(Re)Turning
Psalm 25; Mark 1:15[1]
The language of “sin” and “repentance” doesn’t get much
traction in our world these days. For quite some time now, we’ve been much more
concerned about enhancing self-esteem than confessing that we’ve done wrong.
Even, and especially among those of us in the church, there are many who
bristle at the notion of gathering every Sunday and praying a prayer of
confession together. There are those who not only reject the language of sin,
they also object to any kind of admission that they are fallen, or broken, or
less than whole just as they are. It would be nice if that were true, but if
we’re honest with ourselves and with each other, we have to admit that we all
fall short. And we do it far more often than we’d probably like to admit even
to ourselves. Confessing our sins together week after week may not be the most
comfortable part of our worship, but it is necessary.
To some extent, I understand what motivates those who
object to the language of sin. Over the centuries, church leaders have used
that language like a club to beat people over the head. They’ve used guilt to
manipulate and control people. Especially in traditions a particular leader is the
only one “authorized” to “dispense” forgiveness. And I understand the
importance of maintaining a healthy sense of self-esteem. The fact that we have
sinned makes us human, not worthless or shameful. Unfortunately, the language
of our worship has at times created that impression. Even some of our beloved
hymns have lyrics that can undermine a healthy sense of self-worth when taken
to extreme. Phrases like “a wretch like me,” or “such a worm as I” don’t
exactly resonate with a healthy self image. Even acknowledging our unworthiness
can communicate to some people that they are “worthless.”
I would insist that we don’t have to abandon our sense of
self-worth altogether to recognize and admit that we all fall short. In fact, I
would suggest that part of a truly healthy sense of self-worth includes
admitting that we all have room for improvement. Our lives are a journey, and
in part that means we never stop growing. But in order to grow, we have to be
willing to admit that there are areas of our lives that we could change. Again,
the fact that we all fall short, that we all have room for improvement, that
there are areas in our lives where we could change and grow, means that we are
human, not shameful or worthless. It also means we acknowledge that, for all
our efforts at following Jesus, none of us follows him perfectly. And we never
will until we’re standing face-to-face with him and his love has made us
completely whole.
In our Gospel lesson for today, Mark tells us that Jesus’
message was “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;
repent, and believe in the good news” (Mk. 1:15). Or as the version we read
today puts it, “Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts
and lives, and trust this good news!” I think we’re familiar with the “good
news” of the “kingdom of God.” I’m not so sure that the language of repentance
connects with us these days. It’s just not a word that we use in everyday life
outside the church. I would imagine there are many in our day who might not
even know what “repentance” means. One of the ways for understanding passages
that have language that is unfamiliar or difficult I recommend to people
studying the Bible is to compare different translations. I personally use the
Bible Gateway website, because it makes it easy to compare many English
translations at once.
When you compare translations of this verse, you find an
interesting interchange in a couple of the translations we use on a regular
basis. One is the Good News Translation, or “Today’s English Version,” first
published in 1966. It translates the word “repent” in our Gospel lesson as
“Turn away from your sins.” The other is the Contemporary English Version,
first published in 1991. It translates the word “repent” as “Turn back to God.”
What makes that interesting to me is that both of them were published by the
American Bible Society. While the second translation wasn’t meant to be a
“revision” of the first, there is a sense in which the Contemporary English
Version was meant to be the successor to the original “Today’s English Version”
or the Good News Bible. I think that makes it even more interesting that one
translates “repent” as “Turn away from your sins,” while the other translates
it as “Turn back to God.”
I point this out because I would say that based on my study
of the Bible, I think they’re both right. Calls to “repent” in the Bible are
meant to call people to turn away from their sins. At the same time, they are
meant to call people to turn back to God. “Repentance” includes both movements:
turning away from that which is harmful to us and to others, and returning to
God, who is the sole source of life that is full and free. But that can be hard
for us to do. We have to acknowledge that something we’ve done is “sin” in
order to “turn away” from it. And we have to acknowledge that in choosing to
sin we have turned away from God in order to return to him. It can be humbling
to make either of those confessions, even to ourselves.
Again, I would say that humility can be a part of a truly
healthy sense of self-worth, as long as it doesn’t turn into shame. I think
that’s part of what our lesson from the Psalms is about. It’s a prayer of
humility, recognizing that we all need help in order to truly follow God’s ways
in our daily living. And that’s what the Psalm promises: God’s help. Our lesson
says it this way, “The LORD is good and does what is right; he shows the proper
path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them
his way” (Ps 25:8-9, NLT). Notice, it doesn’t say that God shows the
proper way to those who are already in the right, but rather to those who go
astray! As a person who is fallen and flawed and who “goes astray” more often
that I’d like to admit, I find that to be a great comfort! The promise of
Scripture is that God shows us all the “proper way” and leads us in what is
right.
The language of sin and repentance in the Bible isn’t meant
to shame us or to beat us down with the notion that we’re worthless. It’s meant
to inspire us to “change our hearts and lives.” That’s the way the Common
English Bible, the version we used for our Gospel lesson today, puts it: “Change
your hearts and lives.” This is no easy task. Sometimes we have to “hit bottom”
before we’re even willing to admit that we need to change. Making changes in
our lives means recognizing that we fall short. It means taking responsibility
for what we have done as well as what we’ve failed to do. It means, as the
Psalmist says, admitting that we need help to follow God’s ways in our daily
living. It reminds me of what Jesus said in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God” (Matt. 5:3). I like the way
the Message translation puts it: “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your
rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” Being willing to
confess our sins and repent, both in the sense of turning away from what harms
us and others, and in the sense of returning to God, isn’t about thinking of
ourselves as worthless or shameful. It’s simply about being humble enough to
recognize that we need God’s help. And the promise of Scripture, is that to
those who are humble enough to acknowledge we need help, God provides it time
after time after time.
[1] ©2024 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by
Rev. Alan Brehm PhD on 2/18/2024 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
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