent” a new idea for you? If so, what do you hope it will mean to you as we try to do so this year?

A closing prayer: Let the shadow on our soul lift. Let the gloom of our sin be dispelled. Let the ring of self-awareness break the silence. Let the fire of repentance blaze hot. Let the cry of thankfulness bellow out. Let the ashes of justice fall on the neighbor. CHRIST IS ALL AND IN ALL. Amen. Amen. Amen. (A prayer written by Francis Mitchell)