As a pilgrimage of repentance, Lent calls us to embrace the difficult path of the Cross (Lk 9:23). Any teaching, preaching or theology that separates the Cross or faith from Christian discipleship and grace from obedience is defective. The Cross is central to Christianity, and any theology that fails to acknowledge Jesus as the Lord and Saviour of the world eliminates the Cross and declines the church. Theology that eliminates the Cross resonates with what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called erroneous theology “cheap grace,” saying, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the Cross, grace without Jesus Christ living and incarnate.”

The death of Jesus Christ on the Cross cancels the record of debt that stood against humanity (Col 2:14, Gal 3:13). On the Cross, Jesus bore our sins in his body so that we might die to sin and death (1 Pet. 2:24). Sin kills somehow here now and eternally, hence the need for repentance, the prerequisite for eternal life. Lent beyond ‘here and now’ calls us to eternal righteousness. Lent prepares us for the meaning of true eternal life, bearing in mind that everlasting life is a present-tense possession.

Lent is a time of renewal, self-discipline, inner work, fasting, and reawakening. Eternity is all about the life-and-death, consequences of sin and righteousness, and the grace that is ours to ever stand before God as righteous. As a pilgrimage of repentance, Lent reminds us of the challenges and difficulties of telling the differences between pilgrims and tourists. The term ‘pilgrim’ comes from the Latin word peregrinus, someone on a journey, a temporary resident, and an exile. Tourism as an affluence and leisure time involves religious and secular motives and experiences. Both pilgrims and tourists may be found visiting religious sites. However, pilgrims beyond the tourists are keen for spiritual renewal and repentance.

‘Pilgrimage’ in this context is a term that portrays an inner spiritual journey through prayer, meditation, or mystical experience. Pilgrimage describes an individual’s journey through life, sometimes as a general description of personal growth and exploration. Pilgrimage is also used in Christianity, outlining a particular spiritual focus or pathway for an encounter with God.

Lent, a pilgrimage of repentance, points us to Jesus’ very first utterance of ministry and missional motto, “Repent! The kingdom of God is at hand!” (Mark 1:15). Not only was the kingdom of God Jesus’ first mission topic, ‘the kingdom of God’ was one of his most frequent: in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, He refers to it more than eighty times. In John’s Gospel, Jesus opts for the phrase “eternal life”—yet another term for the kingdom—and appears seventeen times.

The call to repentance echoes throughout the Old and New Testaments. True repentance involves demonstrating genuine remorse and committing to a new direction. It requires brokenness, honesty, willingness to change and overcome the tyrannies of sin.

God’s kingdom refers to His divine and complete power and authority, as well as His purposes and way of life, both on earth and into eternity. Jesus’ coming brought both the message and the evidence of God’s kingdom near to people. God’s kingdom in Jesus Christ, that is, its authority, power, and purpose, are present and active on earth in the person and work of Jesus, who is the King (Lk 11:20). God’s kingdom in the church is active through Jesus’ faithful followers in His church, that is, in local congregations and the worldwide community of all true Christians. This kingdom is established and continues to grow as people accept His message of repentance, forgiveness, and new life by admitting their sins, turning from their way and making Jesus Christ the Ruler of their hearts and lives (Jn 3:3, Rom 14:17).

The kingdom, in its completion on earth, concerning the time foretold by many of the Old Testament prophets, will take place at the end of history after Jesus has returned to earth to defeat the forces of the antichrist and judge the wicked. Jesus will establish a peaceful earth reign for a thousand years (Rev 20:4-6).

The kingdom in eternity refers to the conclusion of the thousand years. God’s eternal kingdom will be established in the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1-4). The greatest blessing for the faithful followers of Jesus Christ is ‘they shall see His face’ (Rev 22:4). Jesus’s words and actions point to what He is about and what is all about Him. Jesus points us to ‘an alternate reality He calls the kingdom of God. And the prerequisite for entry into this alternate reality is repentance.’

Going through the Lenten pilgrimage calls us to travel light, just as early pilgrims carried with them only a cloak, a satchel, a coin purse, a walking stick, and a small book of prayers. Heavy (physical, mental, and spiritual) baggage weighs down and amounts to an accumulation of possessions, and most especially, the wage of sin is death.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, take the rest of this Lenten season as a pilgrimage. Take some time to reflect on what you need to let go. Some of your “baggage” may be physical: the accumulation of possessions or unconfessed sins. Other “baggage” may be spiritual, mental, or emotional, such as grudges, unforgiveness, greed, conflicts, anxieties, etc. Let us use this Lenten season as a pilgrimage to measure our spiritual health and capacity. What is the excess luggage of sin that you are carrying? Lenten season as a pilgrimage calls you to prioritize the spiritual essentials in your life and let go of those weighing you down.

Let us prayerfully join Lewis Hensley to sing one of his hymns, asking God to break the tyrannies of sin.

1 Thy kingdom come, O God,
thy rule, O Christ, begin;
break with thine iron rod
the tyrannies of sin.

2 Where is thy reign of peace
and purity and love?
When shall all hatred cease,
as in the realms above?

3 When comes the promised time
that war shall be no more,
and lust, oppression, crime
shall flee thy face before?

4 We pray thee, Lord, arise,
and come in thy great might;
revive our longing eyes,
which languish for thy sight.

5 Men scorn thy sacred name,
and wolves devour thy fold;
by many deeds of shame
we learn that love grows cold.

6 O’er lands both near and far
thick darkness broodeth yet:
arise, O Morning Star,
arise, and never set!