Monday Morning Reflections: 180 Degrees

 

“Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean.”

Psalm 51:7

Repentance is not so much about moving forward but about moving better. UMCom photo by Kay Panovec

Psalms are examples of the hymnody of the Hebrew people. They reflect the myriad of human experiences. Some psalms express gratitude for something God has done. Some psalms were for sharing wisdom. Some were to be sung in public. Others were written for personal lament. Psalm 51 is a personal song of lament.

As the story goes, King David composed this psalm after he conspired to kill a man to cover up an infidelity he (David) had committed. The situation is messy and much more complicated than I have space here to write, but needless to say, it was a terrible situation. When the prophet confronts David, he realizes what he has done and repents. The first step of his repentance was to write this psalm.

Repentance is not exclusively a Judeo-Christian concept, but it is central in the Christian tradition. Repentance refers to a change of ways, a 180-degree shift in someone’s perspective. It is literally going in the opposite direction from where one was heading.

In conversations I have had with people of other faiths, the issue of repentance always comes up. More humanistic persons tell me, “When I do wrong, I accept it, but don’t stay on it. I just move on and leave the past be the past.” Repentance is about those things, but it is also about righting what has been wronged. Repentance is not so much about moving forward but about moving better.

I know I have character flaws. We all do. I accept that. I also realize that sometimes those flaws hurt others. This happens with the people I love the most and sometimes with the people I work with. Repentance is my commitment to do better. That the person I will be tomorrow is better than the person I am today. Sometimes the work of being better begins with an apology but must continue with self-reflection and guided help.

May we seek to right wrongs, especially the ones we own.

Prayer
Divine Forgiveness, as you walked with David, walk with me as I seek to move better from the wrongs I have committed. Help me be mindful of others and seek always to love them first. Amen.