Repent is a word that has fallen out of favor in our day (except among fire and brimstone preachers!). Repent is harsh sounding; we prefer softer, more soothing religious verbiage. Have we fallen into “easy believism” that recoils at the very suggestion there is something wrong with us? Jesus was emphatic in calling people to repentance from the outset of his public ministry. “Repent and believe the gospel” were Jesus’ first words in Mark’s account of his ministry (Mark 1.14-15). The Greek word for repentance, “metanoia,” simply means to change, from which we derive our English word metamorphosis. Jesus taught that belief accompanies a willingness to change and go God’s way.
Basilea Schlink (1904-2001) wrote extensively about the importance of repentance in Christian living. She co-led a large Bible study for young women during the rise of the Third Reich in her hometown of Darmstadt, near Frankfurt. She was interrogated by the Gestapo several times for studying the Old Testament in Hebrew. When Allied bombers destroyed much of their city, Bible study members forged a stronger bond of Christian sisterhood. Comparable to other monastic orders, the “Sisters of Mary” took vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience to Jesus’ teachings. Basilea wrote her doctoral dissertation on “The Meaning of Sin-Consciousness in the Religious Struggles of Female Adolescents.” She recognized in adolescents what is true for all people: our resistance to change. She wrote, “Our objections—whether they be theological or psychological—usually have one root: it is pride that makes us reject the message of repentance.” When Basilea read the Nuremberg Trials and the genocide perpetrated against the Jewish people during the holocaust, she rallied her Protestant order to call Germans to account for their national sins. Their message of repentance was met with resistance, as most Germans wanted to forget the war or shift blame to Allied forces for atrocities committed on Germany’s civilian population. She called her people to recognize their passive complicity and active involvement in the sins of the Third Reich. Today’s meditation is hardly a rant on German people. We are, by nature, self-willed, impenitent people. So, we join with Basilea in praying: