Our Lent readings today look at two different men and how they approached and responded to Jesus. In Luke 18:18-23, we see a rich young man asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus pointed him to the commandments and the man affirmed his belief in these, but when Jesus asked him to give up his money and serve the poor, he was not willing. This was a step too far; he was not willing to let go of his man-made security and join Jesus on a journey of faith.

Zacchaeus, on the other hand, was desperate to follow Jesus. (Luke 19:1-10) A despised tax collector, he was willing to give up his profiteering and follow Jesus. For both men, what was on offer was a radically different way of life, a life where material possessions didn’t have the defining word. One man could not let go of his version of truth, where money and possessions defined him. The other realised that such things could not give him access to eternal life and so he let go of them.

Jesus is rightly called the Saviour, the author of salvation. But to be saved, we have to let go of everything which we used to think could save us and call on Him as the only One who can. For some, this may mean letting go of financial security. For others, it might mean letting go of a relationship or a job. For everyone, it will mean the opportunity to follow Jesus, but not everyone has the courage to take this step. The Easter story shows us that it is worth doing this, for when we follow Jesus, we can enter eternal life with God.

Today’s reading is from Jonah 3:1-10. I love the story of Jonah, the rebellious prophet, the godly man who didn’t really like the way God acted towards other people! Jonah was happy to receive God’s mercy, forgiveness and compassion for himself, but was unwilling to go to the people of Nineveh, because he didn’t feel they were worthy of God’s mercy, forgiveness and compassion. He ended up learning a lesson the hard way (from inside the belly of a great fish), because God is not one to show favouritism. All people can receive His mercy and grace; the message to repent which Jonah carried brought about repentance in the Ninevites and God was merciful to them.

It can be sobering to realise that Christians can become comfortable in their relationship with God and then can look down on others as being unworthy of having the same opportunity to know God. The truth is that no one is worthy of a relationship with God; we all receive the free gift of salvation in exactly the same way, by trusting in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sharing the Easter story is important because all of us need to have the opportunity to repent, to turn back to God. For those who have received this free gift, we must learn, like Jonah, to be willing to pass it on.

As any parent knows, getting a child to ‘say sorry’ (and mean it!) is a difficult task. The child often fails to see that what they have done (snatching a toy from someone else, pushing someone unceremoniously away) is wrong, and even if they acknowledge that they have done wrong, they still don’t like the shame of admitting it and asking for forgiveness. Sally Welch says, ‘saying sorry is difficult; admitting guilt makes us feel small and ashamed; making restitution is costly.’ In our readings today (Acts 2:36-42), we see that we can never be made right with God without this first step of repentance. Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost brought conviction to many people who rightly asked what they then had to do. Peter’s command is blunt: ‘repent and be baptised.’ (Acts 2:38)

Though we may squirm at this first step, we find that when we do repent, we open the door to God’s blessings: ‘and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ (Acts 2:38) We can’t receive this gift if we are full of our own righteousness and pride, but once we empty ourselves of these things, our arms are open to receive God Himself! The U-turn implicit in repentance means we turn from our own ways of doing things and run towards God, finding that He is ready and waiting to accept us and not condemn us. Relationships are restored following repentance; there is a way forward.

Repentance is the start of our journey, but it is just the beginning. John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way for Jesus, urged people to live out their repentance (Matthew 3:1-11): ‘produce fruit in keeping with repentance.’ It isn’t enough merely to have a head knowledge of God; we must live out our faith in the real world, with all its ups and downs, difficulties and disasters.

Repentance may well involve restitution (giving back what we have stolen, making right what we have done wrong.) It may mean seeking someone out and asking for forgiveness. Repentance can feel uncomfortable to us, for it accepts the status quo has to change and it refuses to let us off the hook! Yet when we repent, there is freedom and joy, because finally we are doing things God’s way!

Today, Ash Wednesday, is the first day of Lent, and as we journey through Lent, we are reading from Sally Welch’s book ‘Sharing The Easter story,’ which looks at a different Bible passage each day. This week’s theme is ‘Repenting,’ and today’s reading comes from 2 Samuel 12:1-5, the passage where the prophet Nathan skilfully confronts King David over his sinful behaviour (which includes adultery and murder) through an apparently innocuous story. David, drawn into this story of injustice, realises his sin and repents.

Looking on, we may feel bewildered at this godly king’s behaviour. How could he not realise his actions were wrong? How could he be so blind to the error of his ways? How could he sleep so peacefully at night, knowing he had engineered the murder of an innocent man? Yet this story shows us the deceitfulness of sin, how we can rationalise and justify the most sinful of actions while nit-picking over the faults of others. No wonder Jesus spoke about removing the plank in our own eye before worrying about the speck of sawdust in someone else’s! (Matthew 7:3-5)

Repenting means to turn away from wrong ways. We don’t define what is wrong: God does. There is objective truth and objective moral standards governing our world, whether we believe this or not. Nathan courageously confronts David through the disarming power of story. When the conviction of God comes upon David, there is wholehearted repentance (see Psalm 51).

We tend to see repentance as a turning from wrongdoing, but it is also a turning towards God. On Ash Wednesday, we admit our sinfulness and wrongdoing and call on God for mercy. His mercy is the hope we have that we can be forgiven and can indeed have that fresh start.

When I was at school, I loved learning new words; two of my favourites were ‘onomatopoeia’ (which refers to the sounds of words being like what they describe such as ‘sizzle’ or ‘buzz‘) and ‘oxymoron’ (a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction.) I thought about oxymorons this morning as I read Mark 10:32: ‘the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid.’ Fearful followers? A similar oxymoron is found in Matt 28:17 after the resurrection, when we are told, ‘when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted.’

The idea of fearful followers and doubting worshippers seems incongruous (another favourite word of mine.) How can we follow God when afraid, given His repeated encouragement not to fear? How can we worship wholeheartedly while still doubting?

There are no easy answers to these questions. We are complex people in whom all manner of contradictions live. Life is rarely as black and white as we would like; there are many shades of colour (even many shades of grey!)

As we stand on the threshold of Lent (today is Shrove Tuesday, tomorrow Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, that 40 day period leading up to the greatest miracle the world has ever witnessed), ‘fearful followers and doubting worshippers’ seem to sum many of us up. We are bombarded with bad news on a daily basis: illness, rising costs of living, uncertainty, war. Even God’s word warns us of suffering and persecution (Jesus went on to speak to His disciples about His forthcoming death in Mark 10:33-34). And yet, at the very same time, hope flickers through, like the delicate snowdrop or the first light of dawn. We need not fear. We need not doubt. The Lord is still with us. The Lord is near.

Peter asks us what kind of people we ought to be (2 Pet 3:11) right after he has been teaching about the day of the Lord, the heavens disappearing with a roar, the elements being destroyed by fire, the earth being laid bare (2 Pet 3:10) – apocalyptic, scary stuff. Not for him the fatalistic pessimism you might expect or the hedonistic ‘eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die’ attitude of others. No, his advice is to live holy and godly lives, making every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with God. (2 Pet 3:11, 14) We are called to shine like stars in the universe, holding to the word of life. (Phil 2:15-16).

The world has enough fear and doubt to last a lifetime. God’s people are called to lay down fear and doubt and be filled with the faith, hope and love Jesus has died to purchase for us. If you want to give up anything for Lent, resolve to give up fear and doubt, no matter how dark things may look. After all, the days leading up to Easter Sunday were dark, but God still reversed the doom of death through the resurrection of Jesus. We are on the winning side; may faith, hope and love be our daily fuel as we walk through this Lent period and beyond.