Calvary Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Debra May Cerra
March 7, 2010

Psalms 63:1-8 (NRSV) O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name. 5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips 6 when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Luke 13:1-9 (NRSV) At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did." 6 Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' 8 He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

What Does It Mean To Repent?

A woman tells of a time that she was driving to the store to pick up a few groceries when she saw two stray dogs - a mother and her very thin puppy - in an open field. Desiring to help the strays, she got out of her car and pursued them for over an hour, trying to lure them to her without being intimidating. Unable to get them to come to her, she drove to the store and bought some tasty meat for the starving animals. The strays still would not come to her. In frustration, she cried out... "I'M TRYING TO SAVE YOU! You're going to starve to death out here -- or be killed!"
She later thought to herself, "They had no idea that they actually needed me, and they refused to come to me so that I could help them. I was so hurt and frustrated, knowing their bleak future as strays."
As she continued to reflect upon her experience with the strays, a spiritual application became clear. "I thought of the Lord - how Jesus lovingly works and works to get people to come to Him so He can SAVE them, yet so many refuse. Many do not even believe they need Him at all. They do not realize that their souls are starving!"
            This morning our reading from Luke is a powerful lesson about how Jesus sees us in our true, pitiful condition: lost, starving, headed for danger, and in need of His help and comfort. Like John the Baptist, Jesus preaches about the transformation of the world that is at hand and the need for those who have ears to repent or face the full force of God’s wrath.
Jesus tells us to repent but what is repentance? When we repent we must do “a complete turning away from former beliefs and actions. In faith, repentance asks to accept the proclamation of God’s kingdom in the person and work of Jesus Christ.”
As Christians, we are to acknowledge our sins, say we are sorry and ask for forgiveness. The forgiveness comes through the grace of God. But that is not the end of the process. We are to repent and in repenting we are to change the way we act and talk and think. In other words, repentance is leaving the old ways of life and embracing the new way of living found in Jesus Christ.
A man borrowed a book from a friend. As he read through it, he was intrigued to find parts of the book underlined with the letters YBH written in the margin. When he returned the book to the owner, he asked what YBH meant. The owner replied that the underlined paragraphs were sections of the book that he basically agreed with. They gave him hints on how to improve himself and pointed out truths that he wished to incorporate into his life. However, the letters YBH stood for "Yes, but how?"
“YBH – yes, but how” the man questioned? We ask the same thing about repentance: How do we make changes in our lives? Many times we know what we ought to do but don’t know how to do it. “I know I ought to take better care of myself, but how?” “I know I ought to be more understanding of others, but how?” “I know I ought to spend more time with the Lord – reading scripture and praying, but how?” These are all good qualities that we seek to incorporate into our lives – ones that we should value and strive for. We know the kind of life we ought to live and most of us have good intentions but how do we make the necessary changes in our lives? 
Repentance is a productive word. It is inward work that has outward fruit. Change happens when we repent. It involves changing our thinking, our speaking and our doing. Repentance alters our entire life and always results in a change for the better.
Jesus gives us insight into how repentance works in his parable of the fig tree. Remember the story: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He [the gardener] replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'" (6-9)
Three characters appear in this parable: the owner of the vineyard, the gardener and the fig tree. The owner wants action – “Cut the tree down. It’s no good to me if it doesn’t produce fruit.” The gardener shows compassion – “Give me another year to care for the tree – to nurture and feed it. If it doesn’t respond in a year, you can cut it down.” The tree needs opportunity – the tree cannot will itself to bear fruit. Yet, with the gardener’s continual cultivating and the fertilizing, the tree has potential for a harvest.
We don’t need to allegorize the characters in the parable of the fig tree to find its strength. What we need to do is to see where we fit into the story. The call for repentance, especially during the season of Lent, plays a major role in this parable. What may give courage to us who wonder if our repentance is adequate is the role of the gardener. The tree must bear fruit but the burden of this is not only on the tree; it is shared. The gardener promises to tend to the tree and to watch over it, reminding us that repentance does not occur apart from the watchful care of God.
Henri Nouwen, a theologian and writer, once said, "Our lives get stuffed with newspaper items, television stories, and gossip. Then our minds lose the discipline of discerning between what leads us closer to God and what doesn't, and our hearts lose their spiritual sensitivity." It's the hard work of acknowledging our sin and repenting that leads us to God.
             The call to repent is urgent but Jesus also offers a second chance. It is always Jesus' way to give a person opportunity after opportunity. Peter and Mark and Paul would all gladly witness to that. But the parable of the fig tree makes it quite clear that there will be a final chance. When we continually refuse to change; when we ignore God's appeal and challenge time after time, the day finally comes, not when God shuts us out, but when we, by our own deliberate choice, shut ourselves out. God doesn’t want that day to come. And neither should we…
            Think back to the woman who tried to help the two starving stray dogs. When they wouldn’t come to her she finally she cried out in frustration: "I'M TRYING TO SAVE YOU! You're going to starve to death out here -- or be killed!"
As she thought about the situation, the woman saw a spiritual application. She said: "I thought of the Lord - how Jesus lovingly works and works to get people to come to Him so He can SAVE them, yet so many refuse. Many do not even believe they need Him at all. They do not realize that their souls are starving!"
There is a dichotomy in the nature of God when it comes to the way God deals with us. On one hand, God judges our behavior – calling us sinners and acknowledging the chasm that sin makes between us and God. On the other, God extends grace and mercy each of us, offering us forgiveness and the opportunity to repent. When it comes to God’s dealing with us, God’s compassion is in serious conversation with God’s wrath.
Friends, don’t allow your lives to be so conditioned by sin that you soul is starving for the love and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. Choose to make changes in your thoughts, your words, and you deeds. Remember, repentance is a productive word. It is inward work that has outward fruit. And repentance is not something we do alone. Our task is to take the first step in changing our ways and then trust God to help us do the rest.
Amen and amen.