Repentance: A Pathway For Grace

Now after John was arrested¼Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God, and saying “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the gospel.”

The Greek language has several different words to express the idea of time. The word for time chosen by Mark in this passage is kairos. Kairos, depending on the specific context in which it is used, can convey different nuances and implications. However, whenever it is used it always communicates a sense of urgency. The time is now; Kairos time is a time when something must be done.

In this particular passage the use of kairos to speak of time conveys at least two things. First, it is used by Mark to tell us that now that Jesus has come, this is a specific TIME in history appointed by God. Secondly, it implies that now is a time of decision; one must go one way or another because the circumstances demand action.

In the same way as Mark’s first readers were confronted by Jesus’ kairos time, we too find ourselves at a point of decision. God’s will for us has been revealed through Jesus Christ, and every generation over the past 2,000 plus years has lived in a kairos time; a time of decision. The decision we face is, “Do we accept Jesus’ message, or do we reject it?”

Through his life, death, and resurrection Jesus Christ is before us fulfilling the gospel of God and calling us to repent and believe. In Jesus Christ God’s appointed time is fulfilled and God’s purposes for us are known. Accordingly, we live in a kairos time; a time of decision.

In Jesus, God stepped out of heaven and came to us. In Jesus, the cycle of human failure to live as God intended us to live, a cycle of failure recorded in the Old Testament, has been broken. Indeed, again and again God had given Israel new chances to come to him in faithfulness. Yet human sinfulness precluded our obedience. However, God could not and would not accept the division between Himself and His creation.

So God acted. The appointed time finally arrived in the anointed one Jesus Christ. Now it is kairos time. This is the promise of the gospel of God. God is with us. Emmanuel - God with us. God wants us to repent and believe in His gospel.

Now, we are to live in the new reality created by the advent of Jesus. It is as if God had said, “All right, you’ve tried to come to me on your terms and failed, now why don’t you try coming to me on my terms.”

In Jesus, the Kingdom of God is at hand. Now what are we going to do about it? That is the question put to us from Mark. Christ has come to us to proclaim a message, and that message is God’s love for the world.

It is important to remember we play a part in this message from God. We are called to hear it, to make it a part of us. This process of taking part in the message is called repentance.

God sent His Son and in so far as we hear and respond to the gospel, His Son sends us out into the world. In this sense, then, we are called to be the pathway which the Word of God travels.

However, it is God’s message – not ours. It is God who makes it real in the hearts of those who hear it. It is God who leads us to repent and become the conduit for the gospel. It is God who makes us a vehicle to carry his Word.

And travel it does, not unlike a brush fire consuming everything in its path, the Word of God continues to spread all over the world. Repentance has the same effect in our lives. Think of repentance as a brush fire, clearing away the deadwood and under-brush which strangles a forest. It is true that the destruction from a fire is horrible to see but from the ashes grows new life.

Repentance for us is a fire and a new beginning. It clears away those things in our lives which strangle us and retard our growth. Our repentance clears the way for our new life in the Kingdom of God. Our repentance allows us to become a pathway for God’s Word.

When we hear the gospel we are confronted with a new reality. It is a new way of being in the world. Jesus teaches a new way of relating to each other. Jesus shows us a new way of serving God. It is Jesus who makes this new world possible because he makes us acceptable in the eyes of God.

When we model our lives after the example set by Christ we live in the Kingdom of God. Jesus brought us the message of God’s grace and forgiveness for each of us, now what are we going to do? Do we want to live in that new reality, or cling to our old ways of being in the world?

In Mark’s gospel account, immediately after Jesus proclaimed the present reality of the Kingdom of God he called his disciples. He went out to them. These call narratives in Mark are radically different from Old Testament call narratives. In the OT someone would seek out a teacher and plead with that person to accept them. But now times are different. Jesus changes everything.

Jesus met His disciples in their daily lives. He confronted them as they were doing what they normally did. Andrew and Simon were out fishing and Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men”. They immediately dropped what they were doing and followed Him.

Jesus came into their lives and confronted them with the gospel of God; a message of love and forgiveness. He invited them to follow him; to repent of their usual routine and to follow Him. He invited them to reorganize their life in accord with His message. Jesus makes us the same offer. We too are confronted with the Christ, how shall we respond?

The phrase, “¼I will make you fishers of men”, is a familiar one to us. Gathering in the fish to live in the Kingdom of God is an image rich in meaning. But also notice something else about this call narrative. The disciples were already fishermen, Christ wants them to continue to be fishermen-but in a different way. The external circumstances of their lives will remain the same. They will still be fisherman, but in a fundamentally different way.

The point is that God comes into our lives and we are changed through our repentance. Nonetheless, we still go to work. We are still faced with often difficult and unpleasant choices in life. In other words, the Kingdom of God is present, but not fully. The Kingdom has drawn near, but is not yet fully present. Much is the same, but much has changed.

This phrase “to repent” carries with it a lot of different meanings for us. It means to, “be sorry”. It means to stop doing something we were doing. It may even carry with it an image of a bible thumping preacher breathing fire and damnation. The word repent can mean all of those things, and much more. However, the question is, “What does it mean to you?”

In the context of this passage the word “repent” is used in its most comprehensive meaning. That is to say, the gospel of God touches our lives in every way. Repent is the English word for the Greek word “metanoia”, a word with varied implications and meanings. In a literal sense “metanoia” means to physically turn ones body toward something.

In the context of these words by Jesus we are being told to literally turn toward the Kingdom of God. To physically re-orient ourselves to God. The internal, or spiritual element of this “turning” cannot be neglected, but the call is for more than an internal change in attitude. The call is for both external and internal change. Our inner lives must undergo the fire of repentance and our external lives need to reflect that change. Our circumstances may not change, but the way we live in them will.

As we consider this call to repentance, it is fair to ask why this call to repent and believe the gospel is different from previous biblical prophetic utterances? Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Amos, all cried out for repentance. How is this call different?

It is different because this time God is with us. For in Jesus’ call for us to repent and to believe is also the very power to do it; God is with us. We are called to repent and we are given the power to obey.

In Jesus Christ, we are given newness of life and contained in that new life we have been given the gift of obedience. Through God’s grace we can repent and we can believe. That is why this call is different. God not only calls us to Him, but also gives us the power to come. God carries us to him through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When Jesus gathered his disciples, he called them to act. If we look at the gospel account in Mark as a whole, we can see that Jesus himself was the model of how their lives were to change. He cared for people by putting their needs ahead of His own. He challenged the economic and social structures of His day as unjust and in need of change. He healed people who were hurting, both mentally and physically. He tried to reform the religious practices of the day to bring them in line with the will of God.

But all of these things are of secondary importance in comparison to His most important work; Christ placed the Kingdom of God at the center of His life. Christ not only proclaimed the Kingdom - He lived in it. In how he lived, in how he treated others, in how He served the Father. Christ was faithful and we are called to faithfulness as well.

Christ brought change to our world, and will continue to bring change through our faithfulness. However, the question must be asked, do we really want change? Do we welcome repentance? Do we really want our lives changed? Aren’t we really pretty satisfied with how things are? Do we really want Jesus coming into our lives and rearranging our priorities? Can we give up whatever it is that we have in order to live in the Kingdom of God?

You see, the Kingdom of God is not a place, it is a way of being in the world. It is a way of life. Jesus carried the Kingdom of God with him wherever he went because of how he lived; placing God at the very center of his living.

I believe we know how to repent. We know what needs to change in our lives for us to live in the Kingdom of God. If you don’t know these things, then search your hearts and ask God for help. God will not disappoint you.

So often in life Jesus’ call for repentance falls on deaf ears. Are we listening for the call, or have we tuned out because basically we like how we are living and don’t want anything to change? It is hard to repent when we are satisfied with ourselves.

However, in Jesus Christ, we are confronted by a time of decision, we live in kairos time. Will we re-orient our lives toward the Kingdom? Or, will we go another way?

As we live today, day in and day out we are confronted by nothing less than the Kingdom of God through the work and witness of Jesus Christ. Do we hear the call?

Let us in fact hear Jesus’ call to repent and to live in the Kingdom of God. Through our genuine and heartfelt repentance may God’s Word travel through our lives out into the world. In word and in deed may we become a pathway for God’s grace to flow to others. So may it be for us. AMEN!

Reverend Marc V. Mason

January 22, 2006

Trinity Presbyterian Church

Travelers Rest, SC