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Repent.
Turn.
Return.
Lent - the forty days before Easter - allows us a season of recognizing how human we are and how gracious God is. Imagine coming upon a mirror. No longer can you see what is before you. But you can see what is behind. And the trail of sin and brokenness in your wake is sobering and devastating.
Sometimes we are fully aware of what we will see behind us, and other times when we thought all was well, we are shocked by what we see.
But regardless, "Lent is the time where we stop pretending and start confessing" (Amanda Bible Williams.)
Repent.
Turn.
Return.
Repent means "to change one's mind, to turn from sin." In order to Repent, we must first recognize and acknowledge our sin. We must expose it to the light in order to see it. This is confession - "I know what I did and I am sorry." That's Step One - and sometimes this can be the most difficult step - admitting our sin.
But we are told to Repent - to walk away from the pattern in our life - to "leave it at the foot of the Cross." It sound poetic and magical, like laying flowers at a grave site. But this romanticized language does not clearly depict a repentant heart.
Turning away from sinful behavior is hard - like really, really hard. And for most of us, it requires multiple trips back to the Cross before that pattern is no more.
Repent.
Turn.
Return.
The Lord knows that we are creatures of habit, which is why He tells us to Turn. Go a different way. To turn, one must physically move the body. Turn away from your old ways and Turn to God. Ask for forgiveness. Turn your face to His. He already knows what is behind you, but He is waiting to show you what is waiting for you.
Repent.
Turn.
Return.
And then our gracious and merciful Father says, "Return to me." He opens His arms wide and beckons us back to Him. He leaves our sin at the Cross and washes us "white as snow."
Repent.
Turn.
Return.
Sometimes all of this is too much for me. I don't get it. I hide from God and shove my sin deeper and deeper. And sometimes I even run (and I'm no runner...). But we cannot outrun God. He is so madly in love with us, He will pursue us fiercely.
He is our Father and we are His children. And when I stop and remember that, I think of my own children. And the fact that I would move heaven and earth to find them - to save them - to protect them. And our gracious and loving Father does the same for us.
Repent.
Turn.
Return.
We are days before Easter now, in the middle of what is called Holy Week. It kicked off with Palm Sunday, when the kids waved palm branches and cried, "Hosanna" as we remembered Jesus riding into Jerusalem to the shouts of praise an adoration. On Maundy Thursday, we will remember how Jesus shared His last meal with those who had lived life with Him for the three years of His ministry on earth. Jesus showed His disciples one last time what it looked like to serve others and love others as He broke the bread, which would represent His body that was soon to be broken for them - and for us. And He shared the wine, which would represent His blood that would run down His battered and broken body for them - and for us. He then led His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, all while knowing that the one disciple who was missing was betraying Jesus at that same moment. On Good Friday we will reflect on Jesus' trial, where those who had shouted "Hosanna" were now crying, "Crucify Him!" How He was beaten so brutally he was no longer recognizable. And how He was nailed to the cross, covered in His blood and our sins.
Repent.
Turn.
Return.
The moment Jesus took His last breath and "gave up His Spirit," the sky turned black, the earth shook, and the curtain in the temple that had physically separated the people from the Holy of Holies (the presence of the Lord), tore in two - from the top to the bottom (from heaven to earth) - revealing to the people what had been hidden from them for thousands of years.
Repent.
Turn.
Return.
And on Saturday, we are still and quiet. We are waiting for Sunday, because we know. But we remember those who did not know. Who thought Jesus was gone forever. Who did not understand that His death was not the end, but the beginning.
Repent.
Turn.
Return.
On Sunday, Easter Sunday, we will rejoice! He has Risen! He has Risen Indeed! He is Alive! He is no longer in the grave. We will find Him among the Living, not the dead! Jesus died the death that we deserved, to give us the life we cannot earn. He Redeemed what was lost. He is our Living God.
Repent.
Turn.
Return.
My friends. It is not too late for you. It is never too late for you.
No matter what you have done or where you have been - Jesus loves you.
The darkness will not last - what you see behind you in the mirror is behind you - covered by the blood of Jesus.
Repent - confess to the One who already knows it all - who already died on the cross for you - who already rose in victory over your death.
Turn - turn away from your sin - and run - and remember, if you run away, He will pursue you because He loves you.
Return - Jesus is waiting with open arms for you - run into His outstretched arms of mercy, and grace, and forgiveness, and new life.
Repent.
Turn.
Return.
My challenge to you would be to immerse yourself in these last moments of Jesus' life. Whose story resonates deeply with you? Are you like Peter? Proud and pompous, proclaiming your undying devotion, until you find yourself feeling the shame, having denied Christ three times? Are you like the women who couldn't find their Lord, and didn't understand? Are you in the crowd, having shouted "Hosanna" on Sunday, but find yourself shouting "Crucify" on Friday? Close your eyes and use your senses. What do yo hear? See? Smell? Taste? Feel? Experience these truths and "rescue" them from "the jaws of familiarity."
