Repenting Differently

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, 

make his paths straight.’” Matthew 3:1-2

“Repent!” yelled the rather foul-tempered man who ranted in the “free-speech” space during the Inman Park Festival. 

He condemned whole crowds of people, taking time to target the same-sex couples who were holding hands as they walked by him.  Mercifully,  in recent years the festival organizers have moved his ilk up the hill to Delta park. 

Repentance gets a bad rap from the hell and damnation wing of Christendom, and I want Episcopalians to reclaim it this year. The original meaning of it is closer to something like “to change one’s mind for better” or even “to change directions.” Sure, being a person of faith does mean acknowledging the wrongs we have done by not fully living into our baptisms, or even just being a plain-old jerk. However, the more important and healthy use of the practice is that of positive change. 

How many times do you find yourself waking up in the morning and saying to yourself, “Something has to give…?” I meet so many of you in the midst of what you say is huge anxiety, stress, or self-judgment of some sort. The stuff that life is throwing at you seems as if it is too much— and whatever you are doing to deal with it all is not working so well. So often when you ask me, “What do I do?” my seemingly flip response might be, “Try something else.”  

Repentance is trying something else. The creator of the universe forgives and loves us. Starting with that reality, we are gifted and empowered with the unbounded grace we need to change directions, to pursue a different path, to move closer to our potential as a child of God. 

Jesus calls us to build our lives around trying something different instead of remaining in the clutches of those things that seek to wedge themselves between God and the love that surrounds us. A life of repentance, then, becomes about the pursuit of our source of love, our health, and our joy. So, “Repent! The Kingdom of God surrounds us!”

AMEN!