" Repent "

(tuwbw)
 

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

(Romans 12:2 NRSV)

What comes to mind when you hear the word repent? The answer will depend on your background. The chances are, if you were raised in a fundamentalist Christian community, that it will come with flavors of guilt and shame.

When Jesus used either of the Aramaic words that are translated as repent this is not what he had in mind. Like most of what Jesus taught, the idea was about an inner experience. And in this case it was an inner experience of change.

The word, tuwbw, literally means to return and carries the sense of, “stop what you are doing and return to the present moment.” What a totally different feeling! This word, tuwbw, is the root of the Aramaic word, tubwayhun, which is translated as blessed, but has a meaning more like fully ripe like a nice, sweet juicy piece of fruit.

When we begin to feel constriction in our body due to some error thought pattern, the real meaning of sin, we stop, denying that these thoughts are the truth of us or the situation, and return to the present moment. At this moment we are ok; breathe. In this moment we remember that we are an offspring of the one presence and power in the universe. This power loves us and always has our back. There is no other. We are branches of the same vine. Breath. Our being expands and the constriction dissolves.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul remembers this teaching of Jesus this way:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
(Romans 12:2 NRSV)

So, the idea of tuwbw has nothing to do with guilt or shame. Instead it is a method of bringing us out of such constricting feelings and bringing us back to feeling loved and accepted.

If it pleases you, take a deep breath and affirm:

As I return to this moment,
I remember who I am.
There is nothing I could have done
To separate me from God's love.
I am whole. I am loved.
I am.