Traditionally Lent was observed as a penitential season.  In the past society was organized around the Church, and Christian values were the social norm.  In those days being penitent meant trying to do better living up to social norms.  Today we have a much more pluralistic society, and people are often free to choose their own lifestyle.  Sometimes this aligns with Christian values and norms, and sometimes it does not.  So what is the point of repenting?

If you were to make a conscious choice for Christianity, it might be because you're coming to terms with the emptiness of all the other choices around you.  Lent begins with Jesus being tempted by the Devil.  There are three temptations - one to use power, one to seek fame, and a third to increase one's power by any means.  These temptations may look good and reasonable on the surface, but ultimately they fall short.  

In a lecture by actor Josh Radnor from How I Met Your Mother, he describes how be bought into this idea of fame and wealth making him incredibly happy, and yet, as the show became more successful, he became more depressed.  I suspect his experience is not uncommon.

 

The ancient Christian theologians were very clear that the life human beings were meant to live, was one that participates in the Divine Life.  As we saw in The Meaning of Epiphany, this Divine Life is characterized by the mutual giving and receiving of Love, Affirmation, and Affection.

At the same time we live in a world of alternatives, and sadly, some of those alternatives fill the space meant for Divine Love with impurities and toxins.  Sometimes this happens because of the choices we make, but just as often it happens because of things that happen to us.

 

In his work on religious instruction, Gregory of Nyssa compared humanity to a clay pot.  Imagine if they clay had become full of voids and impurities.  Imagine if this was so significant that the pot could no longer hold anything.  It could no longer function as a pot.  The only solution was to break it apart and reconstitute the clay.  Now with pure clay the potter can make a brand new pot.  For human beings, this process requires us to die and be resurrected.

It's no accident that Lent is the preparatory season to Easter.  It's also no accident that the season begins with Jesus' temptation, and ends with His crucifixion.  The beautiful thing about the Christian faith is that though He had no need of repentance, and the subsequent death that it entails, Jesus did it anyway so as to share the benefits with you.  Jesus died on your behalf so that you could have resurrected life and experience the Divine love that exists within the Trinity.  

Repentance is the way we say no to the world in order to say yes to God.  Repentance is the way you reject all that is maladaptive, inauthentic, and hypocritical, so that you can accept faith, hope, and love.  In repentence you see the status-quo as unacceptable, because God made you and everyone else for more than the status quo.  Definitely you were meant for more than this.

If you want to experience more, feel free to join us on Sunday mornings.