Did everyone remember to mark one of our most pious and crucial holy days Pancake day on Tuesday?

On Wednesday we entered Lent. Here at chapel it was a rather sombre day as we marked the untimely passing of a lovely local man, just a lad really thirty six years old.

But its a rather sombre and reflective day and a season of reflection isn’t it Lent?

Has anyone decided this year to mark lent in the manner of some Christian traditions by giving up something, forgoing some usual indulgence, or even fasting in some way for the forty days? Well you don’t have to tell us.

There is a Leonard Cohen song which carries the chorus “when they said repent – I wondered what they meant”

According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus  first act of public ministry was to issue a call to repentance.

The Hebrew word shûb (pronounced shoove) occurs 1058 times in the Old Testament. It simply means to turn, either literally changing direction (returning) or as a metaphor for a radical change in lifestyle and behaviour. It is not used of a mere change of intention, unconnected with behaviour.

Another point to note is that whenever you turn, you turn from one thing and turn to another.

The constant refrain of the prophets is calling Israel to repent from their idolatry and return to their God.

It is important to notice this turn away from idolatry and back to truth, to wholeness, to health.

The other hebrew word which is sometimes used Nachem means to regret or be ashamed is thought to be rooted in the verb to take a deep breath or to sigh.

The translation of Shub into Greek Matanoea gives us

meta noes higher-mind or another mind I suppose in the sense of a change of mind or a turn of mind, Turn from the low to the high.

here is another quote this time from my colleague the minister at Cambridge Andrew Brown

Religion is a way of growing. Growth is the increase in the complexity and organization of sensitivity and responsiveness to such forces as foster life and give it value. Sensitivity and responsiveness provide the avenue by which the outer life of nature and society can enter the inner life of the individual. Conscience appears when values begin to function as habits and ideals.

We begin, then, by consciously cultivating a spirit of devotion, an ever increasing sensitivity and responsiveness to the universal forces which surround us and operate within us, in order that we may accommodate our lives to their requirements. A feeling for these requirements becomes our conscience.

There is no escape from religion. All human beings are inevitably religious. Their religion is what they are living. The only question is whether it is thoughtful or inane, deep or superficial, good or evil.

In turning away from the things which we wrongly value, in order to turn towards that which is more truthfully worth-ful we take the action of repentance, we turn to God – we do the work of religion. We worship. In cultivation of a spirit of devotion in cultivation of the attitude of prayer, of listening more deeply to our inner sense we make repentance we turn away from the superficial and towards sensitivity and responsiveness towards such forces as foster life and give it value.

In Lent we approach more nearly our relationship to truth; we chose to reconsider our position and our habitual approaches to living. traditionally it was the time when people considered their relationship to their church. at Easter they had the opportunity to re commit to their church and  Thats why baptisms are common at Easter. Having considered of our commitments we enter into relationship. That is also why many churches have taken up the practice of lenten study, a period of considering our deep sources prior to making our commitment. This Easter we will welcome five new members into the community of Mill Hill Chapel and in Lent we are going to reflect on some of our sources, some scriptural and some civil. We’re looking at the sermon on the plain, the ten commandments, the universal declaration of Human rights and we’ll also look at the constitution of this chapel and the truths that it points us towards.

Meta noes can mean going beyond your thinking, beyond the habitual, breaking old habits.

One habit is that of wilfulness thinking that we are in charge and that our force of will-power is the most important thing. Its not.

Religion offers a truer alternative, the will of God.

so I wish that we give up, we offer over to God, and let God s will be ours

I wish that we relinquish harmful patterns

habits that limit and confine us,

I hope we forgo self doubt and self loathing,

I hope we give up self limiting

give up being overly self critical,

and turn again, return, and keep turning to that which is of ultimate worth