Epiphany 3B

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Repentance. What do you hear when someone speaks that word? What springs to mind?

I think the Christian proclamation has twisted this word into so many knots that it would be unrecognizable to Jesus’ first listeners. And now that the mere utterance of it evokes strong, feelings of shame. At least it does for me.

“Repent!” we hear preachers say. And what they usually mean is “Stop sinning! Change those parts of your life that is putting you in conflict with God. Cut out those impure thoughts and actions and turn to the purity of God’s will. If you want to be close to God then you have to remove anything that gets in the way with your relationship with God.”

Have you ever heard that? I have. And I’ve always asked, Where’s the good news in that?

But sadly that’s what I’ve heard a lot of preachers say. Maybe you have too. It’s hardly anything resembling what we call “gospel.”

That’s not what Simon and Andrew, and James and John heard when Jesus told them to drop everything, bail on the family business, and leave their lives behind to follow him. They would have known the code. They knew that Jesus wasn’t telling them to stop sinning. They knew that he asking something much harder.

But that word, “repentance” evolved down the centuries and lost its potency. And has created more confusion for people than it meant to, leaving some to needlessly worry about their relationship with God. 

For me, when I hear that, or even just hearing the word “repent” I always wonder if I have repented enough. I always worry that there’s something that I’ve missed, that there might be a spiritual blind spot that is keeping me from growing spiritually. I wonder if I’ve done enough to maintain my relationship with God.

Thankfully, in an old prayer of confession in the traditional Lutheran liturgy, there’s an escape clause. The prayer confesses those sins “known and unknown.”

While we may be forgiven of those sins with a linguistic sleight-of-hand, practically, we are no better off because we cannot change that which we do not know that we SHOULD change. Also, if being close to God and greeting the kingdom when it arrives is dependent on something that I do, then I’m not sure that really sounds like good news. If managing my sins is a requirement to receive the fullness of God’s love, then I wonder what Jesus was doing on that cross.

And I’m not sure that this was Jesus’ point. We’ve put words in Jesus’ mouth as a way of controlling each other. We’ve emphasized sin rather than freedom. And we’ve reduced sin to individual moral failings rather than the result of human brokenness and creation’s fallenness. A celebrity in a bikini on the front page of Cosmo creates more outrage than a child dying of hunger or preventable disease.

A lot of Christians are worried about moral confusion than they are about God’s love. They hate sin more than they love grace. They somehow believe that they’re under attack and lash out at an unbelieving world rather trust God with the final victory.

And Christians then become known for what we oppose rather than what we proclaim. We aren’t always know for our love. Care and compassion aren’t the first words that comes to many people’s minds when they hear the word “Christian.” Forgiveness isn’t even an afterthought.

Sadly, when many people hear the word Christian they think of judgment. Anger. Entitlement. Condemnation.

That could be because as Christians, we tend to focus our faith on the sin/forgiveness transaction. We reduce our faith to us sinning and God forgiving. And we repeat that over and over and over again, as if that is the full content of our faith.

This nothing new. Traditional Lutheranism has the sin/forgiveness transaction built into it, and it’s hard to tinker with it without damaging the whole. The Lutheran insistence on “grace” was a much needed corrective to the abuses of the institutional church. When Martin Luther recovered the word “grace” from religious bullies he set free all those who were trapped in guilt and shame by telling them that God loved them, and Jesus died for them.

They didn’t have to do anything to earn that love. No amount of proper prayer. No church obligations. No morally correct behaviour was going to bring them closer to God. God’s saving love was given to them as a free gift.

They received “grace;” which means “undeserved favour.” Or in other words, grace is God’s love for us even though we don’t deserve it.

But think about that for a minute. While I affirm God’s grace wholeheartedly or I wouldn’t still be a Lutheran preacher, I think we’ve created another trap for ourselves by such a puny understanding of it.

Lutherans throw that word “grace” around so easily that it’s become a buzzword. And keeps us self-identifying as people who are forgiven of sin, which is good. But it also reinforces our identity as people who are undeserving. Which isn’t the point of receiving grace. The point of receiving grace is feel loved.Also, grace doesn’t let us take the next step. It doesn’t ask the question “Now what?” The Christian faith becomes a matter of sinning and forgiving, and nothing more.

But our Christian faith is SO much more than that. Receiving forgiveness of sins is just the beginning of our faith. It’s not the whole of our faith.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

There’s more here than meets the ear. Jesus’ first listeners might have gasped at the boldness of such a proclamation. Not because of it’s religious expressions, but for it’s political overtones. Such talk was a good way for a guy to get himself killed.

That’s because Caesar wasn’t interested in sharing his kingdom. And Jesus’ listeners had seen plenty of loved ones fixed on crosses so Caesar could keep his real estate.

So Jesus set up “The Kingdom of God” in direct competition to Caesar and the kingdoms of the world. And that’s the Kingdom call that Andrew and Simon, James and John responded to.

They knew that “Kingdom of God” that Jesus recruited them into isn’t a disembodied existence in the heavenly realm. 

But the Kingdom of God that Jesus talks about is God’s presence in this world. The Kingdom of God is God’s vision of life, of peace, of forgiveness, of justice, of mercy, alive and running loose in our world.

Repentance was the code word. It means to “turn in a different direction.” So when Jesus says “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” what they’re hearing is:

“Turn away from the kingdoms of this world, and turn to God’s kingdom. Where the Caesar and kingdoms of this world protects its power through force and oppression, God’s Kingdom brings peace and justice.

“Where Caesar and the kingdoms of this world seek revenge against those who hurt them, God’s kingdom brings mercy and forgiveness, and blesses their enemies. 

“Where Caesar and the kingdoms of this world seek to grow their wealth by stealing from others, God’s kingdom feeds the poor and sets the captives free.

So don’t align yourself with Caesar and the kingdoms of the world. Be part of God’s kingdom. For it is here. The kingdom of God arrived!

Be an agent of healing, work for justice, seek peace, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive one another. That’s the kingdom that I have brought to the world.”

That’s the Kingdom that you’ve been called into. That’s the life that God has prepared for you. That’s the Kingdom that calls you beloved, and knows what you’re capable of. That’s the Kingdom that wants you to thrive in your gifts.

So, maybe, instead of confessing our sins and receiving God’s forgiveness, maybe we could celebrate our Kingdom Accomplishments.

Instead of always talking about where we have failed, we can share about those times we have succeeded!
Instead of always admitting our guilt, we can proclaim our successes in Jesus’ name.
Instead of pointing to our shortcomings, we can share our victories for God’s kingdom.

You can talk about where you have seen God working the world.
You can tell stories of how God is working in your life.
You can share about how you have participated in God’s kingdom work.
You can talk about the forgiveness you offered and received.
You can talk about the justice you worked for.
You can talk about how you fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and visited the sick. You can talk about how you were that caring ear, that comforting touch, or that encouraging word.

You can talk about how you fished for people by letting them know about a God who loves them.

You can share all of this, not to brag about how spiritually awesome you are. But because this is evidence of the kingdom of God at work in the world and in your life.

You can share these stories to bear witness to the God who promised to make all things new.

You can tell these stories not to point to you, but to point to the one who called you, who chose you, who tapped you on the shoulder and said, “Follow me.”

You can do this to remind yourself and each other, that God has not given up on us or the world, but that God still creating and re-creating everything. Just as Paul tells us that the present world is passing away just as the new world is arriving in Jesus.

You can do this because you are a citizen of Kingdom of God, named and claimed as God’s own because Jesus has called you to new life. You are part of God’s salvation movement. You are changing the world’s direction.

And that’s what we’re going to do. Over here on the wall is a banner for you to write down your God sightings. Where you have seen God do something in your life and in the world. And next to it, under “Kingdom Accomplishments” you are invited to list those times in your life when you have been faithful. When you have impacted the world for Jesus. When you have touched another with God’s love. When you have used your gifts, skills, and talents, to further God’s Kingdom on earth.

This will be left up for the next few weeks. So over the course of your daily lives, keep your eyes open for what God is doing. And celebrate those moments when you have been faithful.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Now Go! Be the kingdom people that God made you to be!

May this be so among us. Amen!

Pentecost 11A

What a short memory they had.

“Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph...” the bible tells us. It’s a different book, but the story continues. How could Joseph be erased from memory? What Egyptian could forget Joseph? And so quickly. And if Pharaoh chose to forget who Joseph was, why didn’t anyone remind him?

Certainly they couldn’t forget that Joseph was the one who saved Egypt from starving to death. Surely they remembered that it was Joseph who managed the Egyptian economy so effectively that vanishing resources wouldn’t affect their prosperity.

But they forgot him.They ignored his achievements. And instead waged war on his legacy by enslaving his kin who came to live with him.

Pharaoh looked out his window and he was afraid. He was afraid that the Israelites - Joseph’s family - were growing too numerous, large enough to become a threat to his empire if they got their act together, organized themselves, and rose up against him. 

He was afraid that it would be him who would go down in history as the one who destroyed Egypt’s greatness. He was afraid that he would look weak when put up along side the great rulers of the past, rulers who made Egypt what it was.

Pharaoh ruled out of fear. Not out of a vision of a better tomorrow, or hope for a more abundant future. For him strength meant dominating others, oppressing and enslaving those under him, forcing them to build large cities to match his enormous ego. Ruthlessly starting wars with other countries simply to steal their riches.

People were just instruments to create his vision of himself, they were to be used to build his greatness, then be tossed away.

He ruled out of fear because he forgot Joseph. He forgot his peoples’ story. He forgot how this lowly slave from another country was lifted to the highest position he could attain in order to save a country that was could have been destroyed by drought. He forgot what God had done for them. And he put himself in God’s place.

He forgot his story.

But in his defense, that’s easy to do. Especially when we don’t KNOW our story. When we stop telling it.

I heard a lecture recently about a poll taken last year involving the biblical literacy levels of average churchgoers, asking them basic biblical questions.

The answers were depressing for any pastor. Many could not identify David as king. Some said that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. Others believed that “Christ” was Jesus’ family name and not his title. Some said that they would go to heaven when they died because they are “basically good people” and not because of what Jesus had done for them.

Furthermore, they mis-identified popular aphorisms as biblical passages. These ones especially are most often mistakenly named as scripture:

“The Lord helps those who helps themselves,” they say with great piety. But of course this was said by Benjamin Franklin, not Jesus or Paul or Isaiah.

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” some utter as if it were biblical wisdom, but is actually a Chinese proverb and not from scripture.

“Neither a borrower nor lender be,” they hum with their best English accent which, but not realizing what is apparent to anyone who took grade 12 English that the quote is by Polonius from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and not a biblical proverb.

People didn’t know their story. And if they didn’t know their story how could they live it when they left church each Sunday.

And I suspect many of us would have similar problems telling our story to others let alone living it in our lives. Even among church folks, our story is less and less familiar.

I say this NOT to point the finger at anyone. It’s a different day than it was 20, 30, 40 or more years ago. Church used to be the social centre of peoples’ lives. It was the moral and spiritual gathering place for a society who had a silent agreement with the church, who was to play a significant part in people’s personal development.

But some say that churches abused this responsibility. And instead of being a place where people received love and and forgiveness, church became a place of rules and regulations. 

Instead of learning about care for others, justice for the oppressed, peace between enemies, healing for the sick, or resurrection for the dead, church became a place where power over people’s lives and behaviour was more important that setting people free in Jesus’ name.

As a pastor, most of the angriest anti-church people I encounter are those who’ve been hurt by the church. A brutally strict pastor who demanded rote bible memorization. A Sunday School teacher who yelled at her class and ordered her students to sit up straight and do what they were told. The oppressively boring confirmation classes that droned on for hours. The condemnation of other religions as “satanic.” Threats of eternal torture presented as “good news.” A place where people hate sin more than they love forgiveness.

When people lash out at us Christians, it’s often because of what we’re doing wrong rather than what we’re doing right.

Non-believers lash out at us when we try to dominate society and dictate to people what they should believe and how they should live. 

Non-church folks lash out at us Christians when we spend more time judging and condemning rather than loving and forgiving. 

Non-Christians lash out at us when we forget to live OUR story, and put religious language on the dominant culture’s - or Pharaoh’s story.

We think that if we occupy places of power than we can change the culture. If we elect the right people than we’ll take a leap forward for the kingdom of God. If we enact a specific political agenda, then we can force others to live according to our values.

We confuse what the world calls “power” with what God calls “power.”

God’s power is different. God’s story is not about wielding worldly authority. Just ask Pharaoh. He learned that lesson the hard way.

When Pharaoh forgot God’s story, God inserted Moses as a reminder. Moses was sent to be part of Pharaoh's family NOT because God wanted a good and righteous man in a position of power to rule over the nations. That’s not what happened because that’s not what God is interested in. Moses became part of the royal household to humble it, and to tell a different story.

Of course we know that the story took a long time to tell, and Moses often leaped between narratives. And it wasn’t until Moses returned to Pharaoh decades later after living a completely different life, with nothing in his hands but his shepherd’s staff and God’s power, to prove to Pharaoh the strength of God’s story.

But Pharaoh couldn’t hear it. He clung to that old story of power and empire and domination and oppression so tightly, that he lost a generation of Egypt’s first born.  He clasped his hands around that old story of anger and violence and selfishness that too many mothers buried too many sons because of it.

He grabbed hold of that old story of enlarged ego and unrestrained ambition until his actions affected him personally. Until finally, he had to admit defeat, he understood his story brought death, where God’s story brought freedom.

What’s YOUR story? How is YOUR story playing out in your life? What is driving YOU? How does your story and God’s story connect?

Is it a story of selfless service, giving to others without of thought to yourself? Or is it a relentless pursuit of prosperity, putting values aside and striving to get everything you ever wanted?

Or is it somewhere in between? A mixture of self-serving ambition and care for others. Perhaps even at the same time. Maybe forgetting which story is which.

That’s why we gather here each week. We Christians tell and live a unique story. We come to church to hear that story again and again and again and again and again, until it becomes part of us. 

You may not be able to quote the bible chapter and verse, and you may have forgotten everything you learned in confirmation, but I’ll bet that your life bears witness to God’s love in ways you don’t even recognize. I’ll bet you are living God’s story in ways you can name, and in ways you don’t even see.



That’s because God’s story is within you. God planted it there and watered it in baptism. You live God’s story because it is God who tells that story through you - and through us, together.

Of course, there are moments when we put up a fight, when we cling to that old story of selfishness and ego, of anger and violence, hurting those around us, hurting the world God made, and hurting ourselves.



And when we do, when we forget our story, when we insert ourselves in God’s place as chief-storyteller, God humbles us, calls us out, and reminds us of God’s story, where we all play a role in God’s story of freedom and forgiveness. God’s story of care and healing. And we then again live that story.

It’s a story that God has given YOU, a story that God put on your lips when you offer words of encouragement and forgiveness. It’s a story that God puts in your hands when you help someone up when they fall. It’s a story that God puts in your heart when you reach out in compassion.

It’s a story of generosity to those in need. It’s a story of be-friending those without a family. It’s a story of welcoming new faces.

It’s a story that Bryn has just been baptized into. It’s a story that God has included him in. It’s a story of life and love. It’s a story of abundant futures and vast possibilities. It’s a story of renewal, where God will use Bryn’s giftedness for service to others. It’s a story of healing and justice. It’s a story of freedom from whatever chains will threaten to weigh him down.

It’s a story that he might forget. It’s a story that WE might forget. But God certainly doesn’t. Despite our forgetfulness, God keeps telling that story over and over and over and over and over again, until we become that which we hear and receive, and the story ends when we join the chorus of those who are numbered within the narrative, the great company of storytellers, those whom God has drawn together to share how God has told the story through them, until all people reach that happy ending, and all voices join together in the finale of joy and peace.

May this be so among us. Amen.