Genesis 9:8-17; Mark 1:9-15
February 18, 2024
Rev. Annie Watson, Holy Family Catholic Church
If we want to take Lent seriously, we need to give it a good kick-start. As you know, Lent is often associated with the word “repent.” Think of Lent as the key we turn to the “on” position on a motorcycle and repentance as the kick-start.
Repentance essentially means to go in a different direction, to change one’s mind, heart, habits, or actions. Giving up something for Lent—a common practice—is not just a way to start a temporary diet or give up a favorite activity for several weeks. It’s supposed to be a way to kick-start a new lease on life.
So, how do we know what to kick-start? How do we determine what to repent of? Outside of scripture, the answer to those questions might be found in the wisdom of two people: Albert Einstein and Dr. Phil.
Dr. Phil McGraw began his television career as the resident expert on human behavior on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show. He is known for asking people who are struggling with life a very simple question, “How’s that working for you?” Dr. Phil tried to get his guests to see how a particular activity or worldview was detrimental to their well-being.
In a similar way, Albert Einstein is often credited for saying: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This is also a very helpful quote, especially for those who engage in repetitive destructive behavior.
In both cases, Dr. Phil and Albert Einstein’s words reflect the biblical wisdom of repentance. This is a way to kick-start our lives in ways that put us on a new path and help us get going in a new direction.
The God of the Bible engaged in many acts of repentance, kick-starting the kingdom of God as if it is an old, hard-to-start motorcycle. Remember, repentance isn’t just for people who are swimming in sin. Repentance means going in a new direction or trying something new, which God does on many occasions in the Bible when things are not working very well.
In the story of Noah and the Ark, for example, God tries to kick-start a new relationship with humanity. It’s not a pleasant story at all. It’s a violent story about divine punishment. Ever since Adam and Eve were forced out of the Garden of Eden because of an act of disobedience, God’s relationship with humanity was not working very well.
The writer of Genesis says, “The earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.” At this point, God decides to kick-start something new by wiping the slate clean. But after the flood, we can almost hear Dr. Phil saying, “Hey, God, how’s that working for you?”
So, God makes a covenant with Noah and all living things and promises to never destroy everything again. The rainbow becomes a sign of this promise, which makes sense. After a big rain the sun comes out and what do we see? A rainbow.
God says, “When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”
The rainbow is more interesting than we might think. In the ancient world, the rainbow was seen as the actual bow used by God to shoot arrows of lightning. Psalm 7:12-13 says, “If one does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow; he has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.” God’s arrows were the bolts of lightning during a thunderstorm.
After the flood, the biblical God promises to hang up the divine bow on the wall. Worldwide destruction will no longer be God’s strategy to straighten out wicked human beings. God repents of this and kick-starts a new relationship with all creation.
Did it work? Did God’s covenant with Noah make things better? No, so like a frustrated biker with a slow-starting motorcycle, the Bible tells the story of a God who tries kick-starting one covenant with humanity after another. After the covenant with Noah there is a covenant with Abraham, with Moses, with David, and even one called the New Covenant, which was kick-started after the Babylonian Exile.
The covenants were well-intended, but humanity kept sputtering and dying. So maybe, God thought, it’s time to try something new. That’s where Jesus enters the picture. The Jesus story is like God saying to Dr. Phil, “You know, this isn’t working. So I guess I’m going to have to go down there and kick-start the bike myself.”
The temptation story of Jesus in the wilderness is the story of God trying to kick-start the kingdom of God again. Think about how this story fits into the biblical narrative: The Bible takes us from a God who expels the first Adam from the garden out into the wilderness because he gave in to temptation, to a God who intentionally sends the Second Adam out into the wilderness to be tempted. And he passes. This time it worked.
If God has kick-started the kingdom of God, the least we can do is kick-start this season of Lent? But how?
We can do so . . .
- • by repenting
- • by turning around and going in a new direction
- • by seeking a new path
- • by trying something new
- • by changing our minds, hearts, habits, and actions
- • by asking, “How’s that working for us?”
- • by realizing that we have been doing the same old tired things and expecting different results (which is insane)
- • by hanging up our bows and arrows, our psychological and philosophical weapons against others
- • by allowing God to drive for us
- • and by following Jesus out into the wilderness
There is so much we can do to kick-start the season of Lent. Let’s just make sure we have enough gas.
