Repent and Return to the Lord

In this second full week of Lent we continue to look at the baptismal questions and promises and what they mean in our lives. The second question is: 

Will you persevere in resisting evil and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?

The question is “whenever you fall into sin” not “if you fall into sin,” an important reminder that none of us are perfect, nor are we expected to be. God understands our imperfection, that we fall short of the ideal he has set for us, which by the way is also one of the best definitions I have heard for sin, “falling short of or missing the mark of God’s ideal.” Since the beginning, no matter how hard we try, we as humans have been unable to avoid sin. Jesus came into the world to offers a means of forgiveness, the only way to be truly forgiven by God and a relationship with God the Father, for those who truly seek it.  

One of images that comes to mind when I think of "repent and return to the Lord" is so-called Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) when the son comes to his senses and decided to return to his father whom he has wronged. The father doesn't even wait for him to arrive home, but runs to meet him as soon as he sees him. It was the simple act of turning back to the father. The same is true of us, when we turn back to the Father he is there with love and rejoicing at our return no matter how many times or how long we have turned away from him and gone in the wrong direction. 

However this is not a free pass to do whatever we want then say we’re sorry and be free to do that same thing over again in a never ending cycle of sin and confession just because we know that God will forgive us. Repentance is more than being or saying we’re sorry, it is changing our behaviour, turning away from sin and sinful patterns to embrace God’s way. One of my favourite lines in the Anglican Prayer book, the Book of Alternative Services, is found in Confession that congregation says together “that we may delight in your will, and ways in your ways, to the glory of your name.” When we repent and return to the Lord, we acknowledge our sin and sinful ways to God, and we seek not just do God’s will but to delight in it, to find joy in God's will for us, our lives and the world.  We may not be perfect but we can be comforted that when we fall short, and are truly sorry, we can repent and return to the Lord and we will find forgiveness and grace and love.

Reflection Questions:

1.       

1.  Are there any characteristic sins, ones that have become a part of me and my life, that I need to confess and turn away from to seek God’s will for my life?
2.  How have I found restoration and joy through confession?
3. What would it look like for me to delight in God’s will and His ways?

Note: In the Anglican Church, in addition to our General Confession, private confession is available by making an appointment with the priest.