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 With these words in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus begins his public
ministry. "The Kingdom of God has come near," he says, "now repent
and believe." Well, my brothers and sisters, the time has drawn near
again in the church's life when repentance takes center stage. Ash
Wednesday is in one week and then it will be six weeks of Lent which
lead us to the beauty of Easter Sunday. But before we get to Easter
Sunday, we must spend some time in repentance. To repent literally
means to turn around, and Jesus asks us to look at our lives and
identify areas where we fall short of God and to spend some time
making amends. As a symbol of our repentance we also undertake a
discipline of some kind. This discipline can be taking something
away, like TV or meat or sugar, or it can mean adding something,
like extra prayer, Bible study or worship. Regardless the very
structure of our daily lives should change during Lent.
Over the course of our lives we tend to forget that Jesus Christ is
Lord of our lives and Lent is the time when we Christians are called
back to him. We are reminded of his sacrifices and his teachings,
and we are called to respond. That response should be earnest and
sincere repentance. It should also be thoughtful and deliberate
discipline. There is nothing in this world or in our lives more
important that Jesus Christ. Lent is our annual reminder. Don't miss
it!
[text from file received by Phil Blackburn, First Presbyterian
Church] |
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