THE BROWN BEAR OF REPENTANCE [Sat, 9-19-20]

CHRIST IN WINTER: Reflections on Faith & Life for the Years of Winter

I switched the brown bear in my left pocket to the right pocket as I walked, because I realized I needed to write about repentance. But as I walk, I see so many dogs and trees and flowers that I don’t remember am idea for a CIW column, unless I use a mnemonic device to bring it back to mind. When I found the brown bear in the wrong pocket, I remembered to write about repentance.

I started carrying little hard rubber bears 25 years ago, when our grandchildren were coming into the world. If we got caught somewhere without toys or other distractions, I’d just pull out bears for us to play with. Then I began to notice other little ones in public who were having a hard time, sometimes because of the big ones they were with. It brightens up a child’s day to get a new bear, and it reminds the adults they are with that other people notice how they are treating the children, without giving them a lecture or threatening to call the social worker.

It’s very unlikely that I shall encounter any little children when I walk at dawn, but I always have bears in my pocket anyway, so when I saw The Loping Man coming toward me on the sidewalk this morning, I knew I needed to repent, and I put the  brown bear of repentance into the memory pocket to write about it. [Some of the regular walkers, I know by proper name, but most I don’t, so I give them appellations according to their walking style.]

It’s a true cliché among theological and biblical scholars that Hebrew is a “concrete” language, and that Greek is a “theoretical” language. Thus, the Hebrews lived a concrete history [slavery in Egypt, wandering in the desert, Moses and Jesus, etc.] while the Greeks developed a philosophical, theoretical approach to life [“The unexamined life is not worth living,” Socrates and Plato, etc.].

Greek, however, has its concrete moments, too. “Repentance” is one of those. It originally meant simply to turn around and go the other way.

So, this morning, when I saw The Loping Man coming toward me on the sidewalk, I repented. I turned around and went the other way, because he doesn’t wear a mask, and he won’t cross to the other side of the street. In fact, I repent whenever I see another walker on “my” sidewalk. It’s the easiest way to avoid someone who might be carrying the covid19 virus.

This is the point at which I should use some analogy about walking through life and repentance and avoiding spiritual viruses, but repentance walking usually makes me go farther than I intended, since I have to keep doubling back, so now I’m too tired to do that. The Brown Bear of Repentance and I are going to have a snack and say “Arggh, Matey, shiver me timbers,” to each other, since today is Talk Like a Pirate Day; I’m sure you can do the analogies and spiritual lessons for yourself.

John Robert McFarland