Jesus Preaches Repentance

The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying,  ² “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.”  ³ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across.  ⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”  ⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. ¹⁰ When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. – Jonah 3:1-5, 10

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Psalm 62:5-12  ⁵ For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.  ⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.  ⁷ On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.  ⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah  ⁹ Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.  ¹⁰ Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.  ¹¹ Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,  ¹² and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.

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Mark 1:14-20   ¹⁴ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,  ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”  ¹⁶As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen.  ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”  ¹⁸ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.  ¹⁹ As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets.  ²⁰ Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

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Our scripture readings this morning present us with a subject that is not easy to talk about or to hear about. The overarching theme of our scripture readings today is repentance.

It’s unfortunate that when we hear the word ‘repent’, so often what comes to mind is those old-time hellfire-and-brimstone preachers whose sermons would scare the hell out of people, but only temporarily. It seems too often turning over a new leaf in that particular way didn’t last long.

We have better examples to look at in today’s scriptures; but before we turn to our readings, I thought it might be helpful to hear what a more contemporary preacher might say about repentance. Inspired by the fact that last Monday was the day we celebrate the life and memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, I went out to the internet and asked Google: “did Martin Luther King Jr ever preach on repentance?”

He sure did! So I’d like to start today by sharing a couple of the things he wrote. The first is a quote from his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Dr. King wrote:

“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.”

That’s a prophetic word if ever there was one. It’s also a great example of how to speak a prophetic word into our culture today.  King makes no apologies; he doesn’t soften his point; he confronts evil head-on.  And he includes all of us in his call to repentance – because sins committed by groups need to be repented of by groups.

The second thing I found that Dr. King wrote about repentance comes from one of his sermons. This was not a famous sermon; it’s just part of the archives that are available today. Here’s what he said (and I wish I could speak this in his voice! When I was reading it on the internet I was imagining his voice – but work your imaginations.) Dr. King said:

“This morning I want to talk to you about the meaning of sin. This sermon is only addressed to those persons who are conscious of moral wrongdoing. If you have no uneasy stirrings of conscience… then this sermon does not apply to you.

“But before you conclude that this sermon does not apply to you… be certain [of what] we mean by “sin”. Usually when we think of sin we think of… of gross iniquities — murder, robbery, adultery, drunkenness. But we must add to this category at least three other categories:

• There are sins of temperament — vindictiveness, stubbornness, jealously, bad temper, malicious gossip…
• There are sins of social attitude
• There are the sins of neglect

It is not alone the things that we do, but the things we have left undone that haunt us — the letters we did not write, the words we did not speak, the opportunity we did not take. How often Jesus stressed this sin. What was wrong with that… man who buried his talent? What did he do? That was the trouble—he did nothing; he missed his chance.

So here they are—sins of passion, sins of temperament, sins of social attitude, sins of neglect. I suspect that every one here fits into one of these categories: So stay with us; you too need forgiveness.”[1]

I feel like I should just say “Amen” and sit down!

Dr. King is right – there is not a single person in this room who is not a sinner. According to the latest statistics, in a random group of any thirty Americans (on average) four are hooked on pornography; eleven use prescription drugs in wrong ways; three drink too much; and more than one in four have experienced either physical violence or stalking in a romantic relationship.

Once we know we need forgiveness, and that God is a God of mercy, it becomes possible to confess our sins to God – usually in private prayer, just between us and God; but sometimes also in public worship. And when we do this, we also become willing to leave those sins behind.

That’s where repentance begins.

What repentance actually looks like will be different for each one of us; but in general, repentance includes a change of direction. Repentance does not mean – as some of those old-time preachers used to lead us to think – that we are low-down, dirty rotten scoundrels.

Rather repentance means being honest with God about where we are in our lives, where our shortcomings are, and being willing to be in a better place doing better things. It’s kind of like, when my cell phone is giving me directions while I’m driving, and I make a wrong turn, and phone says “recalibrating, recalibrating…”. The phone is figuring out a new set of directions to get me back headed the right way. That’s what repentance is like – recalibrating. Getting back on the right road.

Our scripture readings for today talk about repentance from different angles, so I’d like to take a quick look at each, starting with Jonah.

Jonah’s story is unique in history, I think. Jonah is probably the most reluctant prophet that ever lived!  God commanded Jonah to go preach a message of repentance to the people of Nineveh. In those days, Nineveh was a very large and extremely corrupt city – badly in need of repentance – and it was also Israel’s arch-enemy at the time. Jonah had no reason to want them to repent; in fact he would rather see God’s judgement fall on those scoundrels!  So Jonah went and traveled in the opposite direction.

God persuaded Jonah to change his mind by sending a whale – and after Jonah spent some time thinking things over in the belly of a whale, he was willing to go. I imagine Jonah probably looked a little strange after being in those digestive juices for a day or two – strange enough to convince the Ninevites that this prophet was for real!

God then repeats his command to Jonah: go preach to Nineveh. And God’s message is: “forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown”. That’s it. Nothing else.

The people of Nineveh believed God, and repented with fasting and sackcloth.

There are two very unusual things that happen in this story: First, God’s call to repentance is going out to Gentiles. This was almost unheard-of in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is mostly about God’s relationship with Israel; and the people of Israel are frequently warned not to mix with Gentiles, because they’ll end up worshipping Gentile gods (which happened far too often).

But the people of Nineveh were uncircumcised Gentile idol-worshippers, and were the enemies of Israel – yet God called them to repentance. And when they did repent, God showed them mercy. This was the first time, but will not be the last time, that God calls groups of non-Jewish people to repentance.

The second thing that’s unusual is that when the Ninevites repent, they do not sacrifice any animals – which is how repentance was done in the Jewish faith in the Old Testament. This introduces the idea that it’s possible to repent and be saved apart from animal sacrifice. The prophet Samuel once said: “to obey is better than sacrifice” – and the Ninevites learned this first-hand. Atonement for Nineveh was by faith alone in God’s word alone.

Next we come to Psalm 62. The word ‘repent’ doesn’t appear in this psalm. The psalm was written by King David and was probably written to be used in public worship. But the words describe the mindset – and the heart-set – of a person who repents well; a person who makes course corrections daily by keeping a focus on God and who God is.

David says: God alone is my rock. God alone is my salvation. God is my fortress – and back then fortresses were not only used for battle but they also included places to eat and places to rest – literally everything a person needed. God is my fortress.

David also says “I trust God; I am open and honest with God.” That’s a scary thought in a lot of ways. I think most of us kind of instinctively want to be on our best behavior for God – because God is perfect and holy, and God is pure goodness and pure love, and God is so much greater than we are. The last thing we want to do is to say, “God, I messed up again.”

But there’s no point in trying to fool God. In fact God knows a lot more about us than we know about ourselves, so we might as well be honest.

David says that poverty or riches count for nothing. He says the poor are a breath, and riches are a delusion. But power and steadfast love belong to God; and God loves us more than we can imagine.

Finally in the Gospel of Mark, at the beginning of the reading, John the Baptist has just been arrested. His voice in the wilderness – calling the people to repentance and to prepare the way of the Lord – has been silenced.

Jesus takes up the ministry where John left off. John has indeed prepared the way for the Lord, and the people are ready to hear, so Jesus begins.

Jesus’ first, and most important message is:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Or to say it in more contemporary language: The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Turn around, believe, and change course.

Jesus calls us to disentangle ourselves from the cares of this world – NOT ignoring the needs of the world (not at all!), but realizing our lives are short; we keep our focus on God, we follow God’s lead, and we trust in God’s loving care.

Jesus then calls his first disciples to follow him and become ‘fishers of people’. What was it that motivated those lifelong fishermen to drop their nets and walk away from everything they had known? Was it a chance to try something new and different? Was it a chance to start again? Was it an opportunity to be part of what God is doing in the world? I imagine the answer would be different for each disciple.

Jesus says: “The reign of God – the kingdom of God – is now here” – and who wouldn’t want to be part of that?

So to sum all this up for us living here in the 21^st century –

First, we need to look back at the history of our faith. One Jewish scholar says: “Repentance is as old as time itself.”[2]  And even in the Old Testament, repentance is universal – it’s for everybody, not just the people of Israel. I find it interesting that even today, our Jewish brothers and sisters read the story of Jonah every year on Yom Kippur, which is their day of fasting and repentance.

But we don’t need a special event to repent: repentance can be done by anybody on any day. So how is it done? The Ninevites repented on both an emotional level and a physical level. They let God turn their hearts, and they let God change the way they lived.

Looking at the history of the Jewish people also reminds me of the way they often begin prayers. They often start their prayers with the words: “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe…” and then add more after this. For example:

• “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings snow in its time and rain in its time and the green of spring in its time…” (and then after that they might pray for those who are facing inclement or difficult weather)
• OR “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who places us in families and gives us the gift of children and grandchildren…” (and then they might go on to pray for families)
• OR “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has placed us in this church and in this community…” (and then go on to pray for the church and the community)

I love that prayer because it puts everything in focus: “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe…” That’s where we begin.

Second, repentance means trusting God. God is not ‘up there’ in heaven waiting for us to make mistakes so God can get on our case. No; God is like a loving father who wants the very best for us. God wants to hear from us, just like we like to hear from our kids.

Third, in the book of Corinthians, Paul says “the time is short” and he advises the Corinthians to “be ready”. This is not a comment on the end times; it’s a reminder to stay on the path of faith… to keep making those course corrections as we journey through life.

An old Jewish rabbi was once asked by his disciples: “When should we repent?”

The rabbi answered: “On the day before you die.”

Which of course reminds us we never know when that day will be. So we prepare for our future with God by making course corrections every day – checking to see that we’re still moving in God’s direction. As Shakespeare’s Hamlet once famously said, “The readiness is all.”

The Greek word for repentance – metanoeite (which I think is a very nice-sounding word, much nicer-sounding than ‘repent’) metanoeite includes in its meaning continuous action. It’s not something that is done just once, and it’s not something we do only on Sundays. It is an ongoing state of daily change and faithfulness. When we make a daily practice of checking in with God, and steering in God’s direction, the course corrections fall into place.

So Jesus’ call to us – as it was to the disciples – is a call to companionship and closeness and growth and learning as we journey together towards God’s kingdom.  “The time is here, the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe the good news.”  AMEN.

[1] https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/meaning-forgiveness

[2] CMJ

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Psalm 51: Making it Real with God

This morning we’re starting a new summer mini-series on the Psalm of the Day, which today is Psalm 51 (full text at the bottom). I’ve been reading the Psalms a good bit this summer and have gotten a lot out of them so I wanted to share some of the blessings with you!

As many of you know, the book of Psalms was the hymnal of ancient Israel. Many of the psalms, at the top of the psalm, tell us about who wrote them or about how they were to be performed. For example, we may see things like “to the choirmaster” or “with stringed instruments” at the top.

Most of the time the psalms were meant to be sung by the congregation in worship. The psalms of David, however, often had two purposes: they were often prayers David prayed when he was in a tough spot, and then were later adapted for worship – so they’re both historical and spiritual.

This Sunday our lectionary gives us one of the most famous and one of the most heartbreaking of all the psalms. Psalm 51 is still used in today in Jewish, Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant worship. If we ever can’t find words to say ‘I’m sorry’ to God, this psalm will give us the words – and for that reason many churches read this psalm on Ash Wednesday at the beginning of Lent.

But here we are, in the middle of summer, in the middle of a difficult year, and because this year has been so difficult this psalm may feel like a little bit of overkill. So as we read the psalm, let me suggest two possible ways to approach it, and whichever way works for you, take that approach.

The first approach is for those of us who have sin in our lives that we haven’t talked to God about yet because we’re either ashamed to or afraid to. For anyone in this position, Psalm 51 gives us a way to talk to God about what we’ve done. And it also gives us confidence that God is willing to forgive.

The second approach is for those of us who are up-to-date on our prayers of confession. In this case we can approach this psalm as one that helps us understand people who are still struggling. This psalm helps us to see others through God’s eyes, and see how much God cares for people who get themselves into trouble sometimes.

With either approach, this psalm is a touchstone. It brings us back to the foundation of salvation, which is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ – and therefore this psalm is something we always want to have close to hand.

At the very top of Psalm 51 it says: A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.  

That one sentence says a lot!! To summarize the back story:

In the ancient middle east, kings usually went to war in the spring, either to defend their territory or to expand their territory. Israel was no exception. But one year when the army went to war, King David decided not to go with the troops. The Bible doesn’t say why… but it hints that David maybe should have gone.

David’s palace stood at the highest point in the city of Jerusalem, and the city itself is built on top of a mountain. So David could look out and see just about anything from up there. One morning when he was looking out, David saw a beautiful woman in the city below, taking a bath on her rooftop. He decided he wanted her, so he sent messengers, and Bathsheba was brought to the palace, and the two of them were together, and then David sent her home.

Before I go on with David’s story I want to correct a misinterpretation of this passage I have sometimes heard preached, both in churches and on the radio. I have heard people say this whole thing was Bathsheba’s fault, that she shouldn’t have been bathing on the rooftop, that she was trying to catch David’s eye, that she was quite willing to be with him, and if it hadn’t been for her none of what followed would have happened.

This is simply not true. In Jerusalem, both back then and today, water is hard to come by. Most of the houses in Jerusalem have containers to catch rainwater on the roof of the house. So it was (and is) perfectly normal to bathe and do laundry on the roof of a house. Secondly, if Bathsheba had said ‘no’ to David — to disobey a king’s command is treason. The fact is, even if David was a gentleman (and I believe he was – their future relationship bears this out), Bathsheba really didn’t have a choice. This was not Bathsheba’s doing.

A little while later, Bathsheba discovers she’s pregnant. And the child can only be David’s because her husband Uriah is in the army and he’s off fighting the war. So she sends a message to David saying “I’m pregnant.”

David sends for her husband Uriah, greets him warmly, gives him something to drink, asks how the battle is going, and then says “go home and enjoy your wife”.  But Uriah, being a loyal soldier, stays with the army and doesn’t go home. He says “how can I enjoy my wife while my comrades are out there risking their lives?” David tries once more but Uriah won’t go home. So David sends Uriah back to the front lines with secret instructions for the commander saying “put Uriah where the fighting is the hottest and then pull back so he dies.”

Which the commander does.
And Uriah dies.
And David marries Bathsheba.
And soon there’s a baby boy – a new prince in the palace!

David thought he’d gotten away with it.

But God is never deceived. And God was very angry with David. So God sends Nathan the prophet to David with a message. Nathan says: “There’s a poor man living in the city, who had nothing except one precious little lamb that was like family to him. He and his lamb even slept curled up together sometimes. This man had a rich neighbor, and one day a visitor came to visit the rich neighbor, and rather than killing one of his own sheep, the rich man took the poor man’s only lamb, and killed it, and served it to his guest.”

David is furious when he hears this. He says, “This rich man had no pity at all! He deserves to die.”
And Nathan says: “You are the man.”

Nathan also tells David that because he has done this, the sword will never depart from David’s house, and that the son born to Bathsheba will die. And the greatest crime, Nathan says, is that David has given the enemies of the God an opportunity to blaspheme God’s name.

Isn’t that always the case when God’s leaders fall into sin? A priest is caught with a young altar boy… and people blaspheme the name of God. A youth leader is found seducing one of the youth group… and people curse God and walk away from the church. A church secretary makes off with peoples’ donations… and people shame the name of God.  There is no such thing as “victimless” sin. Every sin is an opportunity for the enemies of God to cut down God’s name and curse God’s people.

Realizing the truth of this, David prays the prayer in Psalm 51. And God, in mercy, allows David not only to be forgiven, but to speak words of prophecy while he’s praying.

David cuts straight to the chase. He says: “have mercy on me O God”. Not because David deserves it, not because David is the king, but because God is who God is. David calls on God’s “steadfast love” and “abundant mercy”.  In Hebrew the words are hesed and rakham – loving kindness and bottomless mercy – and we will hear these two words over and over in the Old Testament. David is praying to the God who is – a God who David has come to know well.

David then asks God to act. He says: wash me, cleanse me, forgive me. When we sinners stand in front of God, our first reaction when we see how perfect God is, is to say ‘please make me clean’. We can’t make ourselves clean enough for God, no matter how hard we try. The only way we can be free of the dirt of sin is if God washes us. The only way we can be forgiven is if God chooses to forgive.

We have to trust God’s mercy.

Standing in God’s presence is a very vulnerable place to be. The question is, will we trust God? Will we trust that God is as kind and loving and forgiving as God tells us he is?

David has known God for a long time so he’s able to trust God fairly quickly. But then he says something that stuns us: he says to God: “against you, you only, have I sinned”. But what about Bathsheba? What about Uriah? Didn’t he sin against them? Yes. Now we take that one step further. Bathsheba and Uriah are God’s precious children. And when David hurts them, he hurts God even more. God hurts like any parent hurts when their child is hurting. Against you only, Lord, do we sin.

David goes even further: he says “I was born guilty.”

Theologians have a field day with this verse! They say it proves the doctrine of original sin. Personally I don’t think David was trying to make a doctrinal statement here – I think he was being emotional and poetic. He’s saying “this world puts us all in an environment where we can’t help but sin, we have no choice”.

But David says, “Lord you desire truth on the inside – teach me wisdom way down deep – deeper than the sin goes.” And then David speaks a word of prophecy, even though he probably didn’t realize it at the time. He says: “purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean.” Hyssop is a plant similar to mint whose leaves used to be used in medicine and disinfecting; so the statement makes sense in its own context. But it also looks forward to a day, 1000 years in the future, when God’s Messiah will be hanging on a cross, dying for the sins of the world, and he will say, “I’m thirsty”. And the soldiers will offer him something to drink: dipped in sour wine and offered on a hyssop branch. By hyssop God makes us clean.

David continues: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” The word ‘create’ here is the same word used in Genesis chapter one, when God creates the heavens and the earth. It’s not just cleaning up the old heart; it’s creating a brand-new heart. It’s like a heart transplant. David’s hope – and ours – is in the power of creation and re-creation that only God has.

David looks forward to feeling God’s joy again, when he lives in harmony with God’s will. There is a joy that comes from being exactly where God wants us to be. Remember the movie Chariots of Fire from a few years ago? It was about a missionary who was also an Olympic runner. People asked him why he delayed going into the mission field in order be in the Olympics he said, “God made me fast, and when I run, I feel his pleasure.” When we are in God’s will, we feel His pleasure.

David promises that when God has forgiven him, David will lead others to return to God. “Repent” is the old-fashioned word, but it means to change course or change direction. So David says, “Deliver me, God, and my tongue will sing of your deliverance… I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.” This is why we, as a fellowship of forgiven people, reach out to the addicted and the hurting: because God has forgiven us and we want to share that forgiveness and that joy with others.

David knows that God will forgive because “a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” God never turns his back on his child who is grieving.

David closes his prayer with a request for the well-being of the nation – knowing that his actions may have jeopardized the nation’s well-being – and knowing that he and God share the same goal, which is the good of God’s people.

So today, as God’s people, let’s keep this prayer close by. There are times we may need to pray it ourselves… and there are times we may need to share it with others, in order to assure them that God does want to forgive and that hearts can be changed. This psalm shows us not only David’s heart, but God’s heart, which is always loving and merciful. So keep this psalm close. AMEN.

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Psalm 51:1-19  

To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 

4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. 

5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. 

6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 

8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. 

9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. 

11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. 

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. 

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 

14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. 

15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 

16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;

if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. 

17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 

18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, 

19 then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

 

Preached at Carnegie United Methodist Church and Hill Top United Methodist Church, 8/1/21

 

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