Christians have established a calendar shaped by the great events of Christ, His birth and the spread of the Christian faith: Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost.
Along with Advent and Christmas the Lenten season receives the most attention. It is the time of the church year when the passion and death of the Savior come into focus. It begins with a special day of repentance, Ash Wednesday, and ends in the depth of sorrow and tragedy on Good Friday.
A few days ago, February 17, on Ash Wednesday, millions of Christians began the Lenten season by attending worship service where a minister made the sign of the cross on their forehead with ashes. It was the first day of the Lenten season.
Lent is meant to be a time of reflection and repentance before the celebrations of Holy Week and Easter.
Matthew says in his Gospel, that John came out of the wilderness preaching, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (3:2). Interestingly, Matthew says the same thing of Jesus after His temptation experience in the wilderness. Jesus came from that experience, preaching, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4: 17)
That’s a lightening call of the Gospel which shatters our moral apathy, our spiritual dullness, and our dark sinfulness.
So repentance is not normally seen as positive. But ponder for a moment; it’s purpose is not to kill, but to give life. Often the best way to say yes to something is to say no to its counterpart. Jesus said repentance was the doorway to the Kingdom of Heaven. Who then should not be interested in repentance?
Repentance is the act of saying “no” in order that the “Yes” of God may be realized. Paul reminds us that “Jesus is God’s Yes to all the promises of God.”
Repentance is not an emotion; it is a decision. To be sure, repentance begins with a feeling that means feeling sorry for our wrongdoing and sin. But in repentance, not only do we feel sorry, we are sorry. Sorry enough to make a decision. A dimension of the decision is that “I have been wrong in supposing that I can manage my life as if I were God.”
Repentance is the decision that I am going to accept the forgiveness and salvation Jesus offers by following Him. The formula is clear. Repentance, which is the no that becomes a yes, requires that we accept the forgiveness of Christ, and we demonstrate our acceptance of that forgiveness by following Him.
That may not be all that repentance is, but it is enough to ponder in making this Lenten Season meaningful.