Devotional Messages

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE

“In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”             Matthew 3:1
What a package John was!  His unconventional clothing - rags really – were not the only thing off-putting about him.  He was a wild man living off the land, eating insects.  The thing that had people believing him a prophet of God was his message of repentance.  But John was quite confrontational about it, “You poisonous snakes!  Who told you to escape the wrath of God?!”  No doubt the news of his beheading was greeted with relief by many.
Dad was to attend our church’s national convention in 1966.  Then he learned that the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been invited to preach.  Many from Dad’s generation condemned King for his unconventional actions.  A true member of the cloth does not take to the streets, confront a whole nation for their sin, and risk the lives of the faithful for a political cause.  During a Sunday noon meal with his family Dad struggled with two options; refuse to attend in protest or show up and protest.  Dad resolved to poison the convention.  Mom was concerned.
Imagine our surprise when Dad returned home a chastened man.  Despite King’s unconventional action Dad recognized a prophet when he heard one.  When we learned of King’s assassination 2 years later, Dad somberly observed, “John the Baptist.  They killed him, too.”  My sister added, “And Jesus.”
I learned about repentance from my Dad, not from his sermons but from his struggles and discoveries.  A few years after King’s death it all came together for me in words by Frederick Buechner; “To repent is to come to your senses.  It is not so much something you do as something that happens.  True repentance spends less time looking at the past and saying, ‘I’m sorry,’ than to the future and saying, ‘Wow!’”
Oh, God!  Prepare us for the Way of the Lord.  Show us where to make straight paths in the wilderness, that we may arrive one day, sinless and fearless before Christ’s empty tomb.  Amen.