Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. No, Le(i)nt is not the stuff in your dryer. Ash Wednesday is a day of prayer and fasting, preparing us for Lent, a season of repentance.
Some of us think of repentance as something that people outside the church need to do. And some of us think that people inside the church do not need to repent.
We have it all wrong. Repentance should start in the church, not outside the church. Sometimes, those most in need of repentance are those who sit under the steeple, rather than outside it. Broadway Baptist Church in Ft. Worth Texas illustrated that last year.
For 34 years, John Thomas was the custodian of the historical church. He attended every Sunday. But listened to the services from the baptistry, out of view. The black man was not allowed to sit with the white congregation. He was there but not there.
Last year, in an act of repentance and reparation, the church hung a portrait in the narthex titled “Mr. Thomas, Please Come Up Higher to Sit.” The artwork pictures the custodian in a suit, walking to the front of the congregation which is no longer just white but now a diverse group.
65 years after the death of John Thomas the church finally did something about its sins. They repented.
The word repent means literally, “to think again.” Lent has begun. What do you need to rethink? From what do you need to repent?
--
Mark Ross
Comments