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The peace of being renewed in right spirit awaits us.

February 21, 2024

Jonah 3:1-10  |  Luke 11:29-32  |  Psalm 51:11-18

At my first reading, today’s texts all seemed to be about evil – honestly not my favorite part of scripture. As I re-read them, though, I heard more about repentance and God’s grace. The people of Nineveh heeded Jonah’s warning; they didn’t blow God a big raspberry, but rather fasted, wore sackcloth, and were saved. Seems simple, right?

As is often the case, though, I am drawn to the Psalm. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me… The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” When we err, either by action or perhaps by having an unforgiving heart, the return to the right path comes by offering our troubled spirit to God. We acknowledge our misstep, we soften our hardened heart, and that allows God to create in us a “clean heart.” Like so many things, it’s the first step of humility or grace that is often the hardest, but once we take it, the peace of being renewed in right spirit awaits us.

Diane Rich