Fruit Worthy of Repentance

by Deacon Lorna Goodison on March 17, 2022

When we gather for worship on Sundays, we say The Confession. In a general way, we acknowledge our sins, we say the words as a reminder of the deeper work we need to do for true repentance. Luke’s gospel teaches us that repentance is more than a private act of acknowledging our sins. Repentance begins with a contrite heart that humbly faces up to the greatness of God and our own weakness. Empowered by the Spirit, repentance becomes an ongoing work of introspection, turning our inner beings towards a God-focused perspective. This new being is discerned outwardly by our actions (fruits). The gospel for this coming Sunday (Luke 13:1-9), the third Sunday of Lent, pleads for attentiveness to Jesus’ call to repentance.

Jesus received troubling news. Herod had violently slaughtered a group of Galilean pilgrims to Jerusalem. Also, there was a disastrous tragedy when a tower in Siloam collapsed killing eighteen persons. Both events resulted in people dying suddenly, unexpectedly, and possibly spiritually unprepared.  Jesus used the two sudden events to urge listeners to self-examination and repentance to inherit the fullness of life.

In Jesus’ days, victims of calamity were perceived as sinners receiving just punishment for sins. But Jesus proclaims, “do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way, they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all perish.” Jesus convicts his hearers and us of our blind spots. The blind spot addressed today is the sin of self-righteousness, just as Jesus’ hearers presumed to think they were more righteous than those who died. We become captives of self-righteousness and this inhibits us from seeing our deeper sins and weaknesses.  In the light of the possibility of sudden, unexpected, unpredictable tragedies, the call for repentance is urgent. Jesus, our gracious God who desires the salvation of all people, repeats the call twice.  

How do we truly repent? We begin with acknowledging our frailty, our ongoing need for God. In prayer, and reading the Scriptures, we struggle to seek God more deeply, to look to the mystery, the glory that is God, and God finds us. God finds us and reveals hints of Godself to us and we are awakened to a deeper understanding of God’s glory. Humbled in the presence of God’s glory, the Spirit enables us to face our weaknesses, our daily need for God, for sustenance and meaning. Repentance points to the change that occurs within us when we search for God and are found by Him: when God reshapes our inner life, opening us to our blind spots that only He can remove.  

 And our reshaped inner lives bear the Spirit’s outward fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, justice, and mercy toward our neighbor. Amen.

Tags: prayer, mercy, forgiveness, repentance, sins, sinner, weaknesses, self-examination, spiritually prepared

About the Author
Deacon Lorna Goodison

Reverend Lorna Goodison was ordained to the Diaconate on April 29, 2007. After discerning a call to ordained ministry, Deacon Lorna completed a process of spiritual discernment and pursued three years of study at the Diocesan School for Christian Studies. She also completed three units of hospice care training through Vitas and for a short while she was a volunteer Chaplain. Highlights of her continuing education activities include a guided visit to Israel and attending the Festival of Homiletics in Boulder, Colorado.

Soon after her ordination, Deacon Lorna was called to serve as Deacon at St. Mary Magdalene. She initiated an outreach ministry to the homeless at St. Laurence Chapel, obtaining the support and involvement of most members of the congregation. This ministry remained a vibrant outreach of the Church until the Chapel closed in 2019.  Other outreach ministries formed include an informal group of members who stay in touch with members who are ill and shut-in. Deacon Lorna remains committed to both the in-reach and outreach ministries of the Church. She has led quiet day reflections for groups within and outside of St. Mary Magdalene. She has often led Deacon’s Masses at small churches without a priest. Of all the ministries in which Deacon Lorna participates, she is most humbled and grateful to be involved in the ministry of praying with congregants facing life’s challenges.

Deacon Lorna serves the Diocese of Southeast Florida as a member of the Disciplinary Committee. She also serves on the Board of Deacons.   

Professionally, Deacon Lorna worked for some years in Human Resource Departments as a Training Manager, but most of her working years were spent in Social Work. She worked with at-risk teenagers counselling them and guiding them to resources to build a meaningful future. The last twenty years of her profession, were spent working with Seniors, guiding them to the resources needed to maintain their safety and independence. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a master’s degree in Adult Education. She is now retired, cherishes some alone time for prayer and reflection, but divides her time between the Church and her family which consists of two daughters, their husbands and three grandchildren.

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