WEEK TWO INTRODUCTION 
LENT: A CALL TO REPENTANCE & RENUNCIATION
March 1 - March 7

Repentance is a turning away from the old to embrace the new. It is a putting to death the things in our lives that hurt us so that we can experience the life Christ offers to the fullest. The season of Lent is an intentional call to deep repentance, a yearly check-up regarding our spiritual health. Lent affords us the opportunity to take a serious and sober look at ourselves. It is a path to real joy. Repentance plays an essential role in the gospels and in the early church. We read powerful accounts of sinners turned into saints as they mourned their sins, earnestly sought forgiveness, and turned from their evil ways to focus their attention on the One whose transforming power makes all things new.

 It is common to fixate on ourselves and our habits, addictions, shortcomings and failures. We make resolutions and promises to the Lord and ourselves sometimes over and over again. All of these self-obsessed actions ultimately turn us inward. Instead, Lent should be about the Spirit’s work within us, drawing us out of ourselves and turning our eyes upon Jesus Christ. Self-reflection should lead to true repentance and true repentance should lead to a life changing encounter with the living God--an encounter that leaves the old behind. 

The Apostle Peter earnestly repented of his transgressions, becoming the first leader of the early church. Although his life was transformed, extra-biblical literature indicates that he wept daily for his sins. At his death tradition suggests that Peter insisted on being crucified upside down because he wasn’t worthy to die in the same manner as our Lord. Oh for sensitive hearts like Peter’s to fully understand who we are, who Christ is and what He has done for us!

Day 5 - Sunday, March 1
Hymn of Repentance: 
Holy God, holy and strong. Holy and immortal have mercy upon us. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, now and forever, and world without end.
Amen.
Scripture: Acts 26:9-18
I [Paul] thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities. While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.

Poetry:
CAEDMON 
by Denise Levertov

All others talked as if
talk were a dance.
Clodhopper I, with clumsy feet
would break the gliding ring.
Early I learned to
hunch myself
close by the door:
then when the talk began
I'd wipe my 
mouth and wend
unnoticed back to the barn
to be with the warm beasts,
dumb among body sounds
of the simple ones.
I'd see by a twist
of lit rush the motes
of gold moving
from shadow to shadow
slow in the wake
of deep untroubled sighs.
The cows 
munched or stirred or were still. I
was at home and lonely,
both in good measure. Until
the sudden angel affrighted me––light effacing
my feeble beam,
a forest of torches, feathers of flame, sparks upflying:
but the cows as before 
were calm, and nothing was burning,
nothing but I, as that hand of fire
touched my lips and scorched by tongue
and pulled my voice
into the ring of the dance.

REPENTANCE

In today’s passage, we read Paul’s recounting of his encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road. He speaks to Herod Agrippa, King of Judea, who was interested in hearing Paul’s defense against the claims of the Jews. Paul and his conversion experience, as expressed in Acts 26, may seem more distinctive than our own encounters with Christ. After all, Paul is one of the most notable Apostles and the most prolific author in the New Testament. 

Paul’s conversion experience is unique, but should resonate with us. Perhaps you were not blinded while traveling. Perhaps the work of the Lord in your life was quieter, calmer; or perhaps not. Christ bids us all to seek him, to follow after him, and to freely take what he offers. He offers living water (John 4: 14), bread of life (John 6:35), and eternal life (John 10:28). He presses into our lives even further, asking us to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow where he leads. (Matthew 16:24). The call of Christ on our lives is all-encompassing and is not limited to dramatic Damascus Road encounters.

Deep within today’s passage is a distinct reminder of the call to surrender to Christ. In verse 14, Jesus asks “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” The Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines a goad as “a stick, often with a pointed end, used to control oxen or other animals.” (p.676) In existence for thousands of years, this common tool would be indispensable for dealing with stubborn animals. The mental image of Saul struggling against the work of the Lord should sound familiar for those of us who follow Christ. Praise God that He has “opened [our] eyes so that [we] may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that [we] may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in [Jesus].” (Acts 26:18)  We can join Paul in saying “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15) God did not leave us to fester in darkness, but sent his Son to give us the light of life. (John 8:12) 

Today’s poem, “Caedmon" by Denise Levertov, uses animal and earthen imagery to prompt us to consider the wonder and mystery of salvation. Today’s painting, “Conversion of Paul '' by Hyatt Moore, shows Paul overwhelmed by a rush of light. Today’s music, the ancient Trisagion hymn, forces us to consider the holiness of God compared with our needy state. Our scripture and art pieces unified together should prompt us to echo Paul in Romans 7:24-25: “Wretched man that I am! “Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Prayer:
Holy God, holy and strong. Holy and immortal have mercy upon us. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, now and forever, and world without end.
Amen.

Longman II, Tremper, ed. The Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids:  Baker Books, 2013

Stacie Schmidt
Reference Services Librarian
Biola Library, Biola University

For more information about the artwork, music, poetry, and devotional writer selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
To learn more about the themes of this year’s Lent Project, please go to:
https://ccca.biola.edu/lent/2020/#day-feb-25