What does it mean to "repent"? And how is it good news?
(Free Version) The Third Sunday of Easter (Year B)- Acts 3:12-19; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48
This Sunday’s readings continue on the theme of forgiveness in light of the resurrection, with special emphasis on repentance. This is a tricky word “repentance,” especially today when many of us picture street corner preachers holding signs pointing out all the people God supposedly “hates.”
I remember attending the 2014 Music City Bowl on New Years’ Day here in Nashville with my family. It was a cold day and the matchup featured the LSU Tigers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Standing outside the gate was a man with a comprehensive “hate” list. The color-coded list of the people God “hates” included gamblers, smokers, homosexuals, Muslims, and many, many more. Additionally, the list included “Catholics.” The sign-carrier knew exactly what he was doing, of course. As we stood in a sea of gold and navy blue Fighting Irish fans, the man was targeting them…telling them that they were hated.
Roman Catholics in the South are used to questions about their faith. They, similar to but also different from Muslims and Jews, are familiar with standing out when their faith is discovered. Hopefully none of the sports fans took the man seriously. However, even many Christians who believe this tactic to be harmful still begin our introduction of the gospel (the “good news”) with the (perceived) hate of God rather than the (true) love of God. Many have misused one or more of our readings today for this purpose.
The call to repentance is always good news. In a world full of traps which lead to destruction, the cross and the resurrection show another way. The good news found in our readings is that even though we have done things that lead to darkness, brokenness, and destruction, God does not hate us. God’s love never fails.
In our Acts reading (Acts 3:12-19), after the healing of the man at the Beautiful Gate, Peter is quick to say that the power does not come from he and John, but from Jesus. The one true God: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, glorified Jesus, who is the servant the prophet Isaiah spoke about. Yet, even as true love stepped into the world, you (while addressed to a specific crowd, this “you” can stand for all of us, all crowds, all people) rejected him. You murdered him and demanded that a murderer be released. Peter’s words reveal the depths of sin: we look for death instead of life. Jesus says, “You killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.” All life is found in God, and yet, we choose death—over and over again. And STILL, God has raised Christ from the dead. He is still the Author of life. The story is not over. The calling now: turn to him. Repent. Believe the good news.
In our epistle reading (1 John 3:1-7), the author declares that a fundamental shift has occurred in the life of the Christian. We are called children of God. Something has changed in us that makes us part of God’s family. It is not something that some have earned and others have not. This is a gift, and it is for everyone. It’s difficult to see this now. We do not see the world as it truly is; because of this, we are defined by so many other things. Yet, the Christian must remember who we are in the ultimate sense: we are children of God.
Therefore, we can live out God’s new world here and now. We know that God’s new world will be built on things like faith, hope, and (most distinctly) love as displayed in Jesus. So, we can begin to be transformed in that direction. We can live the new world even as we are surrounded by the old world. This transformation is already occurring. We are living into who we already are!
In our gospel reading (Luke 24:36b-48), the disciples see Jesus’ resurrected body and think that he is a ghost. They do not have categories for the One who is in front of them. In the previous section (Luke 24:13-35), Jesus appears and disappears. He is not easily recognized. Yet, here, he shows them that he has real flesh and bones. He eats fish. He is the same Jesus who walked with them before: “I am myself!” There is both continuity and discontinuity within the resurrected body of Jesus. He is like he was before, but altogether different at the same time. God’s new world is this way. It is more real than our categories.
The resurrection has real life implications. It means a transformation of the real world around us, into categories with which we are previously unfamiliar. As Peter proclaims in our Acts reading and Jesus proclaims in the gospel, this has always been the heart of God.
If the gospel were about a private spiritual experience, about self-actualization or an emotional uplift, it would not be controversial. We are all looking for these kinds of things to give our lives a little boost. The gospel is about the complete overthrow of what we have known, and about our transformation. It is always good news. It is always freedom from sin and debts. It is always healing. It is always rest.
The language in Luke’s version of “The Great Commission” focuses not on preaching the gospel (like in Matthew’s version), but in the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness of sins. This is consistent with what Jesus said of his mission in Luke 4,
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (4:18-19).”
May we hear the good news. Turn around! You do not need to follow the paths of destruction, the things that have weighed you down for too long. There is another way: beyond violence and influence and status and wealth. Beyond shame and fear and manipulation. You are children of God! God’s new world has broken through in the resurrection of Jesus. This has been the plan all along, initiated by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His body is real, more real than you are or I am. This new world has implications for each of us as we are transformed and purified. And it has implications for relationships, for nations, and for all of creation. May we know the gift of love and become people of love.