Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Many of you know that one of my all time favorite movies is "The Princess Bride." It's a movie appropriate for all age groups except for the smallest of children. There is action, romance, comedy- and while I could go on for quite awhile about it (I would love someday to do the sermon preached at Buttercup's and Humperdinck's wedding- for real!) I want to begin by recalling some scenes early in the movie, when the wily Vizzini has led the kidnapping of Princess Buttercup with the help Spanish fencer Inigo Montoya and the giant Fezzig in order to start a civil war between Florin and Guilder. As they are sailing away, at night, Inigo glances behind and notices a small boat powered by a black sail... Vizzini replies "Inconceivable- no knows who we are and what we have done. It must be a fisherman out for a pleasure cruise- at night- in eel infested waters..." It's a word Vizzini likes.

 As the small boat draws closer, and they note they are being followed, he uses it again- "Inconceivable..." Their boat lands, and Fezzig climbs a rope up the Cliffs of Insanity, carrying Buttercup, Inigo and Vizzini on his back. They look back, and there is a man in black climbing behind them... "Inconceivable" exclaims Vizzini. And when they reach to the top, Vizzini cuts the rope, and the man in black is still there, now clambering up the steep rocks of the cliff. One more time, we hear the word, "Inconceivable!" from Vizzini, and this time Inigo remarks, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

Language is a fascinating thing- it is one of the things that makes us human- the ability to communicate using words. But I have learned over the years that the words I use are not necessarily understood in the way that I meant them- in fact, I have learned the hard way that the meaning of what I say is in how you, the listener, understand what I said. The meaning is not in what I say, but how you hear and define those words. And that brings us to our topic today, as we continue our sermon series "The Word that Changed the World..." We have the Greek for that Word on our banners- and on the cover of the worship folder- "Logos," and we mean specifically, Jesus, the Word of God- the Word by whom our God spoke our world into existence, the Word by whom our world was changed forever- and who can change you right now and you can get an idea of what I am saying, in terms of the potential difficulty in understanding how we interpret things.

Often, for most folks, when you ask about "God's Word," or "The Word of God," their first reaction is the Bible. But what we are saying is that WORD is Jesus, and that the Bible is the Word of God as it proclaims Jesus as THE Word... Martin Luther helped with the potential confusion by saying that "the Bible is the manger in which we find the Baby Jesus, but like that first manger, there is some straw in it, too."Our word for today, "Repentance" is even more difficult: if I said to you "Repent, or you will perish," as Jesus does in our Gospel lesson, what would you think I was saying? What does repent mean?

For many folks, when they hear "Repent!" the image is one of a guy on a street corner with a sign announcing the end of the world... Or perhaps it is a TV evangelist talking about the same thing. And, we usually associate it with someone accusing you and me of being sinful creatures who are deserving of the wrath of God unless we "repent," or be sorry and change our ways. And my reaction? I'm guessing it's not dissimilar from yours, and absolutely it is the reaction of people who are unchurched. It is a defensive reaction: "OK, so I'm not perfect. But, I'm not so bad- especially in comparison to some of the other people around... how does anyone get off judging me? That certainly appears to be the way it is understood in our Gospel reading today, too. So let's take a few minutes to have a look at this word.

 The people hearing the words of Jesus appear to be assuming that those who were killed were sinners- bigger sinners than they. In fact, when bad things happened, that was the assumption: someone had done something wrong, and deserved it... And Jesus tells his listeners in no uncertain terms, that is not the case, and they had better repent, too. It sounds like "clean up your act."But the word "repent" literally means "turn around," or better, "walk a new path..." Here's some context: in the Roman Empire, when the emperor died, and a new one took his place, the word went out to all the Roman legions, "Repent and believe in the new emperor!" In other words, realign your selves- from the old emperor to the new one. Give your loyalty to the new king. For the Gospel writers', repent meant "turn from the path you are on, and align yourself with God!" Establish a new loyalty to the one who will give you hope, faith and life; turn from the old ways and old loyalties that have brought frustration and meaninglessness!

 So this is not about "cleaning up your act..." If we could do that on our own, don't you think we would have figured it out by now? "Repent" does not mean "behave- or do the right things- or even stop doing the wrong things." That all comes later! The things of which we are to repent are all things that come between us and God. What we're talking about here is relationship- the relationship that God has desired to have with you and me- and with every human being who has ever or will ever live! It's a relationship we all need; it is something we are all searching for. Let's look at the text again: Jesus says, "Do you think that these Galileans (slaughtered by the Romans) suffered in this way because they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did... Or those eighteen who were killed when the Tower of Siloam fell on them- do you think they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, unless you repent, you will all perish, just as they did..."

 First, as I said earlier, Jesus is straightening out the idea about suffering: people don't suffer; people are not killed because they were bigger sinners than others. So this is hugely liberating for those who were excluded from polite company because they were tax collectors or prostitutes or lepers- whoever society defined as sinners... God was not out to get them, any more than God was out to get the good folks... And this was enormous comfort to those who had lost family members to accidents or other untimely deaths: God wasn't making a point of them, either. Jesus is saying here that bad things can happen to good people: these were folks at the wrong place at the wrong time. That happens, and no one- not even God is to blame.

 What's more, the fact of the matter is that we ALL perish- every one of us. As I say just about every Easter, the actuaries tell us that the mortality rate is 100%! And while it makes me nervous to think about before I travel, very few of us get to pick the time, place and means of our deaths; we just don't know. So the question is not "when do we die- or will we die?" It's "how do we live?"

Isn't that the issue with the poor fig tree in the parable that follows? It's a mature tree- it's supposed to be bearing fruit- it is not living out the purpose for which it was created, and to die- to be cut down even, is so tragic! Mercifully, the owner of the tree allows the gardener to care for the tree- to water and fertilize, so that even later in life, fruit is a possibility. How do we live is the issue in the first reading, too: the people are in close relationship to God- God is literally traveling with them through the wilderness, and they turn their backs on that relationship and trust in things that offer what appears to be immediate pleasure, and not only don't last, but are harmful to them and to the people around them.

The invitation to repent is an invitation to live in relationship with our God. It is an invitation to have our orientation to the world changed- from things that ultimately don't give satisfaction, or meaning or value- to a relationship that promises all those and more! What's more, in Jesus' suffering and death on the cross- in his taking on himself all that separates you and me from God and from each other, and in his resurrection from the dead on the third day, we have the promise that this relationship with the living God lasts not only through our lives, but through our deaths and forever!

Yes, we all die, of course; the promise is that in Christ, as John says, we do not perish, but have eternal life. To repent is to let the Holy Spirit work- to come into your life- change your direction, re-align your priorities, and grow in your relationship with God. It is to answer the call that Paul gives in Romans 12: 2- "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds. Behavior change follows mind change... The way you think determines how you will act. Repentance starts with how you believe, with how you think... If you begin repentance with your behavior, you will eventually fail...

Back in my smoking days, I tried to quit cigarettes several times- I knew it was bad for me, it was gross, but deep down, I didn't believe it; it was part of my persona- my identity. When I played guitar, I would dangle the cigarette from my lips (and the smoke would stream into my eyes- it hurts just thinking about it). Cigarettes and coffee simply went together- as did other things... So while I could get away from them for a week or two- once I made it several months, I always came back to them. It was not until I met the woman who became my wife- who was allergic to my cigarettes and yet stayed with me that my beliefs about cigarettes changed. I did not want them in my life; I knew it was bad for Deb and I valued her and her love far more and so on Ash Wednesday, February 17th, 1980, just over thirty years ago, I gave them up for good. The re-orientation happened first; quitting followed- it was, if you will, the fruit of my repentance.

In all of the temptations that get in the way of our relationship with God- success and power, sex, possessions, whatever, it is the mind change- the reorientation of loyalties- the repentance that begins the process of changing the behavior. I say "begins that process" because the temptations of the old ways linger. We call them temptations, after all, because they are tempting. Someone once said, and I have found this to be true in my own life, that the way to meet these temptations is NOT to think about them- to use my smoking illustration, when I had just quit and REALLY wanted a cigarette, the worst thing I could do would be to think about not wanting one- when of course I did. The best thing to do was to get up and do something different- change my mind- change what I was thinking, and the temptation would pass- until the next time...

And had I failed- which I had done numerous times before, would that mean ultimate failure, and a life condemned to tobacco and all the bad things it causes. Of course not. In this new life- in this new orientation, we are offered forgiveness and the strength to start over. The difference is that we don't make excuses for what we know doesn't work- we take responsibility and ask God's help in moving forward, and that help is right there!

It is when we see that what we thought we valued- what we thought was so promising- is not delivering- that the Holy Spirit is working in us, calling us to the relationship with God that will last forever. It is when we answer the invitation to follow our God wherever God leads- to put our ultimate trust and allegiance in the one who died and was raised from the dead, to care about the things Jesus cares about- to have our hearts broken over the things that break his heart... It is then that we begin to understand what "repentance" is and the difference it makes in our lives. And then that word becomes a word that changes our lives and our world forever for the better.

Will you pray with me: Loving Lord, thank you for calling me to you. Thank you for not giving up on me when my back was turned and I believed you were far away. Help me to live each day as your servant- to know your presence as my Lord. Help me to live a life of repentance- of renewal- of reorientation- every hour of every day. I ask this in the Name of our Living Word, our Living Lord, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

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