TRANSCRIPT 🔗
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A reading from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter four, verse seventeen.
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From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
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The word of the Lord.
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Do you use GPS when you drive?
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Oh, it used to drive me crazy.
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I just wanted to be in control of where I was going without help and not have that voice telling me I missed a turn.
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Rerouting, rerouting.
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I do use it all the time now.
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And I do think that the GPS gets a little impatient with me at times.
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There's something interesting about GPS.
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It doesn't spend time reminding us of the wrong turn we just made.
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It simply figures out where we are and gives us a new direction to get where we need to go.
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And I think there's a connection between that and what Jesus is telling us in today's gospel.
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Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
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When we hear the word repent, it can sound pretty intimidating, but repentance is really about something much more hopeful.
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It's about changing direction.
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It's recognizing that maybe the road we're traveling isn't leading us where God wants us to go.
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And if I'm honest, I take wrong turns from time to time.
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I get distracted by work or other responsibilities, the busyness of life.
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I lose my patience, become so focused on my own plan that I forget to ask God what He might have planned for me.
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And sometimes, just like when we're driving, we convince ourselves that we know the best way.
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But Jesus is inviting us to consider another direction.
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And I think the second part of today's scripture is just as important as the first.
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When Jesus says, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
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In other words, God is here.
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He's not waiting at some distant destination for us to finally get everything right.
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He's present in our lives now, inviting us to turn toward Him.
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And that's what I find so encouraging about this passage.
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Jesus isn't simply pointing out where we've gone wrong.
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He's offering us a better way forward.
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And maybe that means more patience with my spouse and children.
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Maybe it means forgiving someone that I've been holding a grudge against, making more time for prayer and being more generous with someone who needs help.
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And these aren't dramatic changes, but sometimes those small adjustments in the direction we're heading is what it takes.
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Because over time, those small adjustments can make a tremendous difference in our relationship with God and with one another.
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And the beautiful thing is that no matter how many wrong turns we've made, Jesus continues to call us back.
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His mercy doesn't run out because we've missed a turn.
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So maybe today we can ask ourselves a simple question: where in my life is God asking me to change directions?
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Is there something I'm holding on to that I need to let go of?
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Or maybe something I'm avoiding that God is asking me to face.
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Repentance isn't just about looking back at where we've been, it's about recognizing where God is calling us to go.
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And maybe the next time we're driving and hear that familiar voice say rerouting, we can use it as a reminder that God is always inviting us to turn toward Him.
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We just have to be willing to listen.