The Rev. Noah Van Niel
The Chapel of the Cross
September 15th, 2019
Proper 19 (C): Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28; Psalm 14; 1 Tim 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10
A few weeks ago my wife, Melinda, and I were on our way to Charleston, South Carolina to celebrate our ten year anniversary when I saw something I had never seen before. As we drove down I-95 there was a billboard, but rather than the usual fast food ads, or car dealerships or personal injury lawyers, this one stood out because it was blank except for one word, written in all caps, in blood red ink: REPENT. “Ugh. Terrible.” I thought. “How tasteless. Surely no one has ever been driving down the highway, seen that sign and immediately turned their life around. Who is that sign even for?” I imagine I’m not alone in being put off by such a blatant call to repentance. After all, “Repent!” is the vocabulary of crazy guys on the street corner in sandwich boards, or the infamous pit preacher here at Carolina. It’s one of those words that time and history have turned into a cudgel. A way for those holier-than-thou types to bludgeon you into faith. As such it can leave a sour taste in our mouths.
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