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When the Bible talks about repentance, it may include confession, apology and changed actions, but it also means much more. Metanoia – the Greek word translated as “repentance” in the New Testament – literally means a change of mind, a transformation of perspective. To repent – as John the Baptist and Jesus meant it – is to change direction.
We can think of repentance, then, as a turnaround: a return to God and a change of heart. Simple – but not easy. It is tempting to envision this return as a long, arduous (and heroic) journey we make back to the place where we lost track.
Yet when Jesus and John the Baptism invite their listeners to “repent,” it does not mean that we need to make our way closer to a God who is distant, separated or far off, but the opposite: The kingdom of God has come near. When we turn back to God, we find an all-encompassing love that has never left us alone, not for an instant – so there is nothing to fear in repentance.
This message is excerpted from the Bible study “Turn, turn, turn: A time for faithful repentance” (Session one) by Meghan Johnston Aelabouni in the September 2018 Gather magazine. Today is the 15th Sunday after Pentecost.