From that time, Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 4:17

Have you ever made a wrong turn? I do it all the time. I forget my turn or overshoot my destination. Maybe not all the time, but it happens more than I care to admit. I feel like I’m in good company, though. Einstein, famously, got lost on his way home from the office. Regularly. 

I’m no Einstein—but I can get so locked in on my thoughts that I miss my turns and don’t become aware of it until I snap out of it. I’ve even been known to be belting out a song in such a way that I get lost in the music and fly right past my exit. Like Einstein, I can become so absent-minded that my head is somewhere else, and I forget where I’m going. Please tell me that happens to you from time to time as well.

When you are going the wrong way, you make a turn to get back on track.  

This is what it means to repent. It means to turn around and get back on track. Repenting is an awareness that you have turned away from Jesus, and it is your act of turning back towards Him. Like so many other church words, repentance sounds big and complicated. It sounds stuffy and holy—holy in the “holier than thou” sense that isn’t so good. It sounds big and complicated and like it could be weaponized if in the wrong hands.

In fact, that is some of the history of today’s verse. 

For over 1,000 years, the Bible translation that was used was the Latin Vulgate. It was translated primarily by St. Jerome and was completed around 405 AD. It was the official Bible of the Western world, and no other translations were even created until Luther translated the Word into German in 1534. Luther put the Bible into the hands of the people—Latin was the language of the clergy. For over 1,000 years, the Vulgate was the source of scripture for the people of God. It was the source of so much theology and so much of historical record.

In lots of ways, the Latin Vulgate was amazing. And, in some other ways, it left some challenges. One such challenge was the way today’s verse was translated. The original and our translations today tell us that Jesus implores us to “repent.” St. Jerome translated the word to say “do penance.” These words are significantly different.

While it is unfair to say that this mistranslation is the sole cause, it certainly led to a performative path towards grace. That is a grace that depends on you. (A grace that depends on you is no grace at all.) Penance is an outward action. It is doing something to make up for some wrong turn you’ve taken. Common “satisfactions” for penance include: prayers; fasting; alms giving; pilgrimages; and ultimate indulgences. Penance isn’t a bad thing. But it needs to stand in its proper place. And penance is never the path toward receiving the grace of forgiveness. 

This was Luther’s revelation as he was reading the original texts of Matthew. Repentance is about turning around. It is a returning to the Lord our God. Luther unlocked the key to our better understanding of God. If it is about penance, when do you know you’ve done enough? When have you fully satisfied your sins? There is no way of knowing. There is always more to do to earn God’s favor.

Instead, turning to God is the sign and edification of forgiveness. Turning towards the Son brings the goodness of His light and warmth. God offers you the gift—turn towards Him to receive it. This is no different than the sacrament of communion. What is it you need to do for Communion “to work” for you? Believe the words of Jesus—given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Repenting is believing Jesus as we turn back towards Him. Not once and done. It is a continuous posture of the faithful. 

Why is repentance so much better than penance? Penance invites you into an endless cycle. If it is up to me to earn my way towards the kingdom of heaven, then I really have only two options. I become full of myself—look at how faithful I am and look at the favor I’ve earned. The church is a museum of saints in this case. Gross.  Or I become resentful of the Lord because I am crushed under the weight of His demands. The church is full of demoralized prisoners, and the church is a dungeon. Neither are healthy or hopeful.

Instead, the invitation of Jesus is to turn back towards Him. This is the relationship. This is the demand put on you by the beloved. Turn back to Him. It sounds like an obligation, expectation, and a burden. But these three words are devoid of the beauty of the Lord’s love for you. Turning back to Him is no obligation. It is our joy. It is our response. It is our life. Just as you turn toward the sun on the first beautiful day of spring, so our hearts turn towards Jesus when we emerge from the shadows of sin. In this, the church is a hospital for sinners where we find healing and hope.

The church is not a museum of saints nor a dungeon of the hopeless. It is a hospital for sinners where Jesus is the Great Physician, and He has discharge papers for you!