SERMON - The Third Sunday of Lent

In the Gospel today (Luke 13:1-9) we hear Jesus saying, ‘unless you repent, you will all perish…’

The word REPENT has some rather scary connotations – it is associated strongly with some of the non-conformist preachers of the past, and the image of them banging their fists on the pulpit, with a terrified congregation below. But actually repentance doesn’t need to be like that at all. What repentance is, is a turning away from the things we have done wrong, the things that have hurt God or hurt other people, or things that we have failed to do which we should have done, and saying sorry.

It is a commitment on our part to accept our failures, and try and improve our lives. In fact therefore, repentance is actually a great gift from God. It is the chance to say sorry and begin afresh. It is a chance for us all to get closer to God.

So what is REPENTENCE? Is it to recognise the areas where we are failing or have failed. And it is to receive God’s free forgiveness.

We are always suspicious of anything that is free – but this forgiveness really is free. Sometimes we may not be able to forgive ourselves – but God can forgive us.

Being sorry – really sorry about something is the hard part. God forgives us, and that might make it worse. We know that to be really sorry we need to change the way we are, how we see others, and sometimes being sorry means changing a lot. God makes no unreasonable demands about repentance and forgiveness – we do that to ourselves, and others do it to us.

It all seems very easy, but I’m sure we’ve all tried saying sorry at some time and found it very difficult. There are a whole host of reasons why – there may be the feeling that actually we did the right thing, maybe in the wrong way – the person we shouted at got what was coming to them, the insurance company we ripped off have taken plenty of our money in the past, the person we gossiped about gossips about us, and so on. But, as Christians we can find no such justification – Jesus offers us a gospel which talks of accepting that people will hurt us but still loving those people.

Another reason why we may find it hard to say sorry is that we may have gone too far down a particular road. The mistake has got bigger and bigger and we are too proud to say we have been wrong all along. Again, it’s no excuse. Carrying on with something just because you’ve always done it is sheer stupidity if you now know that thing too be wrong. Again, it is important to stress that God is not interested in our pasts, whatever they contain, as long as we are looking to do better in the future, and commit our lives to him. We cannot allow pride or anything else to get in the way.

So, it is important to recognise the areas that are damaging our lives and our relationship with God – too much time worrying about the past ruins the future.

The American philosopher, Mortimer Adler – before he was eventually converted to Christianity he was asked why there had been such reluctance in the past. He replied that he had been close to accepting Christianity on a number of occasions but didn’t do it. He went on to say, ‘if one is born a Christian, one can be light hearted about living up to Christianity, but if one converts by a clear conscious act of will, one had better be prepared to live a truly Christian life. So you ask yourself, “are you prepared to give up all your vices and weaknesses of the flesh.”’

This is a bit daft – although I understand what he means. There is no difference really. The reality is that the standards Jesus calls for are very different from those so often seen in the world today, and as Christians we must follow and proclaim Christ’s standards whatever the cost to ourselves. As we go through Lent we reflect closely on the journey Christ took for us – it is quite sobering when we think of how little we are asked to do for him – we don’t do a lot to wear the badge of the Christian – do we?

What do we do then….

We come to church – that lets us show that we are the gathered church – the people of God together. Whatever particular tradition, whatever language we use, wherever we are – it is what we are called to do

The Bible tells us that we should pray at all times – Again it isn’t something God needs from us to make him feel better, it is a gift to us – a way of getting closer to him, a way of asking for help and guidance, a way of giving thanks or confessing, and it’s a way of listening to God – it is also a way of joining our prayers with others – to make a real difference.

Community is essential as a Christian also essential – John Wesley once said that the New Testament knows nothing of solitary religion. We are not intended to worship alone. Yes, there will be times for private prayer and Bible study, but we are also called to support and care for one another. And in the booklets you all have, there are many ways of helping that community grow into something we can all be proud of.

By walking in through the Church door this morning we have associated ourselves with Christianity – when people look at what we do in our lives they will be making a judgement on Christianity – I’m sure we have all herd the comment, “He’s done that and he says he’s a Christian !’

If Christianity is to be taken seriously then we must start living out the gospel in our everyday lives... And if Christ is to be judged by our actions then let us pray that those actions glorify God in every way