First Sunday in Lent March 5, 2006

Genesis 9:8-17 Psalm 25:1-10 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:9-15

A Divine Model of Repentance

What is the season of Lent about? Probably the most frequent answer is “Penitence.” And this is most certainly true. “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. … Create in me a clean heart, O God,” cries the prayer of Psalm 51 (verses 2,10, NRSV), read on Ash Wednesday.

But this week’s lesson from Genesis suggests a somewhat different starting point for our penitential journey. Recall the story of the great flood. God regrets (some translations say “repents of”) creating humanity (Genesis 6:6) because of human wickedness. So God drowns the world,attempting to wash it clean and start anew.

The problem, however, is that floods do not wash things clean. Instead what is left behind is a huge mess: mud, garbage, downed trees, drowned corpses. More significantly, as God recognized, this flood did not change humanity and humanity’s sinfulness. What changed, though, was God. Seeing the same sinful mess after the flood as before, God said “Never again,” promising never to use floodwaters again in order to punish humanity (Genesis 8.21; 9.11)

It’s as if God is saying, “I can do better than that.” God seems to have a vision of a different way to address humanity’s sinfulness and move them toward repentance. This is a divine model of repentance we might keep in mind.

And notice one more thing…

Who makes the covenant? “God said, ‘I am establishing my covenant with you’…” (Genesis 9:8). This covenant does not start with what Noah believes, how he feels, and not with how he behaves. It does not come at Noah’s request. It is God’s initiative, and it is unconditional. There is nothing Noah, nor you nor I, nor even collective humanity can do to break this covenant. It is God’s promise to God, secured only by God’s integrity. We are privileged to listen in on the divine speech.

And this is as it should be. This is a promise only God can make. Lent begins by referring not to the bargains we make with God (variations on “I’ll be good and you’ll take care of me”), but with the promises God makes to God. These mighty promises came before, and do not rely upon our response. Any true penitence of ours is grounded in God’s faithfulness.

This week’s Reflection was prepared by Paul Bellan-Boyer, who serves as Parish Deacon at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Jersey City, NJ (ELCA), and is a psychoanalyst in private practice, working with children and adults.