Faith Matters 21: For The Gardner News, December 16, 2006
A Change of Direction
Few things get our defenses up as quickly as hearing someone calling us to repent. Yet this is an essential part of the Advent message, heard in the voices of John the Baptist and the ancient prophets of Israel. Repent! Repent! It calls up images of hair shirts and self-flagellation. But the original meaning of the word translated from the Greek as repent was to change one’s mind or, quite literally, change one’s direction. The call to repentance was a call to turn one’s life and attention away from oneself and the things of the world and turn towards God.
Devout Muslims turn their thoughts and their bodies in the direction of Mecca five times each day when they pray. Physically orienting themselves to their holy place orients their lives towards God. Even in the Western Christian church over the centuries altars were usually oriented so that when one stood in worship with eyes on the altar, one’s body was turned to the East, toward Jerusalem and the rising sun, a symbol of the resurrection. This turning of our attention and our bodies in prayer or worship reminds us subconsciously about turning our lives towards God. Even the act of looking in the direction we associate with God causes our bodies to follow in that direction, a fact not lost on anyone who has steered a car or sailed a boat.
But how can we turn our lives toward the transcendent God of mystery in whom we live and move and have our being? Where can we set our sights? For Christians one answer is to turn our eyes to the One who is Emmanuel, God with Us, who took on human flesh to walk among us and share our lives. As people of faith, in this season of preparation we turn our eyes to look for signs of his coming and to prepare the way for him. As we gather at the manger in humility and wonder we turn our eyes to marvel at his birth among us. And the more we turn our sights and attention on him, the more our feet and our hearts and our lives follow in his footsteps. We follow with our eyes as he sets out on a journey of ministry and healing and teaching and making God visible to us. And as we turn our eyes toward him, we find that our footsteps start to fall in place behind his.
Of course, we get distracted along the way. But each time we turn our attention back to him we reorient our lives to him and move in his direction. We hear him saying to us over and over again, “follow me.” Turning towards him, keeping our eyes focused on him over and over, we shed those parts of our lives that hold us back. We learn the truth that it is only in this letting go, losing our lives over and over again, that we find our lives in him.
Repent! Repent! Turn towards the One who is to come. Watch for him and for the signs of his coming. Set your eyes on him, gaze deeply in his direction, and then watch as your heart and your life follow in turn.