Henry Nouwen wrote:

"Lent is the most important time of the year to nurture our inner life. It is the time during which we not only prepare ourselves to celebrate the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, but also the death and resurrection that constantly takes place within us. Life is a continuing process of the death of the old and the familiar, and being reborn again into a new hope, a new trust, and a new love. The death and resurrection of Jesus therefore is not just an historical event that took place a long time ago, but an inner event that takes place in our own heart when we are willing to be attentive to it. True repentance is an interior attitude in which we are willing to let go of everything that prevents us from growing into spiritual maturity, and there is hardly a moment in our lives in which we are not invited to detach ourselves from certain ways of thinking, ways of speaking, ways of acting, that for a long time gave us energy, but that always again need to be renewed and recreated.

Lent offers a beautiful opportunity to discover the mystery of Christ within us. It is a gentle but also demanding time. It is a time of solitude but also community, it is a time of listening to the voice within, but also a time of paying attention to other peoples' needs. It is a time to continuously make the passage to a new inner life as well as to life with those around us."

A few weeks after writing these words of introduction to a lenten booklet, Henry Nouwen died of a heart ailment.

While we should be responsive to God in all seasons of life, during Lent is certainly one of those special opportunities during the Christian year. It is the time we have chosen as a church to embark on a spiritual adventure. As we examine our inner life we may become aware of our personal need for repentance, for turning our backs on any behavior, attitudes, speaking, that does not lead us in the way of the Lord.

Repentance Leads from

I. Dying to Sin

In the accounts of the Gospel writers we see that John the Baptist arrives on the scene. He was definitely an early non conformist. He called people to repent, for the kingdom of the Lord was at hand. As the voice of one crying in the wilderness he cried our, "prepare the Way of the Lord, make his paths straight." He baptized with water for repentance.

I assume, most of us have already confessed our sin, repented, and received Jesus Christ as our Savior. If we have sincerely done this, we should be dead to sin, and continuing to die to sin. To continue our journey with Jesus Christ we should be attentive to the Spirit of God and willing to turn away from anything that would keep us from being close to our Lord.

Traditionally in Ash Wednesday service I have seen that worshippers receive a small piece of paper on which to write any obstacle or sins between them and God. You should have a piece of paper, and I will give ask you to prayerfully listen to the Lord and record on that paper anything to which you need to die.

Repentance also leads to

II. Living with Christ

Repentance leads from dying to sin which in turn leads to living with Christ. Paul wrote: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death." "To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the things of the Spirit is life and peace." "But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness."

God does not want us dead because of sin, but dead to sin. He wants us to be alive to Him, to experience the fullness of life. Rather than thinking during Lent of denying self we can focus on the positive aspect of living with and for Jesus Christ. He makes life worth living. As we die to sin and self we can become more and more alive to God.

Conclusion Max Goldman

I had a pastor friend named Max Goldman. He and his wife, June, remained very active in our Iowa Conference years after he officially retired and we worked together on various evangelism ministries. Following Annual Conference in 1996, Max was diagnosed with cancer, but kept as involved in church and community activities as his health would allow. He was on the United Methodist Organized for Renewal and Evangelism with me. Pastor Hal Green served on that board as well.

The morning before taking her husband to Rochester just before Lent in 1997, June and I visited on the telephone about some Iowa Conference business. She requested prayer for Max. After returning home he grew weaker and was taken to their local hospital in northwest Iowa. He died Sunday, about the time he would have completed preaching if he had been well enough. His funeral service was held on Ash Wednesday last year. Max was scheduled to preach that evening with his sermon entitled, "Springboard to New Life."

My friend had preached, taught, and lived the new life. He had shared it inside and outside of the local church and touched many lives for Christ through the years. While Max and Henry and others have gone on to new life in heaven, during this Lenten Season, let us determine to use true repentance as a springboard to new life while we remain here on earth to serve Christ with our lives.

Return