Has Repentance Fallen Out of Fashion?

by Marci Wilson-Boggs

In this past year and a half of unforeseen global calamity, massive death and viral illness, it’s been interesting to hear the public narratives change, as they always do in repeating patterns of disaster, grief and social adjustment to radical upheaval. I remember seeing and hearing the, “we’re all in this together,” and “let’s applaud our service workers everywhere…” soon replaced by, “Public trust is at its lowest point in a century,” and “Can we really trust what we are being told about … (fill in the blank)?” What I have not heard much from churches I’ve visited during this time is… “Forgive us, Lord, for our sins as a nation, as a church, as a community, as Your people.” We don’t even want to be inconvenienced by enduring an extra ten minutes of church service when it runs a little long.

Now, please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying churches should be promoting the idea that an angry God is judging or punishing us for our myriad sins by sending a global pandemic to kill millions of people, even though it’s not beyond the realm of our imaginations. Rather, the point I’m making is that in our individual “survival-mode” mentality, it seems we have not been looking inward, examining ourselves, and asking God to shine the light of holiness onto our hearts to reveal our lack of empathy, or self-absorption, or forgetfulness/avoidance of the poor and marginalized.

Repentance is not a popular sermon topic. However, the tragic rise in suicide rates alone in the past year should be clearly telling us we are not looking past our own needs, or those of our immediate families these days. The shockingly brazen selfishness and greed in our communities are not even being acknowledged or addressed by the church. Not only are we complicit, but we are equally guilty of ignoring the pain and suffering around us. Self-care is the new buzz-word to replace helping others if it’s not easy or convenient. If we truly want to see revival in our world, we must start with ourselves and revisit the concept of repentance. I John 1:9-10 need revisiting: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Seems like a good place to start.