Acts 3: 19

“Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”

Reflection by Anthony B. Robinson

It’s a loaded word, “repent.” We conjure the bearded, sandwich-board clad prophet of the end times, and the red-faced and angry preacher of the old times.

But “repent” can also be a good and gracious word. Even better, it can be an experience, an experience that leads to a “time of refreshing.”

“Repent” can be that because it points to the truth about us, all of us. We all tend to turn our backs on what is true, what is essential, what is real, and what is good.

I was out running early one morning, heading west, my mood as dark and grey as the sky before me. I encountered my wife, going the opposite direction, on her morning walk. She said to me, “Turn around” (the literal meaning of “repent”). When I did I beheld an eastern sky full of dazzling light and color, a sunrise in full and wondrous array—and of which I had been completely ignorant.

Our faith reminds us of something we all don’t want to hear and something we all do want to hear: We don’t know it all. We have missed crucial things. We have made too much of a case for ourselves. We are all, in some crucial ways, ignorant. We all need to turn around, to repent. We need God. And knowing this about ourselves, we can cut others some slack, too. We’ve all got some sins, some stuff, that needs to be “wiped-out.”

“Times of refreshing” (isn’t that a lovely phrase?) can come. Repent, turn around, turn to God who is rich in mercy and who will never despise a contrite and a broken heart.

Prayer

This holy day, this Sabbath, grant us grace, dear God, to turn to you, acknowledging our own need for your mercy, for your grace, for your forgiveness. And may times of refreshing come up us all. Amen.

About the Author Anthony B. Robinson, a United Church of Christ minister, is a speaker, teacher and writer. His newest book is Called to Lead: Paul's Letters to Timothy for a New Day, and he is also the author of the just-published Book of Exodus: A God is still speaking Bible Study. Read his weekly reflections on the current lectionary texts at www.anthonybrobinson.com by clicking on Weekly Reading

Learn more about the faith of the Apostles in The Book of Acts: A God is still speaking Bible Study, from the Stillspeaking Writers' Group.