For the more Reformed among us, we have the anaversary of Luther's 95 Theses today; one wag suggested a John Wesley mask to scare the Hell out of Reform-minded folks if you're trick-or-treating.
We're only five years away from 500 years, since he tacked those up in Wittenberg in 1517.
The first three are worth looking at again.
When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said "Repent", He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
We're always having to turn towards God, as we get pointed away from Him all to easily. Even if you're driving the straight and narrow, you still need to keep your hands on the wheel and the ship between the navigational beacons.
The word cannot be properly understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, i.e. confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.
That's not a huge dis of clergy; you need to do more that just say your sorry.
Yet its meaning is not restricted to repentance in one's heart; for such repentance is null unless it produces outward signs in various mortifications of the flesh.
Gross, man. These days, we call that cutting; it gets you a trip to the psychologist.
Not quite... we're talking more about a denial of fleshly cravings rather than some midevial scorging. "No thanks, we're trying to cut down" is more like it, cutting down to zero is the goal on some things, while others (like food for the overweight) need to be moderated.
Comments