Reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent – Penitence.
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near….. Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” John the Baptist in Matthew 3:1-3.
This Lenten journey began with pancakes and being shriven. Now we have another moment to pause, to look back and to look forward in hope. Here we find the aim of being penitent, a crucial part of what Lent is about. The call from John the Baptist is to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near”. It’s to look back at where we began, to reflect internally about how we got here, to atone, and to consider the future.
Brecon Cathedral has a history rooted in penitence and prayer. It used to be a Benedictine Priory, a place where the solitude of its location amongst the hills mirrored the solitude of the people who lived and worshipped there. Reflecting through prayer in the sanctuary of an ancient building, where Christians have worshipped for over 900 years, can be a very profound experience. Think about all those Benedictine monks, how different their lives were to ours, and how similar, as well. They, too, will have had to reckon with repentance, grappling with the harm they’ve caused or harm that they’ve experienced. As we reflect on this third week of our Lenten journey, this spiritual pilgrimage, how have we been diverted on our journeys with God? Who have we injured on the way? Who’s injured us? What relationships have been damaged or broken? From repentance, can reconciliation grow?
Reconciliation is not easy. It requires daring to hold out a hand to another, possibly the one who has injured us, or one whom we have injured, and seeking to be honest with compassion and care. The other will only respond well if they think we genuinely care about them. If we don’t, they will probably spot this, and chances are it won’t work. In some cases, if the relationship that is damaged was abusive, this may be about coming to terms with what has happened, recognising that we are not to blame, and going forward with renewed blessing. That may be the best we can achieve.
‘Making paths straight’, as John the Baptist says, requires nothing short of the grace of God. But it starts with the humility that recognises I am a sinner in need of God’s healing grace, and so is the other. The kingdom of heaven we seek is one where these injuries and conflicts have no place. So, if we are to recognise it has come near, there is a challenge to seek reconciliation, forgiveness, and healing. What are the signs of hope that come with the new day’s promise?