THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT
Sunday, December 5, 2010
MATTHEW 3:4-10 Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
7But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 9Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
In this week’s Gospel Matthew tells us through the preaching of John the Baptist how to prepare for our Lord’s coming. John uses one word – REPENT. Repent has the sense of feeling remorse for something we have done. I am sorry that yesterday I was short with Carolyn when she suggested doing something differently than the way I wanted to do it. I’m sorry that I didn’t try to see things from her perspective. That’s part of what it means to repent but there is an added dimension.
The Greek word is important here. METANOIA literally means to turn around and go in the opposite direction. Regretting what I did yesterday is not repentance as Matthew has John using the word. It is the beginning of repentance but there is that added dimension. To repent I first must see sin at work in my life. For example I must recognize that my unwillingness to listen and consider what Carolyn was suggesting was wrong – sinful.
But that is just the beginning of repentance. Next I must turn around, go in the opposite direction. I must begin to do things differently. True repentance comes when I first recognize my insistence that doing it my way without listening and considering a different way was wrong. But repentance is not complete until the next time I do it differently and listen and am more considerate of her feelings and ideas.
Repentance begins with remorse and recognizing what’s wrong in my life and it is completed when I change what’s wrong and begin to do things differently.
Stir up your power, O Lord and come. Open our eyes to that which we need to change in our lives and give us the power to change it. AMEN
Boy, I think that I have to work on this one. Kate is always telling me when I say I'm sorry, that I'm not really sorry or I wouldn't do the same thing again. I try, but it's not easy. Maybe that's because I'm not repenting. I'll try to think about that the next time I say I'm sorry.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to turn around and go in the other direction. I recently had to rethink and reevaluate a long standing issue/grudge I had. I decided that my concerns were no longer valid 2+ years later. It is hard to change course, but sometimes it is necessary.
ReplyDeleteIn Hebrews 3:10, The Lord tells us, "‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.'" And then in Hebrews 8:10, He says, "I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." Lord, because I am so inclined to stray from You, lead me to repentance that Your laws will dwell in my mind and be written on my heart and that I may know Your ways!
ReplyDeleteI really like this sermon and I hope that I am able to "turn around and go in the opposite direction." when I really need to. I hope that I will think twice when the time comes.
ReplyDeleteI get stuck in thinking I'm almost ok. Lord, please help me see clearly sin's hidden root of self will and cleanse me of it that I may run in Your ways.
ReplyDeleteOf course it's so much easier to see this issue at play in someone else than in myself. Gabriel (age 5) ROUTINELY hastens to say, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" as soon as someone (usually Mom or Dad) starts getting after him for being naughty -- or at least once we reach the point of announcing the revocation of privileges. But he will very often repeat the naughty behavior not long after. Similarly, at school one day this fall, he seemed to think as long as he said "sorry" for spitting on another child (My mom-heart just winces to even tell you that!!), it was no big deal if he went and did it again a few minutes later. We are working on helping him understand he needs to totally CHANGE his ways -- the direction in which he is headed -- and NOT repeat the same old behavior.
ReplyDeleteNaturally, we adults have some of these issues as well. I, like David W., need to pray in the moment of sin for the power of the Holy Spirit to turn me around because I KNOW I can't do it myself. Problem is, in the moment of sin, the LAST thing on my mind is the Holy Spirit!! What a Catch-22!
Oh, if only I could overcome Heidi's Catch-22. Maybe the secret is to be more aware of my inability and need for God's help.
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