R & P -- NO REASON TO SING THE BLUES
Ezekiel 33:10-16
Psalm 51:6-17
R & P -- Repentance and Penance
As a Protestant, when I hear the word "penance," I get this image of Bart Simpson writing on a blackboard 500 times, "I will not do anything bad ever again." For all the time Bart has spent at that blackboard over the years, it hasn't changed his behavior one bit. He still keeps on doing the same things that drive his teacher, Mrs. Krabappel, and Principal Skinner nuts.
Of course, Bart is a cartoon character, but we in the real world sometimes try to "get right" with God by doing good works or some other self-imposed action and then turn around and keep doing the same things, over and over again.
In fact, that's the very issue God is talking to the people of Israel about In Ezkiel 33:10-16. They thought that if they went through the motions of offering sacrifices for their sin, that was enough for God. It wasn't:
"And even if I have pronounced a death sentence on the wicked, if they turn from sin and do what is just and right— if they return pledges, make restitution for robbery, and walk in life-giving regulations in order not to sin—they will live and not die. None of the sins they’ve committed will be remembered against them. They’ve done what is just and right, and they will live." Ezekiel 33:14-16
What God desires from us and for our good is a change in our behavior. A transformation in our lives as we turn away from sin and turn back to God and then put into practice acts of righteousness. Barbara Taylor Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest, explains in her book, Speaking of Sin, pairs repentance (turning away from sin and turning back to God) with penance, practicing doing the right thing. As Vatican II put it, penance puts an emphasis on reparation, reconciliation, making amends and understanding the impact of our sin on the lives of our friends, family and community.
Which brings us to the story of Peter and Evil Ted. Kate Braestrup, author of Beginner's Grace, tells the story of what happened after her son Peter and his friend, Evil Ted (a mother's worst nightmare), sneaked out of the house one night with a video camera. Two weeks later, Evil Ted's father called Kate and informed her that he had a video he thought she should see.
Peter and Evil Ted had taped themselves doing things like jumping from trees, leaping across deep ditches and running naked around the high school parking lot. One could have chalked this behavior up to youthful hi-jinks, except that Peter forced open the doors of a school bus and vandalized it.
Now, Kate could have just grounded Peter for the rest of his life, but instead, she did something that, while Peter saw it as punishment, made a bigger impact on his emotional and spiritual well-being. She guided him through repentance and penance.
The conviction of our sins by the Holy Spirit is a gift of God's love and mercy. God would much rather forgive us and welcome us back into a life giving relationship with God than punish us. That's shy God sent Christ to die for us.
I Peter 2:24 states, "He [Jesus] carried in his own body on the cross the sins we committed. He did this so that we might live in righteousness, having nothing to do with sin. By his wounds you were healed."
There's the old joke, "How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? One, but the light bulb has to want to change." The same is true for us. God offers us the grace of forgiveness and the transforming power of God's love to empower us live changed lives. But we have a choice. We can choose to confess our sins and then accept that grace and participate with it, or we can choose to end back at that same old blackboard, again and again, trapped in a cycle of sin that can only lead to spiritual death.
Why keep singing the same old blues? With God's grace through Jesus Christ, let's break the cycle of sin and choose life.
Psalm 51:6-17
R & P -- Repentance and Penance
As a Protestant, when I hear the word "penance," I get this image of Bart Simpson writing on a blackboard 500 times, "I will not do anything bad ever again." For all the time Bart has spent at that blackboard over the years, it hasn't changed his behavior one bit. He still keeps on doing the same things that drive his teacher, Mrs. Krabappel, and Principal Skinner nuts.
Of course, Bart is a cartoon character, but we in the real world sometimes try to "get right" with God by doing good works or some other self-imposed action and then turn around and keep doing the same things, over and over again.
In fact, that's the very issue God is talking to the people of Israel about In Ezkiel 33:10-16. They thought that if they went through the motions of offering sacrifices for their sin, that was enough for God. It wasn't:
"And even if I have pronounced a death sentence on the wicked, if they turn from sin and do what is just and right— if they return pledges, make restitution for robbery, and walk in life-giving regulations in order not to sin—they will live and not die. None of the sins they’ve committed will be remembered against them. They’ve done what is just and right, and they will live." Ezekiel 33:14-16
What God desires from us and for our good is a change in our behavior. A transformation in our lives as we turn away from sin and turn back to God and then put into practice acts of righteousness. Barbara Taylor Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest, explains in her book, Speaking of Sin, pairs repentance (turning away from sin and turning back to God) with penance, practicing doing the right thing. As Vatican II put it, penance puts an emphasis on reparation, reconciliation, making amends and understanding the impact of our sin on the lives of our friends, family and community.
Which brings us to the story of Peter and Evil Ted. Kate Braestrup, author of Beginner's Grace, tells the story of what happened after her son Peter and his friend, Evil Ted (a mother's worst nightmare), sneaked out of the house one night with a video camera. Two weeks later, Evil Ted's father called Kate and informed her that he had a video he thought she should see.
Peter and Evil Ted had taped themselves doing things like jumping from trees, leaping across deep ditches and running naked around the high school parking lot. One could have chalked this behavior up to youthful hi-jinks, except that Peter forced open the doors of a school bus and vandalized it.
Now, Kate could have just grounded Peter for the rest of his life, but instead, she did something that, while Peter saw it as punishment, made a bigger impact on his emotional and spiritual well-being. She guided him through repentance and penance.
- Peter was to go, in person, to the school and apologize for his behavior.
- Because what he did reflected badly on the other teens in the community, he was to write an open letter to the community apologizing for his actions and send it to the local newspaper.
- Peter had to apologize, in person, to the bus driver whose bus he had vandalized.
- He had to clean the inside of each and every one of the school buses.
The conviction of our sins by the Holy Spirit is a gift of God's love and mercy. God would much rather forgive us and welcome us back into a life giving relationship with God than punish us. That's shy God sent Christ to die for us.
I Peter 2:24 states, "He [Jesus] carried in his own body on the cross the sins we committed. He did this so that we might live in righteousness, having nothing to do with sin. By his wounds you were healed."
There's the old joke, "How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? One, but the light bulb has to want to change." The same is true for us. God offers us the grace of forgiveness and the transforming power of God's love to empower us live changed lives. But we have a choice. We can choose to confess our sins and then accept that grace and participate with it, or we can choose to end back at that same old blackboard, again and again, trapped in a cycle of sin that can only lead to spiritual death.
Why keep singing the same old blues? With God's grace through Jesus Christ, let's break the cycle of sin and choose life.
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