Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand

Sunday 26^th January – Epiphany 3

Isaiah 9: 1-4. The gloom and anguish in verse 1 refers to the nation of Israel (as distinct from Judah) that had been conquered by the Assyrians circa 724BC and prophesies hope – a great light – that will dawn for such oppressed people. The “day of Midian” (verse 4) refers to the battle Gideon fought against a mighty army of the Midianites with just 300 men. God on their side enabled the tiny army to overcome their enemies

1 Corinthians 1: 10-18. People in the church of Corinth have, it has been reported, been driven into factionalism and people are identifying with particular leaders rather that gathering around Christ himself. This temptation to ally oneself with a particular leader, faction or cause that is penultimate to the gospel itself has been ever present from earliest times it seems and is a continual temptation for us all today. Do we align ourselves with evangelicals or traditionalists, feminists or social activists to mention particular examples. Both at congregational and denominational level we need to remember that we gather around Christ first and foremost.

Matthew 4: 12-23. Matthew takes the “great light” from Isaiah and applies it directly to be a prophesy about Jesus fulfilling the prophesy by moving to Capernaum from Nazareth. The content of his preaching is “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near”. Jesus calls Peter and Andrew closely followed by James and John and what is notable is that they did not choose Jesus but Jesus chooses them. The initiative is always taken by God.

The preaching of Jesus was very simple. He taught in parables largely and healed people which were together great flashing neon signposts of the presence of God in Christ, but his preaching was succinct.

It was “repent for the kingdom of heaven is near”. He expanded it on occasion for example in the sermon on the mount but that and every other sermon he may have preached is encapsulated in that one phrase.

“Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near”

So it is incumbent on us to investigate that word – that command – repent to understand what Jesus requires of us.

We find out that the word translated into English as Repent is a Greek word called “Metanoia” which theologically a transformative change of heart, a spiritual conversion which is not superficial but reaches into every fibre of your being.

Repentance is more associated in the minds of English-speaking people with being sorry and regretful for the past. Sure, that is an element of that in the process but it is not the clarion call of either John the Baptist or Jesus wanted to inspire people with, to repent – not a looking back, but a looking forward with a transformation of mind and body, and character in our thoughts and our deeds.

The word also indicates the way one’s character is changed, and that is by the Grace of God.

This removes any sense of personal achievement, that someone may have achieved any transformation by their own effort and hard work.

Our role in this transformation process is to be open to the working of God within us to affect the changes He longs to see.

So the two most pivotal words in Christianity – Grace and repentance – rely on each other.

I have always thought about it like this;

We each of us have the surface of ourselves, the outer layer of culture education, upbringing and we have that deeper part of ourselves, our instincts, our sub-conscious, that part of us we keep hidden often even from ourselves.

God wants all of us, every bit of us to be converted.

I have often used the analogy that spiritual conversion is when the beliefs in your head make that short but hazardous journey from your head down to your heart – from your mind to your soul.

But what can any of us do to render ourselves more open to God’s Spirit?

Setting time apart to be consciously in God’s presence – putting yourself in God’s way.

Using stillness in our personal prayers – time and space for God to speak to us in and through our lives.

Contemplate scriptural verses that leap out at us or mean something special to us.

Receiving communion in such a contemplative way speaks so directly to the human soul because we are physically taking bread and wine into ourselves in order to commune with God.

Pray for God to fill you with his spirit

In such a way, you are offering yourself as an empty vessel for God to pour in his Spirit.

I have always thought it tragic that the church has spent centuries arguing over whether the bread and wine in the Eucharist changes when all along what God wants is not for bread and wine to change it is us that He wants to change.

“Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand”