In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     I once got myself into trouble in a sermon, by saying a "bad word". As a child came out of church that Sunday, she said to me, "Pastor, you said a "bad word" today--and you should have your mouth washed out with soap." Baffled, I asked, "what bad word did I use today?" She replied, "you referred to "stupid sheep"--and my mother says "stupid" is a bad word--my brother and I aren't allowed to call each other stupid." And, I stood corrected. So now, as on TV when there are cautions against programming that may have inappropriate language--I'm warning you--I'm going to use another "bad word" in the sermon today.because today, we're going to talk about--cover the children's, or your own ears--today, we're going to talk about "repentance".

     Repentance, you might say--when did "repentance" become a bad word? It became "bad", when Christianity departed from preaching and teaching the biblical theology of redemption, and adopted what's been called, the theology of acceptance. In his book, "Who Owns the Bible?", professor and pastor Karl Paul Donfried, points to this shift, originally laid out by the ethicist Philip Turner. They claim that in mainline Protestantism today, there are two contrasting theologies at work--a theology of redemption and a theology of acceptance. The theology of acceptance has reduced the mystery of God to a simplified god who just wants us to love one another, with an emphasis on the affirmation of the other, especially those who have been marginalized by society. This results in a practical equivalence between the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and social justice. The problem with this, is that we end up with a quasi-deist theology that presents merely a benevolent God who favors love and justice as inclusion, but acts neither to save us from our sins, nor to raise us to new life, after the pattern of Christ.in such a theology dominated by radical inclusion, such terms as "faith", "justification" and "repentance" and change of life, seem to belong to an antique vocabulary that must be outgrown or reinterpreted. Hence, the religious left has replaced the biblical theology of redemption, with this theology of acceptance, or inclusion. The theology of redemption is biblical, insists on "costly grace" recognizes the power of sin, acknowledges that evil can only be overcome through repentance and forgiveness, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and his call to holiness. The theology of acceptance, in contrast, is alien and secular, characterized by "cheap grace", understands the incarnation as some vague expression of divine love that results in the inclusion of all, as they are, and produces an ethic of tolerant affirmation that carries with it no call to repentance, conversion, and transformation.

     And that's how, and why, "repentance" is such a bad word today--because it is part of a biblical theology that is considered out-dated--having been replaced, tacitly, subconsciously, if not openly and admittedly, by a theology of acceptance--a theology that hinges on a quasi-deist god who cares not at all about sin, and obedience, and turning away from self, and turning to a new life in Christ--but focuses only on accepting people as they are, affirming you unconditionally, and calling you, not to repent, not to turn away from sin--but to love and care for others without condition or conversion. So, to read a lesson like ours today--to hear John the Baptist calling, "repent, for the kingdom is near!" To preach a sermon giving voice to the one crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord--bear fruit worthy of repentance--to actually speak, today, not just of a ceremonial rinsing with water, but of a baptism for repentance, that brings with it the Spirit and fire--to consume and purify us of our un-holiness and disobedience--why, it's just considered, not only outmoded, but offensive--not only out-of-vogue, but violent and harsh to the ears! A person once said, "if we're not careful, John the Baptist will take all the fun out of Christmas!" And truly, John's goal, and the goal of the theology of redemption, is to take the "fun" out of Advent and Christmas, and replace it, finally, with freedom. For as strange as that may seem, that's what confession and repentance is really all about--not fun, but freedom! And that's something many of us Christians just don't understand today, that confession and repentance, while not necessarily enjoyable and pleasant, is useful and worthwhile, because it leads to forgiveness, and absolution, which leads then to freedom--and freedom is the only thing that can bring about amendment of life, and doing things differently, and getting, truly, a new beginning! And that's why one commitment we Lutheran pastors make in the Rule of the Society of the Holy Trinity--is to return to the Lutheran confessions, by instituting, again, opportunity for private confession and absolution--because, for those troubled by sin and conscience, it can be the only avenue for freedom, and new life! It continues to amaze me how far we Lutherans have gotten away from our Lutheran teachings--pastors and laypeople, alike, buying into, not Lutheran, but liberal Protestant ideas like, "Lutherans don't make the sign of the cross"; "Lutherans don't have crucifixes"; "Lutherans don't have weekly communion"--and yes, even "Lutherans don't have private confession". In our chief confessional statement, the Augsburg Confession, it states in article XI, "It is so taught concerning confession that we should keep private absolution in the churches and not let it decline. However, in private confession it is not necessary to enumerate all trespasses and sins, for this is impossible." Luther himself writes in the Large Catechism, "If you are a Christian, you should be happy to run much more than a hundred miles for confession.therefore, when I urge you to go to confession, I am doing nothing other than urging you to be a Christian." Now, neither John the Baptist, nor I, are calling you, today, to private confession and absolution--that's up to you--but the call IS, today, for us to repent, and turn away from our sin--so that we may also receive, forgiveness, absolution--that brings, true freedom--freedom in the gospel, and freedom, by the death and resurrection of the Son--who makes forgiveness and redemption, possible--not because we confess, not because we repent, but because the penalty for sin, has been paid, wiped out, by His sacrifice on the cross. So that now, when we repent, we are not driven to despair, we need not be overcome by our guilt and shame--but our every sin and transgression, no matter how horrible or heinous, no matter how painful for us or others, no matter how damaging or destructive--can be, will be forgiven, so that from repentance and confession, will come, forgiveness and absolution--and following forgiveness and absolution, is amendment of life, turning away from the past, and a new start, a new beginning, a resurrection, in and through Jesus Christ! And it is that, which paves the way for Christ's coming--in the present, and in the future. It is repentance that is a turning away from self, and a turning toward God, that makes straight, the way of the Lord's coming, removing obstacles, taking away barriers, so that Jesus will come, and come quickly! It is repentance that is a change of heart and life, that brings fruit that befits repentance, and gives hope and confidence for the future--rather than leaving us wallowing in our own sin and guilt, and anxiety and embarrassment. Which is why, Jesus calls us to repent, for the kingdom is coming near; which is why John the Baptist calls us to repent and bear fruit that befits repentance; which is why, today, we are calling--repent.repent, and prepare the way of the Lord!

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.