Repentance

Repentance means to turn, to change your mind. Is it not a hopeful thing to say, "You can change!" It flies in the face of all our psychological and behavioral determinisms.

Repentance. It is not a sickly sweet song on a Hammond organ with tremolo on. It is the sound of trumpets: Rise, turn, be changed!

Repentance is the child of grace; it comes on the wings of mercy. It is the hand on the shoulder that causes you to turn, the face you now see which you have so foolishly fled. You feel yourself straightening, standing taller with confidence and pride. What has been crooked is now being straightened, what has been chaotic now finds a center. And the center holds.

You renounce the things of darkness, the hidden things of shame, the wiles of the evil one, and you turn toward the light. Dawn is breaking. You greet the Son of God as you would greet the dawn after so long a night. And he greets you.

Repentance is the road to integrity, which is not the same as the road of perfection. John said that those who say they are without sin are liars. Then confess your sin, and God who is righteous and just will forgive you your sin and cleanse you of all unrighteousness.

Perfectionism is a compulsive, finally despairing path. Integrity is the way of living sanely, healthily, peaceably with your real self--which is your own unique mix of strengths and weaknesses. Integrity is the way of integration where public and private selves are made one, characterized by self-honesty, humility, laughter, and a taking of responsibility for oneself and one's actions.

Repentance is not the path of self-blame. Integrity means recognizing and accepting the painful realities which may not be of our deserving. It means relinquishing the things which are not our responsibility, while honestly and courageously acknowledging our failures, rebellions, resentments, wrong actions, and hardness of heart. Abandoning both perfectionism, which says, "I can earn salvation," and self-blame, which says, "I am not worthy of salvation," we choose to live out of grace, to change our minds and let Christ change our hearts, and thus our thoughts, and thus our actions.

Repentance: a doorway to change. A new way to be.

-- Adapted from a sermon by H. Stephen Shoemaker