Repentance is a big important word

Two weeks ago, I invited us to reflect on what has been life giving over the last while, and to use Lent as a time to give more time to those things, and to fast from those things that take us away from life. And last week we spent time thinking about God’s faithfulness as expressed in the story in Genesis 15, and repeated through the law and the prophets, and in the life and teaching of Jesus, and the writings of Paul. Finally last week I talked about the theme “blessed to be a blessing.” This is not about us, but all of creation, and the invitation to join God’s work of being a blessing to this world.

This week, in our gospel reading (Luke 13: 1-9) we hear one of the big themes of Lent – “repentance”. Repentance is a big important word. But, Matt Skinner warns, “Repentance becomes less interesting when people mistake it to mean moral uprightness, expressions of regret, or a "180-degree turnaround." Rather, here and many other places in the Bible, it refers to a changed mind, to a new way of seeing things, to being persuaded to adopt a different perspective. It means similar things in other contexts from the wider Greek literary world.”[1]

Repentance includes knowing God’s pain at the harm we are inflicting in this world, our home. Repentance is knowing God’s grief at the way we treat each other – the war in the Ukraine being the worst example, the mosque shooting here another, but including the day to day animosity between people here in Aotearoa. Repentance includes God’s longing that all have enough to thrive, and a safe warm place to live. Repentance includes knowing God is faithful, and God’s longing that we might choose life.

Using our gospel reading, Lent is a time to be manured in repentance and God’s faithfulness, that all might live.

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[1] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-in-lent-3/commentary-on-luke-131-9-3