Bending Toward Repenting

Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” – Mark 1:14-15 (NRSV) 

A preacher ascended the pulpit on her first Sunday at a new church. She preached a riveting sermon about repentance. The message was chock-full of wit and wisdom with just the right blend of personal stories and sound biblical exegesis. The congregation loved it. During coffee hour, if they weren’t praising her, they were slapping the backs of the search committee on a job well done! 

The next Sunday the new pastor preached the very same sermon, word for word. The congregation was perplexed, but rationalized the repetition was for the sake of emphasis or for the benefit of those who played hooky last week.  

On her third Sunday, she once again preached the same sermon exactly as before. The people were incensed. Was this new preacher a one-hit wonder? Had the search committee condemned them to hear the same sermon over and over for the duration of her ministry—which would be short if they had anything to say about it!  

That evening saw a blizzard of emails between church leaders. The chair of the deacons volunteered to speak to their new pastor first thing in the morning. “Reverend, we sure are glad you are here, but there are some complaints about your preaching. I am sure you are aware that you have given the same sermon three times. That is … unusual in our experience.”  

“As soon as you have begun to practice what was preached,” she said, “I’ll move on to something else.” 

The congregation repented. 

Jesus’s first sermon on repentance was less than twenty words long. Repent comes from a word that means to turn: turning away from living for self alone and toward living for others and for God, because God was near. That was all he had to say. He gave the same sermon, over and over, for his entire ministry. 

Prayer
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed; to turn, turn, will be my delight. Till by turning, turning we come round right. (from “Simple Gifts,” Joseph Brackett)

About the Author
Matt Laney is co-Pastor of Virginia Highland Church UCC in Atlanta, GA and the author of Pride Wars, a fantasy series published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for Young Readers. The first two books, The Spinner Prince and The Four Guardians are available now.