The Call to Repentance (Joel 2:12-17 & St. Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21)

I have told you before that I used to go to our Southern Diocese for Board of Foreign Missions meetings.

In attending their worship services, the tradition in that Diocese … when taking the offering … was to actually to present their tithes and offerings.

The people would get up out of their pews and go forward and there would be different offering plates … for the for the Pastor’s salary … for the building … for missions … etc.

As the people were placing their offerings in the plates … the would sometimes make change … ie put in a $20 bill and take $ 10 out … AND the officers standing there would count the money being received.

Then they might say something like … that’s not enough to run the church for this week … come on down again … interesting to say the least.

It was clear representation of presenting their tithes and offerings to God.

However … what people were giving was sometimes obvious … and so were those who didn’t go forward for whatever reason.

At least it’s better than the time I saw in a church catalogue a credit card reader that you could pass down the pew … swipe your credit card for your offering … something is really wrong with that idea!

Today is the First Sunday in Lent and I am going to depart from my usual habit of preaching from one of the appointed lessons of the day and present a series on the meaning and ramifications of this Season that began last Ash Wednesday.

The Season of Lent is a period of 40 days — not counting Sundays … which are considered feast days … between Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday.

The Season of Lent reminds us of our sin that made our Savior’s death on the cross for our sins a necessity.

It is modeled after our Savior’s fasting in the wilderness in preparation for His public ministry and it is generally a time of reflection, repentance and sometimes fasting in preparation for the joyous celebration of Easter.

Growing up with much of my family being Roman Catholic I was used to people saying … I am giving up thus and such for Lent … just as Jesus fasted for 40 days.

Some make it a big deal telling others what they gave up for Lent … but AS we read the Scriptures we find that any abstinence or fasting should be between you and God.

It is interested that we don’t have a lot of emphasis on fasting today, and yet we read in the  Sermon on the Mount our Savior says … “when you fast …” indicating that it is something that we should be doing.

Listing to what Jesus says in Matthew 6:16-21:

““Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.””

Obviously … I am as guilty as the next person … there has been only a few times in my ministry when there has been a purposeful fasting … along with prayer.

The same can be true of our giving. We read earlier in the Sermon on the Mount what Jesus says about giving — Matthew 6:1-6:

““Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.””

While these things are important … and should be part of our Lenten experience … we really must begin with Repentance.

This is the reason why we begin the Season of Lent — Ash Wednesday — with a service of Penitence.

We began the service with Evening Prayer … followed by The Litany … which is simply a series of petitions that we bring before God … and if you read it … which you can on your own … you see the great variety of requests that we make to God.

We read first the opening Suffrages …. the beginning of our petitions with the responses:

O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth;

Have mercy upon us miserable sinners.

O God the Son, Redeemer of the world;

Have mercy upon us miserable sinners.

O God the Holy Ghost, Sanctifier of the faithful;

Have mercy upon us miserable sinners.

O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, one God;

Have mercy upon us miserable sinners.

Appealing to the mercy of God is consistent through the Scriptures.

When David was fleeing from Saul, he cried out for the mercy of God:

““Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by.”” (Psalm 57:1) 

and another place we read: ““God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us, …””

I am reminded of the tax collector in Luke 18: ““And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!””

And so repeat: “Have mercy upon us miserable sinners.”

After crying for God’s mercy we notice that the first petition reminds us of our sin … As we read and respond:

“REMEMBER not against us, Lord, our offences, nor the offences of our forefathers; neither take thou vengeance of our sins: Spare us, good Lord, spare thy people, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood, and be not angry with us for ever.”

We then read “A Commination” … with the title … “a Denouncing of God’s Anger and Judgements Against Sinners.”

… after the Commination we have a Penitential Office where we have a call to repent of our sin and ask for forgiveness from God.

Many in the religious community speak about the love of God … but they fail OR they minimize the judgement and justice of God … God’s love is real … but so is His judgement on sin.

Going to my accountant the other day, I passed by a Methodist church … which had rainbow flags and signs lining the road … indicating their acceptance of the different lifestyles … 

Our God is a Holy and Righteous God … and He cannot just ignore sin … that’s why in the council of eternity the plan of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ was ordained so that we could have forgiveness of our sin.

And that plan begins with us acknowledging our sin … accepting that Jesus died for our sins … and then repenting or turning away from our sin.

This is what we see in our Old Testament Lesson from Joel 2, which calls us to repent and then we have God’s promise:

““Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him— A grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God?””

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Throughout the Scriptures we are reminded that we are sinners.

This is clear from Genesis 3 … when Adam and Eve sinned … and God promised a Savior … in Genesis 3:15:

““And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”” 

This first promise was fulfilled at the cross … when Jesus defeated Satan!

Then we know that God ordained a series of sacrifices so that people could have forgiveness of their sins.  

But … we know … as we compare Scripture with Scripture that all of those Old Testament sacrifices looked forward to the one perfect AND final sacrifice of Christ on the Cross … where he shed his blood for the sins of those who believe in him as Savior and Lord.

Hebrews 10 makes this clear:

““For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 

For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins … And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,””

Previously the writer said in Hebrews 9: 

““Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”” 

But … in order to have forgiveness of our sins … we must heed the call to repentance … the call to ask for forgiveness … the call to turn from our sin to serve the living God.

However … prior to our asking God for forgiveness … we have to believe that Jesus died in our place for our sins.

We believe that Jesus is the ONLY way of salvation … the only way to be saved from our sins!

As Peter reminds in Acts 4: ““Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.””

This is the simplicity of the Gospel … we believe that Jesus died in our place for our sins.

As I have said before … God not only required a sacrifice be made for sin … but He provided that sacrifice in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

And it is in this Season of Lent that this truth becomes abundantly clear … because as we proceed through the season …

… we know that it comes to a culmination with celebration of the Passover by Jesus … at the same time instituting what we know as The Lord’s Supper … then his betrayal in the garden … his mock trial and finally his crucifixion and death …

… where he shed his blood … in our place … for the sins of those who believe … which was necessary … because, again, as we read in Hebrews 9:

““And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.””

I have to say … this is one of the reasons that I like the celebration of the Lord’s Supper each week because it brings before us each week the consequences of our sin … 

The consequence of my sin … your sin … the sins of all who believe … which resulted in the incarnation … and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we read in Philippians 2:

““Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.””

However, as we know … it doesn’t end with his death … but with his glorious resurrection from the dead … and his ascension … waiting at the right hand of God for his return in glory and judgement. 

We indeed serve a risen Savior … which we acknowledge every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper … because the risen Savior told us to celebrate it until he returns.

But we do this as a church … NOT St. Peter’s Anglican Church … but the church being defined as those who know Christ as Savior and Lord.

All of us who know Christ are collectively known as “the church” … not a building … but a people … and as part of our Worship … we collectively confess our sins before God … whether it be in our Communion Service or Morning and Evening Prayer.

But … there is also that personal and private aspect of confession and repentance … which is between us and our God.

In Hebrews 4:16 we are told … we can say … commanded to: ““come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.””

And so not only to do what we can call the corporate aspect of our Christian lives … but also the private aspect … where we come before God in prayer … confessing our sins … and turning from our sins.

So … as we proceed through this Lenten Season … let us remember what it all leads up to … and let us examine ourselves.

As Psalm 139 reminds us:

““Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.””

AMEN