Repent and Believe

I Sunday of Lent Mark 1, 12-15 The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." This Wednesday I distributed ashes in front of our Church Santissima Trinidad in the Center. We did have any services, Franz, Jose Luis, and I simply stood in front of the Church and offered ashes to everyone who walked by. I was surprised by the number of people who didn’t accept the ashes, but many people did stop and received ashes on their foreheads. It was an interesting way to interact with the people. One man stopped and angrily asked, “where does the bible say that we should put ashes on our foreheads?” I said Mark 1, 15 which is the scripture passage for today. It doesn’t say anything about ashes, rather it is the pray we said when we placed the ashes on people’s foreheads. In the bible we know that when Jonah preached repentance and the people responded by putting on sackcloths and sitting in ashes. Genesis says that ashes are a sign of repentance, but the truth is Jesus in the Gospel that we read on Ash Wednesday says we shouldn’t put on ashes. Jesus says when you fast don’t look gloomy like the hypocrites but wash your head and face so no one will know that you are fasting. Ashes are not important. What is important are the words from today’s Gospel: “Repent and believe in the Gospel!” The ashes can be easily washed off what is important are the words from the Gospel: “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” This is the core of Jesus’ message; this is what it means to be a follower of Jesus. That is why the church changed the prayer from “remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. To repent and believe in the Gospel. It is important to remember that we are dust, we are only human, and we will die, but it is more important to Repent and Believe in the Gospel. The last few Sundays we have been reading the Gospel of Mark. Today we go back to the beginning. Let me remind what has been going on. Jesus worked a few miracles; first he cured Peter’s mother-in-law. Afterwards the disciples said, “everyone is looking for you.” Jesus said, “let’s go, to preach the Gospel in other towns.” Jesus didn’t come to work miracles, but to proclaim the Gospel. After the man with leprosy was cured Jesus told him not to tell anyone. Why? Because the miracles aren’t the essential part of who Jesus was. More important is the Gospel. After Jesus cured the leper what did he do? He went out to proclaim the Gospel in the desert and the people came to him from everywhere. Jesus’ message is Repent and Believe. This season of lent is offered to us to Repent and Believe. What does it mean to Repent and Believe? To Repent we need to first stop. Just stop for a few moments, Lent should be a time to pause. Then reflect on your life. What is something that you would like to change about yourself. Just one thing. Your anger, lack of patience, not making time to pray. I invite you to just think of one thing. Now comes the second part. Believe! Believe that Jesus is more powerful than whatever it is that you want to change. Jesus is the one who will give you the power to repent, to change your life. Lent is just beginning. We only have three days under our belts and 37 days to go. As Lent continues let us take time to repent and believe. That is what lent is all about. That is what it means to be a follower of Jesus. To be one who repents and believes in the Gospel. We believe in Jesus and the power that he has over us in our lives.