What is happening?
Every year the church invites us into a season of repentance and fasting in preparation for Holy Week — the week that reveals the heartbeat of God. It is an invitation to turn away from our sins and toward the mercy and grace of Christ Jesus.
But this is harder than it seems. We hope that as we mature and grow we will increasingly say yes to God and grow and grow in faith, but so often life is not like that. Our enthusiasm and dedication fail, our disciplines erode our growth in the faith falters. I have found that faith is rarely, if ever, one of linear ascent. Instead I find myself constantly swimming between belief and unbelief without direction.
The good news of Lent is that God knows this. God knows, just as we do, that we fall short. So we are called to repent. I used to think the word “repent” meant feeling bad about myself, but I have come to believe
repentance is less about looking back at how we have messed up and more about the beginning of something truly good in and among us. To repent is not to promise that next time we will try harder be better, but the recognize that every time we falter and fall short we can turn toward Christ and find forgiveness and mercy. To repent is to hear again and again that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1,34). Indeed, in Christ Jesus God pursues us, inviting us again and again to come back and follow Him. I find this amazing, because it means repenting is an act of discovery, the discovery that God is already doing something good in us.
This season of Lent I invite you to enter the rhythm of repentance. To allow Christ’s Holy Spirit to lead you in the sometimes difficult practise of repentance so that we may learn anew that whatever we have done or left undone, it no longer has any power over us, but hear anew that “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). No wonder we sing, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!
As the church of St. Margaret in-the-Pines we will seek to enter the rhythm of Lenten repentance in a number of ways:
- We will begin by observing Ash Wednesday and receive the imposition of Ashes on February 14 at 10am and 7pm.
- All are invited and encouraged to read our Lenten book Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal by Esau McCaulley and join in reflection on this book at our Zoom compline services every Wednesday night at 7pm.
- I will also host a Quiet Day on Saturday February 17 from 10am-1pm focusing on the theme of repentance. Lastly, our Sunday sermons will explore repentance through our lectionary readings.
My friends, repent and believe the good news. God has turned towards us in the mercy and love of Jesus Christ and longs to renew our lives and our life together. Come and join me as we seek to follow Christ to the cross where we discover the depth of His loving mercy turned towards us.
In Lenten hope,
Andrew Kaye+