Sidney UMC - Third Sunday after the Epiphany - 01/24/21 - Sermon - “The Biggest Biblical Story Of Repentance!"

Sunday 01/24/21 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title:       “The Biggest Biblical Story of Repentance!”

Old Testament Scripture: Jonah 3:1-5, 10                                    

New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Gospel Lesson: Mark 1:14-20

          Brothers and sisters, friends, welcome once again on this the Third Sunday after the Epiphany. Three Sundays now, since the Three Wise Men or Magi visited Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and brought Jesus gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. We will remain in this season after the Epiphany, until Transfiguration Sunday, on Sunday February 14^th. Sunday February 14^th is also UMC Scouting Sunday, and as it turns out, is also Valentine’s Day.

          As so many of us know all to well, our country and the world has been living under the horrible reality of this COVID-19 Pandemic. This Pandemic has taken so much from us all, from our world, our country, our state, our county, and even our church. In addition to this terrible Pandemic, we also have continued social unrest, social division, and a deeply divided country. We still have many people out of work, people sick with the virus, and people wondering when we will reach a new, safer, and more prosperous day.

          Given all of this, I do not believe that this COVID-19 pandemic is God punishing the world or our country. This virus has happened, I believe, because of us. I also believe that most of the suffering in the world is because of us. Since we have free-will do good or to do bad, we can create a real mess of things if we want to.

          The reality my friends is that we are all sinners. All of us fall short of the glory of God, and we all need to repent and turn to Christ. Did any of us individually cause our current COVID-19 Pandemic? No, but we can respond to it. We can continue to wear masks, be as safe as we can, and continue to make good choices.

          All of this being said though, we are not perfect people, as we are all broken, and we are all sinners. We all need God’s grace, and we all need the forgiveness offered through Jesus Christ. I have been forgiven through the life-giving blood of Jesus Christ, and so can you be, if you but repent of your sin and darkness, and believe in Jesus.

          It is interesting that I had chosen weeks ago, to preach this morning on our Old Testament Book of Jonah reading. In this reading from 3:1-5, 10 we have literally, as my sermon title says, “The Biggest Biblical Story of Repentance”. Nowhere else in the entirety of the Bible, do we have a bigger story of an entire group of people repenting of their sin and their darkness, than in the Old Testament Book of Jonah. Also, yes, Jonah, is the guy who got swallowed by a fish for three days and three nights (Jon. 1:17b, NRSV). Yes, that Jonah!

          The context of this repentance is that of the ancient city of Nineveh, which is in present day Northern Iraq. Nineveh was part of Mesopotamia, and the Assyrian Empire.  From one source that I read, the city of Nineveh in the time of Jonah had about 120,000 residents (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/lists/biggest-city-through-history/nineveh/). All of the people, from the king on down repented to God of their sin and darkness.

          Now again, I do not think that this global COVID-19 Pandemic is God’s wrath on humanity, but it has given me cause to look at myself, and those areas of my life where I need to grow closer to Christ, and to continue to repent of my sin and darkness. God called Jonah to Nineveh because the whole city was not living for God and needed to repent. I am a sinner saved by grace, and through this pandemic, I want to get even closer to Christ. I want to continue to repent, so that I might continually become more like him.

          Before getting into the scriptures for this morning though, I want to give you a little more history on the ancient city of Nineveh. According to a source that I researched:

The city of Nineveh, the ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire, was destroyed in 612 B.C. The fall of that great city was not a matter of chance, but rather a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Nineveh was established by Nimrod, "the mighty hunter" (Gen. 10:8-10). It served as the capitol of the Assyrian Empire for many years (https://www.padfield.com/1996/destruction-of-nineveh.html).

     So, while on this day, the whole city of Nineveh repents of there sins to God, this repentance will not last. Ultimately, this city of about 120,000 people will be destroyed in 612 BC by the Assyrian Empire. Today though, Nineveh and its King, King Sargon repents to God. The prophecy of the destruction of the city of Nineveh comes from Book of Nahum. In the Book of Nahum, the source I researched said:

“The prophet Nahum predicted the destruction of Nineveh in the book that bears his name. The following items were to be a part of the destruction of that great city:”

1.    An "overflowing flood" would "make an utter end of its place" (Nah. 1:8)

2.    Nineveh would be destroyed while her inhabitants were "drunken like drunkards" (Nah. 1:10)

3.    Nineveh would be unprotected because "fire shall devour the bars of your gates" (Nah. 3:13)

4.    Nineveh would never recover, for their "injury has no healing" (Nah. 3:19)

5.    The downfall of Nineveh would come with remarkable ease, like figs falling when the tree is shaken (Nah. 3:12) (https://www.padfield.com/1996/destruction-of-nineveh.html)

Today though, the city of Nineveh as safe, as all the 120,000 people repented and turned to God. Eventually this will change, but today they repented. So, lets looks once again at what our reading from the Book of Jonah says from this morning. Once again it says:

“3 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ² “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” ³ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. ⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” ⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. ¹⁰ When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it” (Jon. 3:1-5, 10, NRSV).

 

          So, “The Biggest Biblical Story Of Repentance” happened in the Book of Jonah, in the city of Nineveh. Today, about 120,000 people heed the words of Jonah, the guy that got swallowed by a giant fish for three days. Today is a good day, as a whole city repents and turns to God.

          In our reading from this morning from Book of 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul tells us once again:

“For the present form of this world is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31b, NRSV).

          God is always moving and is always present. It is never the wrong time to turn to God. It is never the wrong time to repent to God of our sins and draw closer to Christ through him.

          As I said in my invitation to worship video this past Wednesday, I do not believe that God has caused this horrible COVID-19 Pandemic. I also do not believe that God has caused the social and political divisions and upheavals in this country and this word. So, should we all be like the people of the city of Nineveh this morning then? Should we all get in sackcloth and ask God to remove this terrible COVID-19 Pandemic? Well, again, I do not think that God caused this terrible COVID-19 Pandemic, as I think it is our own human fault. As a result, this time of pandemic has given me cause to repent. I am not repenting of my own sin more and more, because I think that the COVID-19 Pandemic will just go away, but instead this pandemic has shown me anew how fragile and broken this world is. How fragile and frail I am, and all of you are.

          You see, its easy for us to get comfortable, to live in our little bubbles, and pandemics and upheavals then come. Even though I do not believe God caused these things, they have given me cause to turn to God, and to continue to repent of my own sin and brokenness. This pandemic and these upheavals make me want to be better, to be holier, and to be more like Jesus.

          Today I repent as the people of Nineveh did. I repent not because God or a prophet has said Sidney will be destroyed if we do not, rather I repent because I want to be more like Jesus. Maybe this pandemic and the many social and political upheavals will reveal to us anew our own brokenness. May we use these troubling times then to repent, to draw closer to Christ, and to ask God to make us more holy and righteous. May we also repent, so that God can make us more holy and more righteous, so that God can use us to be salt and light to a broken world. May God use us as his ambassadors on earth and may God use us to transform Sidney and the world for Jesus Christ. The closer we draw to Christ, the more we become like Christ. So, like the people of Nineveh, I am continuing to repent and draw closer to God, so that he may use me even more. I pray that God uses me and uses you to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, to love others, and to transform Sidney and the world.

          In looking very quickly at our gospel of Mark reading for this morning, Jesus calls some of his 12-disciples. Jesus hand picks and calls these men, to repent, follow him, and live and love he does. Jesus calls us to turn from sin and darkness, and to draw closer to him. When we do this, we are changed, we are transformed, and God uses us to transform the world.

          In looking at the text again from our Gospel of Mark reading for this morning, once again, it says:

          “¹⁴ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mk. 1:14-15, NRSV).

          Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist has been arrested, as he was seen as a threat to the social and political order, as Jesus will be seen the same way. As Jesus goes around preaching and living his ministry, he tells people that the Kingdom of God is coming near. Jesus tells all people to repent of there sins and believe the good news of his gospel.

          In the process of Jesus preaching for people to repent, that the kingdom of God is coming near, and to believe the gospel, Jesus then calls Simon Peter and Andrew to follow him this morning. Once again, the gospel reading for this morning concludes saying:

^“16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” ¹⁸ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him” (Mk. 1:16-20, NRSV).

 

          Jesus calls Simon Peter, Andrew, and James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus calls them and us, to repent of our sins, to turn our hearts over to him, and then to follow him. For the kingdom of God is drawing near, so may we repent and follow Christ.

          As I have said throughout this sermon, I do not think that this COVID-19 Pandemic and the many social and political upheavals that have happened in this country and this world have been caused by God. Yet, Jesus calls us, as God called Jonah to tell the people of the ancient city of Nineveh to repent. May we use these challenging times that we are all living through to repent and draw closer to Christ. May our scripture reading from the Book of Jonah for this morning about “The Biggest Biblical Story of Repentance,” give us cause to repent. Not repent because God is going to destroy us, or because God caused the COVID-19 Pandemic or all of the other things plaguing this country and the world, but so that we can draw closer to Christ. May God make us holier, purer, and more righteous. In turning to God, and in God working in us and through us, God can use us even more to transform Sidney and the world. This my friends, is how I am relating to “The Biggest Biblical Story of Repentance” from this morning. Amen.