In the Gospel, Jesus says, “Repent and believe.” He calls us to
turn from a hell of our own making to embrace (theosis) union with God.
Repentance is turning from sin and death and turning to the Father in trusting,
obedient love; but Jesus will not force anyone to enter His Kingdom. We must
all repent, but surprisingly the Bible says God repents, too.
The two Hebrew verbs for repentance, shuwb (turn around)
and nacham (regret, feel sorry), are both applied to God. Today we hear
that God changed His mind about the punishment upon Nineveh. The word nacham
also occurs in Genesis 6:6-7. There we read that God regrets that He created
man. He is so sorry that He undoes creation. While we prefer to think of God as
always in control and all knowing; the Bible stories often describe a different
kind of God. The ancient authors ask us to experience the Lord at a more human
level.
Most of us know this story. God calls Jonah to be his prophet. Jonah rejects the offer and
heads off in the other direction. A big storm and a big fish later, Jonah is
spewed upon dry land. God tells him again, “Go tell Nineveh what I said.” So
Jonah declares doom with no invitation to repent. Yet the entire city does just
that, making him the most successful prophet in history. The people turn (shuwb)
from their sin in the hope that God will also turn (3:9). Which is exactly what He does: God sees, God
regrets, God relents. How can God do this?
The “incarnation” of God means that He enters human time and
space. In order to do this, He empties Himself to reach us. In a real sense God
dies to Himself for love of us. We see that in Jesus’ incarnation, but we must
understand that God must empty Himself every time He interacts with creation: He
loves us and calls us. He sees sin, He regrets that He made us. He is angry and
just. He is merciful, patient and kind. He destroys and He saves. All of this
very human language is used to describe God’s activity among us.
God reveals that He is very serious about union with us (theosis).
God really offers us a choice, and God allows us to impact Him in time and
space. We decide to walk away and we decide to turn back around. He does not
cause it. He does respond, though.
When Jesus says, “Repent and believe,” it is a real message.
Biblically speaking, God has a desire that each one of us become His children.
We are the joy of His heart, but we can also break His heart by turning away.
We can sin and make Him regret He ever made us and He can hand us over to
perdition. If we repent and turn back to Him, however, He will repent and turn
back to us.
I understand why such talk offends. It seems to reduce God to one
of us, a mere human…..but isn't that what incarnation means? God has reduced
Himself to one of us, a mere human. There is more to the story, but that is at
the heart of the story. God loves you enough to empty Himself of divinity in
order to fill you up with divinity. So repent and believe the Good News.
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