The senior pastor and about half the ministerial staff are at Kid’s Camp so I was asked to speak to Evensong last Sunday night. The senior pastor let me know that the theme for the last few weeks has been repentance. I find it helpful to “fit” into whatever the congregation has been hearing/listening/discussing.
These are my “notes”.
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Mark 1:14-15.
We have met Jesus – baptism and temptation / but has not spoken yet. After his formative(?) experience of baptism and temptation (time in the wilderness – 40 days) these are his first words.
Similar to John the baptizer – baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins yet also different.
Is this his thesis? That everything after this represents / works out / interprets / embodies it is the right time… kingdom of God has come near… *repent and believe* the good news. Jesus does not begin with repent (and believe) but it is the verb imperative verb. Here is the situation. This is the response.
Repent = (Greek) metanoéo literally change-of-mind (or to be more precise change-of-nous). (Because nous might not mean “mind” the way we normally think. Early teachers of the Christian church did not understand it that way. The nous is closer to what we call the heart. What we call the mind is not the nous but is broken. Lives in a perpetual state of fear and desire – so Meletios Webber.)
I pay attention to other Christian traditions. And I wanted to share some thoughts from other Christian traditions on repentance for us to consider – grist for our theological meal.
The early Christian teacher Evagrius said “the beginning of repentance is to condemn oneself”. Sounds harsh. Perhaps a way to understand/interpret this? An elegant paragraph from a book by Kallistos Ware who now is the Metropolitan of London. Immediately after he quotes Evagrius he writes:
Repentance marks the starting-point of our journey. Correctly understood repentance is not negative but positive. It means not self-pity or remorse but conversion [we will come back to that] the re-centering of our whole life upon the Trinity. It is not to look backward with regret but forward with hope. Not downwards at our shortcomings but upwards at God’s love. It is to see not what we have failed to be but what by divine grace we can now become.
Let us pause there for a moment. Repentance as positive – hope looking up what by the grace of God we can become.
Sometimes repent is translated as “turn away from your sins” – such as in the Good News Bible. Perhaps not best translation. Perhaps “turn toward God and his transforming work in your life”.
Anglican Church in North America met for the first time. (Explain briefly.) Head of Orthodox Church in America Metropolitan Jonah came and spoke – Orthodox Church wants to encourage and have a relationship with new group.
During his talk – “this is not about using the same prayer book or having neat rituals” – that is not what Anglicanism or Orthodoxy are about. But “our surrender is that spiritual quest – is to be transformed by the Spirit. It is a quest of repentance. And of renewal of our mind [RW - and a renewal of our mind? what he said is unclear here]. When you read the preaching of Jesus and Paul and the apostles. Repent.
Adds that “repentance does not mean feel guilty and beat yourself up. Repentance means by transformed in the renewal of your mind. [transform(ed)]. What we are called to is a radical spiritual transformation by the grace of the Holy Spirit.”
Positive. Transformation (by the grace of the Holy Spirit). One more thing.
Isaias of Sketis said: “God requires us to go on repenting until our last breath”. Traditional Baptist understanding of repent as “sorry for my sins thank you Jesus now I am done – I am converted”? Properly understood – lifelong process even the greatest saints in Christian history had to repent (be always repenting).
Kallistos Ware:
Repentance is not just a single act, an initial step, but a continuing state, an attitude of heart and will that needs to be ceaselessly renewed up to the end of life.
Repentance as positive. As transformation. And as ongoing process.
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We had some time for reflection and conversation. Most was positive and appreciative. One wonderful member of the congregation (who last week found out she has cancer) pushed back a little bit and said “but we do ‘turn away (from our sins)’ when we repent. Just as an alcoholic turns away from alcohol”.
I understand the point which is not a bad one but I would suggest that human beings cannot effectively turn away from sin and addiction. (Except by the grace of God through the work of the Spirit.) I enjoy my sins and addictions. I have no desire or intention to turn away from them.
But – when we turn towards God… we also happen to turn away from <fill in the blank>. Does the alcoholic ever truly become free of the addiction? or does the addict develop a taste for – perhaps we can say the addict turns toward – sobriety? I am much more drawn to holiness than I am repulsed by my own sins and addictions. Repentance is more “that is how I want to be – God grant me the grace to turn that way” than “I am sick of these sins – I must turn from them”. I am not sure our prayer is so much “God give me the strength to stop sinning” as “Lord have mercy”.
When I turn on a road to head towards New Orleans I am not “turning away” from Lafayette. It is true that I am heading away from Lafayette – but that is a consequence and a result.
I could be wrong. But I appreciated the “push back” and the discussion. (And yes there are plenty of places in Holy Scripture where the imperative phrase is “stop sinning”.)
Lord have mercy.
