12 When Jesus got word that John had been arrested, he returned to Galilee. 13 He moved from his hometown, Nazareth, to the lakeside village Capernaum, nestled at the base of the Zebulun and Naphtali hills. 14 This move completed Isaiah's sermon: 15 Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, road to the sea, over Jordan, Galilee, crossroads for the nations. 16 People sitting out their lives in the dark saw a huge light; Sitting in that dark, dark country of death, they watched the sun come up. 17 This Isaiah-prophesied sermon came to life in Galilee the moment Jesus started preaching. He picked up where John left off: “(Repent) Change your life. God's kingdom is here."
Repent! Be open to change. Be open to the light shining in the darkness. Be open to God’s grace working God’s will through you.
This is the first positive step in the journey of faith. It signals that I am open to something happening which has never happened before. And it doesn’t just happen once.
It happens over and over and over again as I struggle to get it right and so much gets in
the way. My prejudices, my jealousies, my biases, my thinking which is based more on what is good for me then what is good for my neighbor.
Even my religion needs repentance, lest it blind me to the darkness hidden within me.
It is not a mark of a strong faith to say, “God said it; I believe it: that settles it.” For the implied end to this faith is that I am right and I have God on my side, so I don’t have to change anything. When the truth is that we all have to change a lot if we are ever going to get to the truth that with God love is the only thing which counts.
“When I live without repentance I sit in darkness -
the darkness of my own prejudice; my own failure
to see my own sin. No matter how religious I am;
I need repentance, often.”
Pastor Larry
Prayer thought for the week: “Lord, keep me humble enough to be open to the changes you would have in my life; and bold enough to both repent and act with a new heart and mind.”
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