WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
March 11th 2007
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Repent?”
Isaiah 55:1-9; Luke 13:1-9
“Repent!” There is a word you do not hear too often in churches anymore, at least not of the Presbyterian flavor. Gone are the days when Presbyterian preachers would focus on the total depravity of human beings. It is not likely that we will return to the theology found in the sermon by the great American theologian Jonathan Edwards called, “Sinners in the hand of an angry God.” While this theology is alive and well today I have no plans to do any such thing from this pulpit. However, I do believe that it is time for us to reclaim the disciple of repentance from those who have distorted this vital part of our faith.
When we say the word repentance, it does not often conjure up images that are warm and inviting. Well, perhaps warm but certainly not inviting. However, the call to repentance in our passages this morning is actually a good news invitation. My hope is that by the time we are done this morning that we hear this call as the good news it was intended to be.
Repentance, in both Hebrew and Greek literally means to turn around or turn towards God. Repentance is a call then to turn from one way and to follow another. At the heart of this practice is the idea that life is not fatalistic. The offer of repentance means that our lives, with all our flaws, habits, addictions, imperfections, and even poor choices, do not have to be this way. Repentance is an invitation by God to know and live a different, life-giving way in a world full of death. Finally, repentance is about following the way of Christ, not for life after death but for life right now.
Our scripture reading from Isaiah comes from the portion of the book focused primarily on the theme of the restoration of Israel after the exile. The first two verses of our passage lays out the case against the people of Israel. (It sounds like it could have been written to address our consumer culture.) God says; why do you work and spend you money on things which do not satisfy and do not bring life? All those things you are doing only lead to more work and more stuff and as a result bring less life and even death. It is a powerful indictment which, surprisingly, does not lead to an immediate call to repentance. Instead, God offers an invitation: “Come.” Come, God says, and receive water, come and receive bread, milk, and even wine without money. (This is how we know that God does not understand our economic system. After all if you give people something for free they will never appreciate it.) God offers an invitation to get out of the cycle of which leads to death. Come and live, differently. New life is waiting for you.
The call to repentance in this passage does not show up until verse three. In this passage, repentance has to do with economic practices. God says; repent, turn from all those economic practices which do not bring life for the community. Repentance, in this passage from Isaiah is not about feeling sorry for wrongdoing but about changing the way one acts in the world. The good news is that change is possible.
In Luke Jesus too makes a call to repentance. However, before Jesus talks about repentance, he deals with a common misunderstanding about sin. Jesus directly challenges the traditional belief that people who suffer are greater sinners. He makes it clear that this understanding of sin is flawed.
It is not a new story. In every age people approach Jesus with the hope that their worldview will be reinforced. In our passage from Luke the worldview seeking divine support was that those who are sinners and those who are righteous can be neatly divided into easily identifiable categories. Instead, as is always the case whenever we take our pet projects to Jesus, he takes our neatly defined world and messes it all up. It must have been rather unsettling for those religious folks to hear that they too were in need of repentance. While it is an unsettling reality, there is good news in these challenging words. The good news is that even the righteous are included in the love of God.
Jesus ends this teaching with a parable which is more complex and unsettling than it first appears. The more we try to define or identify the characters in the parable the less clear things become. Focusing on who is which person is a game that quickly narrows this parable into a rather uninteresting story. However, if this parable, like all parables, is supposed to expand our understanding then any attempt at a final interpretation will be a failure of interpretation.
So, instead of trying to ‘figure out’ who everyone is supposed to represent, I think our energy is best spent looking at the themes of mercy and possibility which are abundant in the passage. While the owner of the vineyard calls for the destruction of the fig tree, he needs little persuasion to let it live. Despite past failure, there is possibility of new life. This is the core of what repentance is all about.
Traditional interpretations of this passage have often been guided by questions about who is going to be ‘saved’ and who is not. The obsession with sorting out sinners and saints has left an unfortunate legacy. This legacy has led some in the church to believe that repentance is a relic best left in the dustbin of history. However, this is not only unfortunate, but it leaves behind central practice of our faith.
We need repentance in the practice of our faith. Not because God is out to get us and so we better get saved. Instead, we need to heed the call to repentance because it is an offering of life right now. It is a discipline which is to move us from concern for self and toward a concern for others.
However, despite all my attempt to make repentance seem less unsettling there is something to the practice which is can be even more unsettling than a fire and brimstone sermon. The disciple of repentance will ultimately place all that we hold dear at risk. Repentance is a call to turn from all which stands in the way of following Jesus. In order to follow him, we must be willing to risk giving up; our beliefs, our traditions, our certainties, our pet projects, and even our well loved preferences and prejudices. Practicing repentance places our whole lives, personally and communally under a scrutiny. To practice repentance, we must continually ask: “Is this (whatever this might be) important to living faithfully as Christians?” If not, we will have, to repent, to turn from whatever it is in order to be faithful. It is my prayer that each one of us is able, each day of our lives, to hear the call to repentance from the one who offers new life. May we trust and receive and believe the good news that new life is truly possible for all. Amen.
March 11th 2007
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Repent?”
Isaiah 55:1-9; Luke 13:1-9
“Repent!” There is a word you do not hear too often in churches anymore, at least not of the Presbyterian flavor. Gone are the days when Presbyterian preachers would focus on the total depravity of human beings. It is not likely that we will return to the theology found in the sermon by the great American theologian Jonathan Edwards called, “Sinners in the hand of an angry God.” While this theology is alive and well today I have no plans to do any such thing from this pulpit. However, I do believe that it is time for us to reclaim the disciple of repentance from those who have distorted this vital part of our faith.
When we say the word repentance, it does not often conjure up images that are warm and inviting. Well, perhaps warm but certainly not inviting. However, the call to repentance in our passages this morning is actually a good news invitation. My hope is that by the time we are done this morning that we hear this call as the good news it was intended to be.
Repentance, in both Hebrew and Greek literally means to turn around or turn towards God. Repentance is a call then to turn from one way and to follow another. At the heart of this practice is the idea that life is not fatalistic. The offer of repentance means that our lives, with all our flaws, habits, addictions, imperfections, and even poor choices, do not have to be this way. Repentance is an invitation by God to know and live a different, life-giving way in a world full of death. Finally, repentance is about following the way of Christ, not for life after death but for life right now.
Our scripture reading from Isaiah comes from the portion of the book focused primarily on the theme of the restoration of Israel after the exile. The first two verses of our passage lays out the case against the people of Israel. (It sounds like it could have been written to address our consumer culture.) God says; why do you work and spend you money on things which do not satisfy and do not bring life? All those things you are doing only lead to more work and more stuff and as a result bring less life and even death. It is a powerful indictment which, surprisingly, does not lead to an immediate call to repentance. Instead, God offers an invitation: “Come.” Come, God says, and receive water, come and receive bread, milk, and even wine without money. (This is how we know that God does not understand our economic system. After all if you give people something for free they will never appreciate it.) God offers an invitation to get out of the cycle of which leads to death. Come and live, differently. New life is waiting for you.
The call to repentance in this passage does not show up until verse three. In this passage, repentance has to do with economic practices. God says; repent, turn from all those economic practices which do not bring life for the community. Repentance, in this passage from Isaiah is not about feeling sorry for wrongdoing but about changing the way one acts in the world. The good news is that change is possible.
In Luke Jesus too makes a call to repentance. However, before Jesus talks about repentance, he deals with a common misunderstanding about sin. Jesus directly challenges the traditional belief that people who suffer are greater sinners. He makes it clear that this understanding of sin is flawed.
It is not a new story. In every age people approach Jesus with the hope that their worldview will be reinforced. In our passage from Luke the worldview seeking divine support was that those who are sinners and those who are righteous can be neatly divided into easily identifiable categories. Instead, as is always the case whenever we take our pet projects to Jesus, he takes our neatly defined world and messes it all up. It must have been rather unsettling for those religious folks to hear that they too were in need of repentance. While it is an unsettling reality, there is good news in these challenging words. The good news is that even the righteous are included in the love of God.
Jesus ends this teaching with a parable which is more complex and unsettling than it first appears. The more we try to define or identify the characters in the parable the less clear things become. Focusing on who is which person is a game that quickly narrows this parable into a rather uninteresting story. However, if this parable, like all parables, is supposed to expand our understanding then any attempt at a final interpretation will be a failure of interpretation.
So, instead of trying to ‘figure out’ who everyone is supposed to represent, I think our energy is best spent looking at the themes of mercy and possibility which are abundant in the passage. While the owner of the vineyard calls for the destruction of the fig tree, he needs little persuasion to let it live. Despite past failure, there is possibility of new life. This is the core of what repentance is all about.
Traditional interpretations of this passage have often been guided by questions about who is going to be ‘saved’ and who is not. The obsession with sorting out sinners and saints has left an unfortunate legacy. This legacy has led some in the church to believe that repentance is a relic best left in the dustbin of history. However, this is not only unfortunate, but it leaves behind central practice of our faith.
We need repentance in the practice of our faith. Not because God is out to get us and so we better get saved. Instead, we need to heed the call to repentance because it is an offering of life right now. It is a discipline which is to move us from concern for self and toward a concern for others.
However, despite all my attempt to make repentance seem less unsettling there is something to the practice which is can be even more unsettling than a fire and brimstone sermon. The disciple of repentance will ultimately place all that we hold dear at risk. Repentance is a call to turn from all which stands in the way of following Jesus. In order to follow him, we must be willing to risk giving up; our beliefs, our traditions, our certainties, our pet projects, and even our well loved preferences and prejudices. Practicing repentance places our whole lives, personally and communally under a scrutiny. To practice repentance, we must continually ask: “Is this (whatever this might be) important to living faithfully as Christians?” If not, we will have, to repent, to turn from whatever it is in order to be faithful. It is my prayer that each one of us is able, each day of our lives, to hear the call to repentance from the one who offers new life. May we trust and receive and believe the good news that new life is truly possible for all. Amen.
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