Wading Into Repentance Waters

AM Psalm 119:97-120 • PM Psalm 81, 82
Judges 7:19-8:12 • Acts 3:12-26 • John 1:29-42

In Acts today we hear these words, “Brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers…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…”

These can feel like precarious waters to wade into. Words like “repentance” and “sin” feel damning and the ilk of street corner preachers and megachurch leaders. But surely these are words for us all?

We have all acted in ignorance, more than time or two. We give power to rulers who do the same. We go about our days blissfully unaware of the damage we can cause with our words and actions. We prop up systems that harm. We order coffee not considering if the laborers who harvested the beans were paid fairly for their day’s work. We make an offhanded comment about someone’s appearance and those words stay with them forever. We ignore headlines about violence and suffering because it easier to not know.

In the midst of that condemnation, I also hear this: That while those repentance waters are rushing by, and seem scary to step into, they are actually refreshing, liberating, forgiving, and loving waters. To step into them is to acknowledge our own brokenness and sin, but God is standing in the middle of the river, patiently waiting for us until we are brave enough to dive in.

Written by Emma Mitchell

When not serving the youth and their families at St. Paul’s, I can be found reading non-fiction, thrifting, and attempting to spend less time on social media.