This morning I slept until 8:30 which I never do. I forced myself to go to church even though the comfort of my own home was beckoning me to stay in bed. A few hours later I did not regret my decision.
I enjoy my church and one of the highlights for me is that our priest is a gifted preacher. He is known for using his iPod music to introduce a sermon and he weaves comedy with poignant truth to help us get closer to our real selves and humanity.
He talked about a definition for repentance that gave me a lot to think about. Traditionally, we think of repenting is admitting all of our many faults and asking God to cleanse them from our souls. In his sermon, he researched the original Greek for the word repentance. Repentance is like going through a metamorphosis. What I took from the sermon: instead of dwelling on the caterpillar-like ways of our past, we have to claw our way out of the cocoon to be the magnificent butterflies that God made us to be.It seems that dwelling on the past and our "mistakes" can be what keeps us from God and humanity.
Even if you have a different faith system or no system at all, I believe we all can relate to how hard it is to move on from the lamentations of the past. We can't let it get in the way of our life in the present. Repentance is our opportunity create something new to live out our call in service to others and those we love.
I really thinking about repentance in this light. It is difficult to let go of those past mistakes yet like the caterpillar we must shed our old self. Onward to becoming the best we can be. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful image of repentance. Especially love your takeaway, "instead of dwelling on the caterpillar-like ways of our past, we have to claw our way out of the cocoon to be the magnificent butterflies that God made us to be." I'm going to reflect on this big truth this week. Thank you!
ReplyDelete"Dwelling in the past can keep us from God." That was a powerful line in your post. It made me think. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWow Rob - how insightful! I have a new thought now as I continue my Lenten journey. Thanks! Love you
ReplyDeleteThat idea of the metamorphosis is intriguing. For me, it seems like I "dwell" on the past mistakes or caterpillar because as hard as I try, I keep making them despite my best intentions. It's something I'm grappling with right now too. Denying myself daily in order to take up my cross and follow Him.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!