“Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” - Jo writes
For many years to come, I guess that the winter of 2009/2010 will be remembered for the snow. Satellite pictures beamed from space showed the United Kingdom completely covered with a white blanket. Cars were abandoned and those who had to go out did so on foot. Severe weather warnings became a regular feature of the news. We saw communities brought closer together as people’s lives were disrupted. Snowmen sprung up in gardens and the joys of sledging were rediscovered by many. After the novelty wore off, though, the snow for many became an increasing nuisance: bones were broken, people were marooned in their homes without human contact and unable to get on with daily life, the slushy streets meant that our clothes and homes got so messy.
I have to admit that I love the snow. There’s something very comforting about sitting inside in front of a roaring fire while the snow is coming down outside. I like the tranquility that the snow brings as it muffles all the usual noise. There is also something beautiful about pristine white snow glistening with sunlight. Roger and I spent the first week of January in a very snowy Scotland, and it was quite awe-inspiring to see the vast expanses of snow-covered mountains stretching as far as the eye could see. However, once the roads start being gritted and the snow starts to turn a dirty grey or brown colour, I want it to melt as quickly as possible. Once the snow is no longer clean and white, it’s spoilt and is no longer beautiful and worth having around.
One of the psalms set for Ash Wednesday, uses the imagery of snow to express the author’s desire to be set right with God:
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
Psalm 51:7
With the experiences of the beauty of fresh white snow and the messiness of mucky, slushy snow still fresh in my mind, the psalmist’s words bring alive the reality of what Lent is about. For most of this month we will be in the season of Lent, the time of the year when we are invited to spend time in self-examination and repentance; in prayer, fasting and denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy word. It’s a time when we are encouraged to work with God in stripping away the things that mess up our lives and to replace with a quality of purity.
The call to repentance is at the heart of our worship week by week as we confess our sins and hear God’s promise to “forgive all who truly repent”. And yet I wonder whether we perhaps can become a little blasé about what repentance really means. At its heart, repentance means submitting ourselves to God so that we can be restored to being the person he created us to be. It’s not just about feeling sorry for what we’ve done. It’s about deciding that we want to live differently and asking God to change us, to take away the things which are stopping us fully being the person he created us to be.
In his book, “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction”, the American theologian, Eugene Peterson, describes it like this:
“Repentance is not an emotion. It is not feeling sorry for your sins. It is a decision. It is deciding that you have been wrong in supposing that you could manage your own life and be your own god; it is deciding that you were wrong in thinking that you had, or could get, the strength, education and training to make it on your own…… Repentance is a realisation that what God wants from you and what you want from God are not going to be achieved by doing the same old things, thinking the same old thoughts. Repentance is a decision to follow Jesus Christ and become his pilgrim in the path of peace.”
Peterson says that repentance is about being practical, that it about putting us in touch with the reality that God creates. It’s not just about thoughts and feelings but about action and doing. Lent gives us the opportunity to look at our lives - not just to think about things but to do something about it. There will be a Service of Penitence on each Saturday of Lent at 10.00am at St Michael’s – this could be one way of showing that you are serious about repentance. Or if you prefer, you might like to spend some time on your with the words of Psalm 51, letting the psalmist help you to decide what needs changing in your life.
However you spend Lent, may you arrive at Easter Day able to rejoice with psalmist who knew that repentance led to a changed life and a new desire to worship God:
“Deliver me from my guilt, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise”
Psalm 51:15-16
Added: 10th March 2010 || Submitted by: Revd Jo Farnworth.
Would you like to leave a comment?