December 4, 2016 – Matthew 3:1-12
Matthew 3:1-12
Repentance: A Good Word
Second Sunday of Advent – December 4, 2016
First Lutheran Church – Winnipeg, MB
Repentance.
Not a word we use much outside of church.
And not really a word we use much inside of church, to be perfectly honest.
John the Baptist shows up once in a while and uses the word – like he does today.
Jesus is actually going to use it in his first sermon in Matthew:
Repent! The realm of heaven has come near!
But let’s face it: we don’t talk about it much.
It has sort of an old-fashioned, street-corner preacher ring to it.
“Repent! In forty days we die!”
“Repent! Judgment is coming!
“Repent! Or else!”
It’s become a very judgmental word and maybe that’s why we don’t like to use it much.
I don’t know.
But I had an experience this summer that I knew I would have to tell you about at some point,
an experience that made me really value the notion of repentance and want to
lift it up for you and talk to you about it.
But before I do that, let me set this up for you.
I have spoken about repentance before – it’s a rich word.
It’s a good biblical word and in Greek its root meaning is “to have a change of heart or mind.”
It means to turn, to turn from old destructive ways of doing things to new life-giving ways.
It means to change what you care about.
It means turning from things that characterize the old age of sin, death, exploitation, abuse,
apathy, despair, addiction, illness, racism, exclusion, and self-centredness,
towards the things that characterize the realm or rule of God which
break into the world through Jesus:
love, justice, peace, harmony, health, inclusion, hospitality, forgiveness,
safety, care for one another, and care for the environment.
John calls the people this morning to turn from old, destructive ways to living to
new, life-giving ways of living.
Over a thousand years before, the people of Israel had left the old realm of Egypt
characterized by slavery and exploitation and violence and injustice –
and in the wilderness were schooled by God in a new way of
manna-sharing and mercy-giving and peace-making and justice-doing.
The transition or turning from the old way to the new way was marked by going through
the waters of the Jordan River as the people crossed it to enter the Promised Land where
they could live what they had learned in the wilderness.
Well, John dresses up like an old time prophet and re-creates this experience for the people,
taking them out into the wilderness, schooling them in God’s new way,
and then taking those who wish to turn from the old to the new into
the Jordan River and taking them out to live what they have learned
and committed to.
This is John’s Baptism – a mark of turning from the old ways to the new ways.
A mark of repentance.
When you unpack it like that, you sort of see how basic and fundamental repentance is to
Christian life and living.
Repentance, Luther realized, was actually a daily thing for Christian living,
as each morning you remember that you are baptized,
marked for a new and different way of living in the world.
As you recognize that Baptism does not effect a once in a lifetime change.
The old ways creep back into your life all the time,
and so turning back to the new ways of God is a life-long practice and discipline.
Which means repentance is a daily task for me and for you.
Well, that all sounds great. It even sounds great to me!
But what does it really look like?
And how big of a deal is it, really?
As I said, I had an experience this summer that really brought repentance to
the forefront of my awareness.
It happened at the youth gathering.
I have told this story with the title – in quotation marks! – “Scandal at the Youth Gathering!”
Yah: who knew! So exciting!
Every Gathering has several components to it, one of which is the Large Group Gatherings.
There are usually five or six of these over the days of the Gathering.
They are events in a large gym where almost a thousand youth gather to sing and
to worship and to learn.
There is a band that leads the singing.
There is a drama team that relates the theme of the gathering in provocative ways.
And there is a keynote speaker who speaks to the theme.
This year the keynote speaker was a Lutheran pastor from Canada.
I won’t go into the details, but what I will say is this:
Over the course of the gathering, the keynote speaker was accused of two things:
First, he was accused of plagiarizing large portions of his presentations.
Second, he was accused of racism in his presentations.
After his third presentation, he met with members of the gathering committee,
national church staff, and those who had deep concerns about his presentations,
myself included.
When he was presented with detailed evidence and arguments supporting the accusations of
plagiarism and racism, he was asked to do something about it:
he was asked to address it at his next presentation and apologize.
It was a perfect opportunity to model repentance.
To show the youth what adults do when they make mistakes:
they acknowledge what they have done, they take responsibility for it,
and they apologize to those they have hurt by their actions.
Repentance is not really rocket science.
It is turning from an old way – in this case characterized by theft and racism –
and turning towards a new way, in which the labour of others is honoured by
gladly acknowledging their work and in which people of colour are not
made to feel unwelcome and unsafe.
Repentance means acknowledging that the old ways still have a hold on us and that
we must ever be vigilant in discerning where they do and turning from them.
It means turning from the realm of sin and turning to the realm of God.
Well, this person, at this point in his life, was simply unable to do that.
Was unable to acknowledge what he had done, unable to take responsibility for it,
unable to apologize to those whom he had hurt.
Our youth recognized this right away and were deeply – and rightly – offended.
They were angry, and let me tell you so was I.
And yet, such is the depth of their nurture in Christian faith, they also had tremendous
compassion for a person who was in middle age and yet had not yet found his own voice.
They felt sorry for a person who was too fragile to own up to the wrong thing he had done.
They prayed for him and prayed for his growth.
They showed me that justified anger and deep compassion
can hold hands together perfectly well – in a very Jesus like way, I would say.
I discovered on this trip that our youth have great self-awareness.
They know we all have chaff that needs to be burned away by the fire of Jesus’ love.
They know it’s okay to not be perfect.
They know that even our failures do not impact our self-worth.
They have a lot of confidence in a loving God.
They know – after hearing me say it every Sunday for 16 years – that
they are making this day special by just being themselves.
Even when they screw up.
Because of God’s great love for us, it is okay to acknowledge when you do something wrong.
It allows you to grow into a bigger person.
Acknowledging your fault allows you to become more the person God intends you to be.
Repentance leads to growth as a human being – as you turn from old, life-denying ways,
to new, life-giving, Christ-like ways.
Friends: I’m here to announce the good news in this season of hope: repent.
It’s great news that we can repent.
And move on. And repair relationships. And grow as people.
It’s a relief, right? We have to hear the call to repentance as good news.
If there is something that is bothering you that you’ve done, it’s okay:
you can do something about it.
You can acknowledge your fault and take responsibility for it and say you’re sorry.
And you can always come and talk with me.
At the last Large Group Gathering, the speaker who was unable to repent did not appear.
Instead, members of the gathering committee came on stage – and they indeed repented.
They took responsibility for things that had been said and done at the Large Group Gatherings.
They apologized to those who had been made to feel unwelcome at the gathering.
They acknowledged the ways in which the gathering had fallen short of being the
inclusive, safe, welcoming place it strives to be.
They asked for forgiveness – and that future gatherings might more fully realize God’s rule of
grace, welcome, inclusion, and gentle justice.
It was a holy moment, let me tell you.
And I was so grateful that these people had modelled what true repentance looks like.
And feels like.
Because it felt like holy water, clean water, washing away the hurt, washing away the ugliness.
It felt like we’d stepped into the Jordan River together, out of the wilderness,
and into the Promised Land, into the Realm of God, where mistakes are not the end,
where mistakes do not define us, where failures do not define us,
where we can learn and grow – where no mistake is unredeemable.
Where repentance can be a daily practice and discipline,
as we step out with John on the banks of the Jordan each day, and leave in the water
all the crap from the old age that still clings to us and be clothed with
ever more love and ever more light from the beautiful new realm of God.
I felt so renewed, and so hopeful, and so grateful, knowing that I make a lot of mistakes,
knowing that I am not always the person God calls me to be – but also knowing that
that is not the end for me, knowing that a new start is always possible,
for me, and for you – repentance is always possible.
Repentance is a good word.
So together, let us say, “Amen.”
Pastor Michael Kurtz
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Unfortunately I missed church on Sunday due to being in the depths of a bad cold but I enjoyed reading your sermon online. Great message!