TOKONAKI NOVEMA 11, 2023
Turn, Return, Repent
Foki mai, Tafoki, Fakatomala
JEREMIAH 3:21-22
A VOICE ON THE BARE HEIGHTS IS HEARD, THE WEEPING AND PLEADING OF ISRAEL'S SONS BECAUSE THEY HAVE PERVERTED THEIR WAY; THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN THE LORD THEIR GOD. "RETURN, O FAITHLESS SONS: I WILL HEAL YOUR FAITHLESSNESS." "BEHOLD, WE COME TO YOU. FOR YOU ARE THE LORD OUR GOD."
SELEMAIA 3:21-22
21 ‘Oku ongoongo mai ha lea mei he ngaahi funga mo‘unga molemole, ko e tangi mo e kole ‘a ha‘a ‘Isileli; koe‘uhi kuo nau ngaohi honau hala ke piko, kuo nau fakangalongalo‘i ‘a Sihova ko honau ‘Otua. 22 Foki mai, si‘i fānau kuo holomui, ka u faito‘o homou ngaahi holomui‘anga. Ko kimautolu eni ‘oku ‘alu atu; he ko koe ‘a Sihova, ko homau ‘Otua.
As chefs have their signature dish and musicians their trademark sound, so authors have words or themes that serve as their verbal fingerprint. For Jeremiah, that word is shuv. A diamond of a word is shuv, multifaceted, capable of meaning "turn, turn back, turn around, abandon, apostatize, bring back, pay back, restore, repent." Jeremiah's poetic dexterity is shown in 3:22, where he uses shuv three times with three different nuances: "Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness." The words "return," "faithless," and "faithlessness" are all renderings of shuv. We might translate the Hebrew in this way to catch the original wordplay: "Turn, you sons of back-turning, and I will heal your turning away."
Jews call repentance Teshuvah (note the shuv in the middle). This Teshuvah is not an occasional pit stop on the Christian journey, but the journey itself. God's kindness is constantly turning us back to himself, repenting us, "shuving" us, that we might, like the prodigal son, return home to his ongoing feast of healing love (Rom. 2:4; Luke 15:11-32).
"Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!" (Ps. 80:3).
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